Tips For A Charity Auction Organizer

By Amanda Bean


The first thing a Charity Auction Organizer should do to succeed is to have goals and a plan. The goal is a specific amount of money to be raised in the event for the listed items. Having this in mind, the auction planner should make a clear plan on reaching the goal that has been set. Device ways to maximize the attendance and sale.

Do a study of the audience and find what they want to buy then avail that to them. Give them broadly appealing items so as to have a large number of bidders for every item therefore raising the stakes. In consideration of the previous years, list items that have been selling well and make the day a success for everyone. Ask your donors to buy advertising space rather than donating items for the auction.

Go out of your way to attract bidders to the event. A charity organizer may have very good items for bidding but have very few attending to bid. Work on a thorough marketing and awareness campaign early enough before the event day comes. This however should be within budget since the auction is about raising more money and not spending most of it on advertising. Use all available media to have more people excited about the event.

Make the items on the list clearly described. Include pictures and illustrations so as to give those interested adequate information and to make them gain interest in bidding. This also applies to the online catalog for your website. Sell the donated items together with the donor for maximum bids and the best bid prices. Consider packaging the items attractively to make them presentable and raise their value somehow.

Time the auction well and have the durations adjusted to make bidders interested till the end. For example have online auctions limited to one week even though you can make the awareness campaign begin even a month before the public sale. Several items should have their opening and closing at different times to keep the activity going and minds active all the time. Create short bidding windows so as to make them feel urgent and hurry to bid on your items.

Be simple in all that you do. The items list and categories should be easy to understand to even a layman. Make the lives of your guests easy and have them interested in the event by eliminating complexities where you can. The online catalog should be straight forward with proper guidance all through the way. Clearly place signs in the auction room to make the process simple. Tablet and Smartphone apps can be used to help in the bidding and checkout hassle free.

Use technology to cut costs in organizing the event. Instead of printing out letters consider emailing the invites. Save on costs as you avoid paperwork all through the process. Mobile bidding has made the process so simple that you will not even have the headaches of managing the event and tens of bids. Avoid papers, files and so on by going digital.

Hiring a professional to handle the public sale is a smart way for a Charity Auction Organizer to make his work less stressing. With their experience, the professional will make the sale very lively and keep the audience attentive all the time. Give them a reason to stay a minute longer at the auction and achieve your goals.




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