How to Make an Auction Successful

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Auction fundraisers are consistently one of the best ways to raise money for your PTO while also engaging parents, students and the community. So let's dive in and lay out exactly what you need to know to make your next auction a success!

Start Early

While we've all seen successful PTO fundraisers that were pulled together at the last minute, in general, the more time you have to plan, the better your fundraiser will go! And an auction is one fundraiser that benefits most from a bit of advance planning.

If possible, allot at least four weeks of planning and prep time for best results. Although, it's really never too early to start planning an auction because more planning time makes for more time to get donations and promote the event, both of which increase the payoff at the close of the fundraiser.

Pretty Prizes

The quality of the available items is the next factor that determines an auction's success. Always seek out quality items versus quantity. It's far better to have a smaller number of really nice items that people will be excited to bid on than a bunch of baskets filled with dollar store items. Boost the value of lower value items by grouping them together and then pair them with higher value items. This will also make the bundle more interesting and appealing to a wider swath of people.

Having a nice variety of items will net you more than a narrowing offering, just like having only expensive items available will price certain people out of the event. You'll raise more when more people can participate, so don't close the door on that possibility by only offering items with high starting amounts.

Moreover, a smart strategy that's sure to upwardly tweak your fundraising income is to offer items that either can't be bought or are hard to find. Does a family own a boat or weekend home that they might be willing to 'donate' for a day? Can the tennis coach offer a private lesson and spirit swag package? Can the Principal offer up the opportunity to be Principal for a Day? Basically, mine your connections both inside and outside of the school for cool items families can't get anywhere else and you'll love the results come the end of the auction.

How to do this without getting an army of volunteers to hit the streets? Set up an auction with BetterWorld and you also get a donation portal baked right in! Such a smart way to have the auction itself and the ability to donate an item right in the same place since you'll share just one link for auction donations and bidding.

Another clever item category is something people usually buy anyway. Take for example a city pool pass. Many families already plan to buy pool passes each Summer and the chance to get it for a small discount will be really enticing. And you'll get face value or near for it in an auction setting, more if bundled with other items! This item strategy is brilliant since you're not asking families to make an additional purchase outside of their budget, you're just giving them the opportunity to purchase from your PTO.

Finally, if you are feeling stuck gathering items or just want to increase your offering, BetterWorld offers over $100,000 worth of instant items that you can add to your auction in seconds. With the minimum bid set at the reserve price, these items are a risk-free way to add thousands to your auction goal with no extra effort!

Time Wisely

The success of every auction can be enhanced by the right timing of the event. Start an auction at least 10 days before the final event or end of the auction. This will give people plenty of time to place bids and get excited about items. It also reduces the risk of a competing event in the community splitting your donors' attention.

If you are choosing to have your auction end at a live event, try to make sure that event date has as little conflict as possible with other events at your school or in the community.

Another timing consideration is based around how much help you have. If you have a solid group of volunteers, you can pull together an auction in a few weeks. If you are running solo, you may want to give yourself a bit more buffer. In either case, BetterWorld offers a fantastic concierge service that gives you one-on-one support and guidance to get your campaign set up quickly. This service can be a life-saver if this is your first auction or if you feel stretched for time.

Communicate Lots

The last piece of the auction success puzzle is communication. The more people who know about your event, the more people will support it! So be sure to publicize the event early and often, meaning more than you think you should!

Combine in school announcements like decorated bulletin boards, morning announcements and flyers posted in windows with emails to parents, social media posts. Consider contacting a local news reporter or Radio Station to interview you for a story about not only your auction, but also the motivation for the event and what your group will use the money for. It's always good to give the larger community insight into school happenings, but you might also get a few more supporters that way.

Spreading the word is absolutely key, and the email and social share feature baked into all BetterWorld auctions makes it easy to do so.

Go Digital

Paper sheets for auctions are a thing of the past! Making your auction digital will not only vastly increase the number of potential participants, but will also make the process go so much smoother both for you and your donors! BetterWorld is a fantastic platform to run an auction on, without the need to learn or set up fancy software. Participants can bid on items while in the event room and also at home. This means more bidders and also items ending with higher winning bids in the end. And with text-notifications when you are outbid on an item, you will almost certainly drive more bidding activity and raise more money. There is a reason organizations typically raise 30-40% more in their first campaign on BetterWorld!

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Consider Adding On

If you don't have the time, space or room on the calendar for a stand alone auction event, consider adding an auction element onto an existing event or program. Pretty much every event, whether a Fall Fest, Carnival, Talent Show or something else, can support the addition of an auction. And you should especially consider adding an auction to any event that draws a big crowd since your potential bidder pool will be wider. The more people at the event means more eyes on the (potential) prizes and that should garner higher participation and profits too.

Summing It Up

At the end of the day, a super successful auction comes down to the right time, the right products and the right publicity. Remember to plan and time your event wisely, gather a wide variety of items, and tell everyone and their mother about the auction to find spectacular success!