10 Game Changing Tips for a Successful
Online Auction
Brian D’Angelo
Marketing and Sales Operations Manager
Who Is BiddingForGood?
The undisputed leader in fundraising auctions and events
for organizations of every size and shape.
• Founded in 2003
• Over 31,000 auctions/events run
• Raised over $340 million and counting…
• Works with all types of schools and non-profits
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Health Education Arts, Culture, & Humanities
Media Community Service
Corporate
Charities we have worked with
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Auctions Tap A Different Pool Of $$
• Supporters have a specific budget that they tap
to give charitable donations
• Auctions tap household
discretionary spending:
- Sports tickets
- Theater tickets
- Restaurant certificates
- Travel: all come out of
a household/gift budget…
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It’s All About…
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Online Means More Bidders
Invite your ENTIRE community to your auction
• Think outside of the attendees at your event, or your usual donor pool
• Take advantage of email lists, mailing lists, and social networks to drive
traffic to your auction and attract more bidders
• Attracting new bidders to your auction helps build your donor list
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The Anytime, Anywhere Fundraiser
A fundraising auction that allows bidders
to bid on any device from anywhere.
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• Online
• At school events
• At galas
• At golf tournaments
• In stadiums
Several Ways To Run Your Event
The BiddingForGood platform is flexible
Event
Details
Tickets
Social
Sharing
Your
Brand
Tell Your StoryAccept
Donations
Track
progress
It’s Easier than You Think to Build Your Event WebsiteOur template-based system enables you to have an event homepage up in under an hour.
Fully integrated event management
We’re helping our clients raise more money and
we’re minimizing the work and the stress to do it.
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Live Event Features
Ticketing
Table seating
Streamlined registration/checkout
Mobile Bidding
Leaderboard
Quick sale
More relaxed auction committees
Sell Tickets Online
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Table Seating
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Our table seating tool helps you to plan your room layout with ease
Our drag and drop tool allows you to seat your guests and arrange your space before your event
Smartphones are Replacing Bid Sheets
Streamlined registration, bidding, and checkout
When you power your silent auction with mobile
bidding, our platform collects and stores all bids
and bidder information, alleviating several silent
auction woes.
What takes the place of clipboards?
Any smartphone or tablet, laptops
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Traditional silent auction = crowds
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How bidding works at the event
• It’s a mobile version of our site
• Day of event registration –
guests receive text message
with auction url
• Let the bidding begin
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A Better Bidder Experience
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Before the event
• Register to bid
• View catalog online
After the event
• Payments processed
• Go home happy!
During the event
• Receive outbid alerts
• Bid competitively without
interrupting the party
Encourage more bidding
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5 MINS
LEFT TO
BID!
YOU HAVE
BEEN
OUT BID
Outbid Alerts Max Bids Bid Extension
PLACE
MAX BID
First timers mobile checklist
Connectivity assessment
Spread the word that you’re doing mobile
Guests, board, volunteers etc.
Train your volunteers and your auctioneer
Set up bidding kiosks
Have charging station
Get ready for some fun
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Leaderboards keeps guests engaged
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• Promote sponsors
• Show auction progress and highlight featured items
• Thank donors & volunteers
Quick sale feature
With our point of sale system, you can roll all
transactions from your event into our system.
• Tickets
• Silent and live auction items
• Raffles
• Paddle-up
• Buy now
Tip #1 – Plan and set goals
• Develop plan for event and fundraising
• What are financial goals?
• What are fundraising tactics to use?
• Create a budget
• Review last year’s fundraising and assess
• Teams, sponsors, budget, reaching goals,
speakers, program, and more
• Give yourself time, get ahead of it all
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Tip #2 – Build the right team
• Select the ‘right’ staff/volunteers to truly
help
• Commitment
• Match up the right people to the right role
• ‘Core’ start to finish team
• Day of/day before teams with specific tasks
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Tip #3 – Find the right venue
• Select a place that fits your needs
• Begin searching early for more options
• Keep dates in mind
• Price range
• Equipment requirements
• Wifi Connectivity assessment
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Tip #4 – Your catalog = Your success
• Match the items to your audience
• What will appeal to them?
• What unique experiences will they like?
• Fun ‘packages’
• Determine businesses to target for ‘asks’
• Allow at least 3 months to solicit and
procure items and sponsors
• Track it all
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Tip #5 – Promote, non-stop
• Clear messaging on your site & social media
• Maximize all lists
• Get out and spread the word
• Signage, high traffic areas, newspapers/radio,
press releases
• If you have the resources, utilize a designer
• As it approaches, feature items or impact
stories to create buzz
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Tip #6 – Sell tickets online
• Easy to use for ticket purchase
• Helps save you time and effort
• Gets everyone registered to bid!
• Makes checkout easier
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Tip #7 – Preview/open auction ahead of event
• Let everyone see your items before the
event for excitement and ‘shopping’
• Use it as a promotion tool
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Tip #8 – Organization will save you
• Create day-before and day-of scheduled with timing
and tasks
• Create packing list
• Assign all tasks to individuals/teams
• Triple check with venue for equipment, floor plan,
timing, catering, etc
• Share with entire team, internally and external as well
• Have a close out/fulfillment plan. End of night can be
hectic
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Tip #9 – Create a recap document
• Wait a few days, but recap it all for next year
• Whether you’re in charge next year or passing
off, they’ll be thankful
• Will help make next year’s planning easier
with learnings will it’s still fresh
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Tip #10 – Maximize your subscription
• Run a remnant auction
• Turn your auction page into a store for
other fundraising
• Golf tournament, holiday auctions, strictly
online auctions
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Bonus tip – Take care of yourself
• The organization and planning is your best
gift to you but keep yourself in balance
• Eat and hydrate
• Delegate
• Show appreciation
• Be proud of a job well done!
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We’re Here To Help…
Support Options
• Email and phone
• Knowledgebase
• Planning center with videos, tutorials, webinars and checklists
How We Help You Raise More Money
• Include more bidders from your community
• Get more items with tools to request more item donations and manage
volunteers
• Use mobile bidding at your event for a better bidder experience and
more participation
• Sell sponsorships
• Collect cash donations online
• Sell tickets online
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“I found that the cost to run a BiddingForGood
auction is greatly outweighed by the benefits they
provide. My auction will generate more revenue
than it ever has before....
I highly recommend this program for anyone
currently running an online auction or those
considering it for the first time.”
-Junior Achievement of Akron Area
Happy Fundraising!
No one has more experience than we do in helping nonprofits
and schools raise money at their fundraising events.
Our complete, end-to-end event management solution offers our customers an
increased opportunity to raise more money and include more of their community
in bidding on their auctions
Our customers tell us that they raise more money from successful online
auctions and events with happy bidders, less frazzled staff, and an expanded
community supporting their cause.
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