Why Having a Varied Live Auction Lineup is so Important

Over the next couple months, we are going to explore live auction item ideas. One big priority for me as a fundraising auctioneer it to ensure that my clients have a varied live auction line up, but before I unveil the items, I want to discuss why it is important to have a varied live auction.

Having too many like-items lowers each item's value.

It is so important to have a varied live auction lineup because it creates competitive bidding. It may seem amazing when your committee comes to you with news that they have secured not one, but two trips to Mexico, a condo in Costa Rica, a resort in Disney AND a B&B in Ireland, and you are not wrong for being exited! However, having 5 trips in one live auction will lower the value of each trip significantly. Knowing they have another trip coming up, their incentive to keep bidding goes down. Unless all 5 trips are completely different and unique opportunities that they could not find absolutely anywhere else, the bidding will lose its competitive edge.

Variety provides opportunities to engage as much as the audience as possible.

This is key. You want you live auction lineup to engage as many people in the crowd as possible. The sports lovers, the animal lovers, the wine lovers, the beach lovers, the mountain lovers, the book lovers...you get the picture. If they don't have something they see in your program for them, you are going to lose their attention. Why is this bad? Because when they aren't paying attention, they are either leaving or talking. If they leave, they are not going to participate in other major revenue generating activities (like the fund-a-need, and if they start talking, they will become incredibly distracting and you are at risk of losing your entire audience's attention. 

Variety is fun.

Duh. People like variety. They like to be on their toes. They like to see different items and feel engaged and energized and variety of auction items will help create a buzz! Remember, the more fun they have, the easier it is for them to give.

How One Little Girl Changed the Course of a Fund-A-Need

This weekend I had the honor of working with the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance. When you first walk in to their Black, White and Teal Gala, you instantly feel the love. Every single person in the room was in one way or another touched by Ovarian Cancer. There were survivors, spouses, children and friends who had lost someone to this disease. Everyone was decked out in the colors of the evening...Black, White & Teal. The room was a sight to behold.

The live auction was lively and the fund-a-need started like all others. They showed an inspiring video (which I always recommend) about a young girl and her dad who had lost her mom to ovarian cancer earlier that year. After losing her mom, she wanted to do something to make a difference. So this brave 8 year old girl, went door to door asking for donations to give to MOCA. It was a beautifully inspiring story and we were blessed to have her at the event. I started the fund-a-need like most others: $5000, $2500, $1000, etc... I got down to $100 & $50 and fewer hands were rising than normal. At this point, I asked the young girl how much she raised going door to door: $35.77. Instead of stopping at $50 donations, I turned to the audience and asked who would like to honor this young girl and her mom by matching the efforts she had done to raise funds. In a crowd of 400 people, nearly every bid paddle went up to commit to give $35.77. 

While the cause of the night, ovarian cancer, is an inspiring and personal cause that everyone in the room felt led to give financially. At the end of that fund-a-need, people weren't raising their hands for MOCA (I mean they were), but they were raising their hands for one girl who wanted to make a difference in honor of her mother. They stood behind this young girl who had a vision of making a difference and dreams of a day where no other boys or girls will have to lose their moms to Ovarian Cancer. This one girl's efforts multiplied beyond tenfold (more like two hundred fold). It was an honor to facilitate this group effort to make a difference. I pray that this sweet girl, will remember it forever.

Fall Fundraising Auction Season Wrap-up

It has been a strong fundraising season in the Twin Cities. It was one of the most rewarding seasons for me as I was able to watch client after client shatter previous fundraising records. While, being 8 months pregnant during one of the busiest seasons of my career was wildly exhausting, it was also incredibly special. I will cherish this season of life.

I just wrapped up my final auction of the season and am taking time off over the Holidays to have a baby but will be back on the auction block at the end of February. I will update once my new bundle of joy is here and am looking forward to a strong spring season. Contact me with any questions or my 2015 availability.

Also, if you are looking for a place for your end of the year tax write-offs, I know of many deserving and incredible organizations that would be willing to help you out ;-)

What To Do With Unsold Silent Auction Items

Last week I answered a common question I get from clients, "Can we sell unsold silent auction items before or after the live auction?" My answer was "NO!" However that leaves us with a conundrum: what can we do with unsold live auction items??

Lots of things!

1. Remove minimum bids: You can decide at a certain point in the night that any silent auction items that have not been bid on, no longer have a minimum bid. It may be that for some of those more quirky donations, the valued minimum bid may have been too high to entice any bidders. If your concern is just getting those items out of your hands that night, this is the best option.
2. FIRE SALE: Hosting an online fire sale on your organization's auction site after the  auction is a great way to manage any items that did not sell. This works with organizations that opt to use mobile bidding software. Companies like BidPal will work with you to create a specific auction site where people can register for the event, get updates and bid on items before or after the auction (if you choose to make it available). You will most likely get more revenue from this than you would with our option #1.
3. Sell the items at an external site (like ebay or craigslist). This takes more effort, but it opens up your bidding audience to people looking for those specific items. I wouldn't take the time to do this with all the items, but if you have anything that is of higher value, but requires the bidding of specific tastes (art, jewelry, furniture, sports memorabilia, etc), this would be worth your time to try to reach those people for the sake of your organization.

If you have questions about your silent auction, I can work with you to answer those as well as things related to your live auction. 

Unsold Silent Auction Donations: Put on Live Auction?

I write my blog based on questions I get from clients. A recent (and common) question is "Can we sell unsold silent auction items on the live auction?" My answer is always NO! I see how this could seem like a good idea given that silent auction items tend to raise 60% of their retail value on average while live auction items routinely exceed their retail value so why not try to get that sort of profit for donations that missed their chance in the silent auction?

Here is my reasoning:

1. If the items did not sell in the silent, the chance of them selling in the live auction is very slim.
2. We need to be very conscientious of donors. If their item did not sell in the silent, we do not want to draw attention to it or sell it publicly for far less than it is worth.
3. If it's done prior to the live auction, it will impact the value of the true live auction items and if it's done after the live auction it can leave the audience with the impression/memory of the auction being unsuccessful. 

Check back next week to see what to do with silent auction items that don't sell.

How To Capture Fund-a-Need Donations at your Fundraising Gala

Most events are incorporating Fund-a-Needs, Fund-a-Cause, or an Ask at their fundraising events these days. Many events are scrapping the live auction all together and focusing solely on this portion of the evening for donations. The fund-a-need is one of my favorite portions of the evening because it gives everyone in the audience an opportunity to make a difference. 

The biggest concern for my event chairs, directors of development and foundation directors is how to capture these donations. There are several ways to ensure that these donations are captured and I will cover three of the most common.

1. Paddle Raise - When bidders raise their paddles at the amount they would like to donate, volunteers come around and capture their bidder numbers under the amount they have committed to and it is added to their check out. This is the most traditional way to do capture bids. What's required? Many Volunteers, Bid Paddles, Pens and Paper. Pros: creates excitement in giving. Cons: room for human error as sometimes the volunteers don't see everyone or the bidders lower their paddles before a volunteer can get to them.

2. Commitment Cards - This is where we would ask people to raise their hands to show their commitment and build excitement and then we would ask them to follow through on their commitment by filling out a card with their credit card information and commitment amount. What's required? Pens, Premade Fund-a-Need commitment cards, Envelopes on each table.  Pros: Donors do not have to sit in check-out. Cons: Some people don't worry about raising their hands as they fill out their cards instead which will cut into the excitement and therefore impact giving as a whole. Also, some people do not feel comfortable filling out these cards at each table.

3. Mobile Bidding: This is becoming more and more popular as technology is becoming a bigger part of our lives. People would use a mobile bidding device (provided by the mobile bidding company) or their own smart phones. What's Required? Mobile Bidding software (Such as BidPal). Pros: Real Time donation tracking, no check-out, many donors give more than once. Cons: Mobile bidding software costs money.

I have done fund-a-needs all three ways and have had a ton of success with each one. If you are wondering what is the best way to capture donations during your fund-a-need, contact me today and we can discuss what will work best for your event.

Additional Fundraising Idea: PUNCH BOARD

I met with a client earlier this week who reminded me of one of my favorite additional fundraising activities for a fundraising gala: The Punch Board. 

I first saw one of these at one of my events a couple years ago. They had a giant board with about 50 holes in it. Each hole was covered by some tissue paper and had a special prize behind each piece of paper. Guests paid $25 to "punch" the paper and claim their prize. Prizes can include anything from a bottle of wine to a $50 restaurant gift card to a Kindle to a light up necklace. You really don't know what you are going to find. This punch board sold out in less than 30 minutes. Do the math: 50 holes at $25 a piece = $1250 in less than a half hour. The next year they raised their prices to $50 which allowed the board to be available a little longer throughout the cocktail hour, but it still sold out before the sit down program started and they raised twice as much money. 

Other clients I've worked with have had similar experiences with this game. It sells out fast! Some choose to have certain holes for different amounts and it will up your prize. You could select $25, $50 or $100 and know that the more you give the better your prize will be.

If you have a crowd that is competitive and loves games and activities, this may be a great option for you. Some event production companies have these available for their clients but it can be replicated by anyone who has a tiny handy bone in their body. 

For other great fundraising activities, contact me today!

Should Every Event Have a Live Auction?

Should every event have a live auction? As a fundraising auctioneer, I obviously want to say, "YES! Yes! Live auctions are the best things in the world. Ever." Although, I like to think live auctions are the best things in the world ever (right after my family and a good cup of coffee), they are not appropriate for every event. 

GASP! That's right, not every event is going to promote a successful live auction. There are several types of fundraising events that do not cultivate an atmosphere for a successful live auction. Keeping in mind that there are exceptions to everything, here are a few of the fundraisers that may or may not benefit from a live auction: Fundraisers with free admission, Mingle-style events (again, there are exceptions and it takes a well planned out flow of events to make it work), and Family friendly events.

If you are wondering if your fundraiser would benefit from a live auction or if you want ideas for additional creative fundraising activities, I can provide consultation. If you are hoping to have a live auction at your fundraiser, I can help you prepare in advance to ensure that we are creating an environment that cultivates generosity and active participation in bidding. 

Earn 12% More at your Fundraising Auction

Yesterday I had the chance to meet with a colleague in the industry who works with BidPal, an electronic bidding system. She shared with me an interesting result from a recent study they did with their clients.

They compared clients who used their system for their silent auction. Some of their clients only allowed bidders to view and bid on silent auction items during the night of the event, while other clients opt to open up bidding on their items before the event starts (sometimes a full week in advance). They found that the auctions that were available for bidding prior to the night of the event in the silent auction, raised 12% more than the auctions that were only open during the night of the event. 

There's an easy and profitable idea for you: open your silent auction up to attendees prior to the event. I've personally seen success with some of my clients doing this. It's a newer idea, but technology is providing us with these awesome opportunities.

Note: this statistic did not compare organizations that did not use an electronic bidding system. However, silent auctions tend to bring in more revenue when using an electronic bidding system because bidders receive text messages when they have been outbid and they can raise the bid again right from their smartphone or electronic bidding device provided by the company.

Having Reserves on your Live Auction items

When soliciting items, you’ll come across certain “donations” that require a reserve, or a minimum bid, to sell the item. Now, although having reserves on your items is not ideal for your fundraising auction, it happens and it isn’t all bad. There are several reasons that an item could be assigned a reserve:

1. Your organization had to pay a firm dollar amount (though lower than retail value) to have this item at auction. There are companies that will “donate” extravagant items at wholesale prices to the nonprofit. The reason you need a reserve on these items is to break even! Avoid these items. Say the reserve is $2000, and you raised $2500, your organization only raised $500 for this item. You may say, “YAY!!! $500 is better than nothing.” The bad news is that you had a donor in your audience that evening that just gave $2000 to another company when they were intending to give it to your organization.

2. On the other hand, there are companies that will donate items to organizations and take a percentage (say 30%-50%) of the money earned. These sort of donations are MUCH better because your organization has a greater chance of raising more money on the items, and they are usually worth it because of the unique nature of the items. The reason that there are reserves on these items is because usually the donor knows the value of the items and is concerned about using their donations wisely – ensuring that they are actually raising organizations money rather than just practically giving away once in a lifetime opportunity.

3. Sometimes artists will put minimums on their work so that they maintain their own retail value. This is something that we need to respect. They’d rather have their work not sell than go for something below what it is worth. Again, this is a fundraiser – not a time to get good deals.

If you have items that have reserves on them, please reach out to me and I’d be happy to walk you through how to handle the reserve.