From GreaterGiving.com
Procuring auction items is hard work! Follow these tips to save time and procure items that will make you the most money.
When you start procuring auction items, do you:
- A) Send out a general call to your school, church, or supporter network for general donations?
- B) Reach out to local businesses and ask for specific types of donations?
- C) Focus on in-demand items and request only those?
Many organizations answer this question with A)—and end up with a silent auction that feels more like a garage sale. With B) and C), you save yourself and your auction committee time by collecting fewer items, making fewer packages, and putting only the best out on the auction tables.
A very large auction that includes every single donation may sound appealing—if we have lots of items available, we’ll make lots of sales, right?—but in a sea of auction items, many will be overlooked by bidders and may simply not sell at all. An empty bid sheet does not encourage more bidding!
Look at your numbers from last year for each of your silent and live auction packages—it should give you a clue as to what kinds of items were most popular with your audience, and what would likely sell well again.
What we’re looking for here are high yield items, or items that have the capacity to raise more than its value in dollars, making the most money for your organization out of every individual donation… READ MORE
