Top Items to Power Your Next Online Auction

Charity auctions are a staple in the fundraising world. They offer an engaging way for today’s nonprofits to attract donor support, drawing participants in with the allure of a prize.

Yet auction attendees don’t just bring their consumer appetite. Research shows that auctions raising money toward a cause generate significantly higher bids. While a great list of items attracts their attention, attendees are motivated by charitable giving, not just getting a great deal.

Today’s online auction tools make great fundraising results even more attainable for nonprofits. Running an online auction helps maximize the funds your event can raise which adds value to your organizational efforts in the process.

With a virtual auction platform, you have far fewer logistics to organize — and the overhead expenses that come with them — which means more funds go directly toward your cause. Online auctions also:

• Allow anyone to participate regardless of their location
• Align to consumers’ buying habits with mobile-friendly bidding
• Promote your cause among a wider audience — so even if they’re just window shopping, your nonprofit’s mission gains exposure

This digital system also helps deliver the fundraising outcomes you expect. Features like email alerts keep participants engaged in bidding wars, while custom landing pages ensure virtual attendees have access to more information about your cause. You can even automate aspects of your event’s management, from setting bid increments to sending formal receipts.

All you need to do is start generating excitement among your audience with a great set of items up for auction.

How to procure items for your online auction

As the stars of the event, sourcing items is the most important step in running a successful online auction.

You want to present your potential attendees with options that’ll spark their interest. This doesn’t just motivate them to join your auction; it facilitates easier event promotion. When your items catch the eye of a prospective donor, they’re more likely to share your event details among their own networks — furthering its virtual exposure.

Start by reviewing your current donor database to look for details that can guide a great selection. Demographic trends like age, gender, occupation, income level, and marital status help you better understand your supporters’ interests. You likely have a good sense of your typical donor already, but a deeper dive might highlight some surprising categories or trends you didn’t know about.

When you start to solicit auction items, first leverage your donor network for personal and professional connections. Your active supporters are motivated to help your nonprofit succeed, especially if their contribution is as simple as sending an email on your behalf.

In addition, local businesses are often happy to support fundraisers for the in-kind exposure it affords their brand. Just make sure that as your items start coming in, you also collect:

• The retail value so you can set an item’s minimum bid accordingly
• High-quality promotional images
• Donor details like their website name and brand logo

Online auction item ideas that start bidding wars

When choosing your auction items, make sure you offer a mix of high, medium, and low-value items. This strategy helps make participation more accessible to a wider audience with varying giving intent.

In our experience working with nonprofits, these categories don’t just drive the most interest. They offer a great rate of return so you can maximize each item’s value.

Travel packages

The average person spends about $2,000 on a summer vacation and more if you factor in all of their travel throughout the year. Travel packages are such popular, show-stopping auction items because they align with how bidders are already budgeting their income. With these big-ticket items, you could even identify potential major donors in your base.

You can offer total getaway packages in partnership with a travel agency or tourism board or secure consignment trips that you only pay for if they sell. You can also source specific travel items like:

• Flight vouchers or airline miles
• Use of your supporters’ vacation homes
• Travel experiences like a safari, wine tasting tour, national park excursion, theme park entry, hot air balloon ride, or helicopter trip

Sporting experiences

Whether they’ve been meaning to pick up a new skill or refine a lifelong passion, sporting activities are a huge draw for auction attendees of all ages. Just make sure that you keep eligibility as open as possible to account for varying skill levels and experience.

Golf lessons, course passes, and club memberships are top sellers at many auction events. Depending on your audience demographics and interests, you could also offer:

• Adrenaline-junkie options like scuba diving, skydiving, or rock-climbing courses
• Membership to a ski resort, yoga studio, or boxing club
• One-on-one sessions with a professional athlete or personal trainer

Professional services

A professional’s time is a powerful auction item because it taps into your participants’ needs. It also opens new ways for your supporters to donate to your cause with their services — and benefit from the potential avenue to new clients of their own.

Motivate your base and community members to share their talents, offering auction guests the chance to win:

• Personal assistant hours
• Accounting services like tax preparation
• Life coaching or resume building
• Landscaping or interior design services
• Pet training or veterinary visits
• A photoshoot or custom artwork commission

Personal indulgences

Studies show that giving to a cause lifts people’s happiness more than spending money on themselves. But with an online auction, donors get this supporter endorphin-boost while spoiling themselves in the process.

Cater to participants’ desire to treat themselves with:

• Spa packages like massages, manicures, and facial treatments
• Gift basket of beauty and personal products
• A professional chauffeur, stylist, or chef
• Date night packages complete with a driver, theater tickets, and babysitter
• A case of fine wine and gourmet chocolate

Unique offerings

The most compelling auction items are often those that bidders least expect. Getting creative with what you offer participants helps you extend your resources. It also delivers an “I didn’t know I wanted that” element that works wonders to promote your event and entice new audiences.

Build supporters’ excitement to bid on exclusive items like:

• A five-course meal at an unusual location like at an aquarium, sports stadium, or historical landmark
• Stargazing over champagne at a planetarium with an expert astronomer
• A private musical performance or backstage passes to a concert
• A baseball game or fishing excursion with a business leader, local celebrity, or athlete
• Monthly subscription boxes of cupcakes, cheese, wine, or coffee

Let the bidding commence

Regardless of your nonprofit’s mission, there’s a broad group of supporters out there ready to help you meet your goals. Online auction software helps ensure this audience has full access to all the items you put up for bid, enabling real-time participation from anywhere, on any device.

With BetterWorld, you can start accepting item bids in minutes. Join the ranks of nonprofits that are fundraising smarter, limiting logistics, expenses, and stress with every event. Once set up, you can access this full suite of digital tools for free for life — no strings attached.