Complete Guide to Planning a Silent Auction

Favored by a wide range of organizations, from little leagues to large charity organizations, silent auctions are a fun way to raise money for your organization and engage with your donors and community while having a good time.

Online fundraising platforms like BetterWorld offer significant benefits when organizing and hosting a silent auction. Designed specifically with nonprofits in mind, BetterWorld provides all the tools you need to run a successful silent auction. Register for free at BetterWorld today!

What is a Silent Auction?

In a silent auction, an organization offers various items for bidding by its donors. Potential buyers record their bids through bid sheets, either in paper form beside the item or electronically via silent auction software.

Silent auctions are a favorite among donors and organizations as they offer a fun atmosphere for donors to get to know the organization while raising a significant amount of money.

How Do Nonprofits Use Silent Auctions?

Nonprofit organizations do a lot of good work in our communities but need funding to make their magic happen. Silent auctions are one of the many fundraising initiatives nonprofits can use to raise much-needed money.

Organizations also use silent auctions to spread awareness about their mission, expand their audience, and spend time with their biggest donors. Silent auctions are an enjoyable and interactive way to raise large amounts of money, which is why nonprofits enjoy hosting them!

How Does a Silent Auction Work?

Silent auctions raise a lot of money but require significant organization and prep work. Let's break down the nine steps to hosting a successful silent auction.

Step 1: Establish Goals

The first step to a successful silent auction is setting a fundraising goal, which helps you determine necessary expenses and make informed decisions throughout the planning process. Having a big goal will inspire you to gather more items, find more sponsorships, and spread the word about your event.

Step 2: Select Fundraising Tools

An undertaking of this size requires practical tools to stay organized, such as silent auction software. Platforms like BetterWorld provide all the tools you need to run a successful and profitable event, including the ability to make a professional event website, a platform to host item pictures and collect bids, and social media integrations to spread the word about your silent auction.

Step 3: Determine the Location

Now that you have your sale items, it's time to figure out where to host the event – specifically, will you have an in-person auction or an online silent auction? Online events come with less overhead, but you risk upsetting donors who expect the event to be in-person. For a versatile approach, consider hosting a hybrid event where some activities occur in person while allowing donors to participate online.

If you decide on an in-person event, find businesses that will donate event space or offer a discount rate, and choose a centralized, easily accessible location for your participants. Also, remember that in-person events come with other expenses like decor, food, and drinks.

Step 4: Recruit Volunteers

Whether a virtual event or in-person, a silent auction needs volunteers to run smoothly! Enlist people to help with pre-event prep work, like gathering items to auction, creating marketing materials, setting up your website using silent auction software, and spreading the word about your event.

On the day of your event, you will need volunteers to set up the event, help donors, collect bids, and perform various other pressing tasks.

If you decide on a silent online silent auction, have a dedicated person to monitor the event page, respond to donor inquiries, resolve technical issues, and assist the event coordinator.

Step 5: Procure Items

The biggest part of a silent auction? The items! Keep costs low by soliciting item donations from local businesses. Enticing items will excite your donors and encourage them to bid.

If you receive many smaller items, package them together with other things to create a larger gift basket. For example, if you receive movie tickets and a gift card to a restaurant, package them with some candy and auction them off as a date night package. The higher the worth of your items, the more people will bid on them.

Step 6: Price Items

Appropriately pricing your items is part of running a successful silent auction. On the bid sheet, list the retail value so that donors can see each item's value. Next, establish your opening bid – we recommend selecting a price less than the retail value to encourage bidding.

When your participants have their hearts set on a specific item, they will continue to bid, even if the bid amount is higher than the retail price.

To secure higher starting bids, package some of your items together. High-value items and expensive electronic devices are always good ways to raise money quickly.

You want all your attendees to feel included, so be sure to have items for every price point, such as $25 gift cards, which will allow anyone to bid.

Step 7: Create an Event Registration Page

Once you have the details figured out, it’s time to create your event registration page!

For an in-person event, if you decide to sell tickets, use a platform like BetterWorld to track ticket sales and collect the money. On the day of the event, BetterWorld’s ticketing platform will make it easy for you to check your participants in so they can get right to bidding!

If you host an online silent auction, your registration page will serve as the central hub of event information and direct donors to the bidding pages, showcase the items, provide information about your organization, and more – just make sure the registration page is appealing and easy to navigate.

Step 8: Create Display Sheets

Your bid sheets or display sheets serve as the platform for showcasing information about the auction items. Include essential details like item descriptions, retail prices, opening bids, and information about the donor or organization.

If you’re hosting an online silent auction, all the information on your display sheets will go directly to the bid page.

Step 9: Promote Your Silent Auction

Your silent auction will only succeed if you invite people! Create your website on BetterWorld to promote your event to your friends, family, and network. Encourage event volunteers and others in your organization to talk about your event often -- the more people who attend your event, the more money you’ll raise!

Additional Best Practices for Silent Auctions

Here are some additional best practices to consider when organizing a silent auction.

Start planning early! Events of this magnitude take time, and you'll be less stressed if you give yourself more time to prepare, secure items, and sell tickets to your event.

Try different engagement strategies. Promote your event online but also in person. Ask your local school district if you can distribute info-filled flyers to their students. The more creative you get with your engagement strategies, the better!

Ensure you have a backup plan in place. Unexpected events may occur during an in-person event, so it's essential to have a strategy for handling the most probable scenarios.

Thank your sponsors and donors! List them in your event program, on your event website, or on your event's social media pages. Appreciated donors are more likely to donate to your organization again.

There's nothing worse than low-quality images, so take high-quality item photos, especially if you're hosting an entirely virtual event. High-quality photos will help secure higher bids.

Most importantly, have fun as you plan! Raising money and awareness for your organization doesn't have to feel like work. Platforms like BetterWorld have all the tools you need to streamline the organizational process so that you can relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

On the day of your silent auction, enjoy yourself. When an event host has fun, the attendees will, too!

Silent auctions are a great way to raise money and awareness for your organization, and when you implement these tips, organizing your event won’t feel as overwhelming.

Get Your Silent Auction Started with BetterWorld

The BetterWorld team is here for you when you're ready to start! Whether you need assistance getting started, uploading your items to a website, or helping with promotion, we will do everything we can to help you host a successful and memorable event.

Reach out to schedule a demonstration of our platform to see how we can streamline your next fundraising event and help you raise the funds you need!