Fundraising can be a lot more than just a means to an end. Raising money for a non-profit, a charity or a personal cause is just one benefit of fundraising. In addition to capital, fundraisers can make a huge impact on society, and bring together people from all walks of life. If you too are planning to raise funds for a cause, it’s time to explore silent auctions as a way to achieve your goals.
Many charitable institutions, communities and even organisations use silent auctions to raise money for a cause, and just like a traditional auction event, a silent auction too has a number of items on display to guests who can place their bids on. During an auction, the items for sale are displayed and whoever bid highest for an auction item, wins it.
At a silent auction, each guest has a bid sheet with a clipboard where all the items for auction are mentioned and guests can enter their desired bidding amount alongside each of them. As each guest has their own bid sheet, their bids are anonymous and not visible to other guests at an auction event. Guests can place their bids on as many items as desired, once the silent auction is closed, the items find their way with the highest bidder.
With the advent of technology, even silent auctions have evolved to become more friendly, feature-rich and useful for both auction hosts and attendees. Today, silent auctions can be hosted and organised using a mobile app, where guests can participate using their mobile phones.
This is beneficial for many reasons – firstly, with a mobile app, hosts and auction organisers eliminate the need for a physical space like a room or a hall to display auction items, as auction items can be displayed on a web page or via virtual tour. Secondly, for guests and attendees, a mobile auction app also reduces the inconvenience of going to an event and standing in long queues for having to elbow their way out to the front.
With technology, running a silent auction becomes more manageable, engaging and convenient for everyone, which is why there are numerous mobile auction apps and online bidding software available today for hosts and fundraisers. There are many reasons why fundraisers love using technology to host and organise auctions and raise money for a cause.
If you too are planning to set up your next auction by going the silent way, here are five revolutionising benefits of using technology for doing so:
- Easy Setup: Organising an auction event is hard, but managing one is even more difficult, especially if you are a beginner and just getting started into the auction space. From getting together items for an auction to sourcing vendors and local merchants for putting together a worthwhile event, no matter the size of an auction, managing it can be excruciatingly difficult for many. Thanks to technology, this can be resolved to a great extent. With a website or a mobile app, you can easily set up your online auction store with product images, descriptions and interactive videos. This way, you can reduce the hassles of printing a catalogue which needs updating.
- Easy Management: The success of an auction is based on the number of guests who become interested in the auction items and the supporting cause. Further, it’s not just the guests getting interested, the auction committee must also plan in advance on how to invite them to an auction and reserve their spots. Thanks to technology, an online auction management software can streamline this process. With an app or a computer, guests can easily check-in, sign up and register their slots from anywhere, further they can be sent periodic reminders via SMS and email to encourage them to participate in the auction and not lose interest.
- Easy Bidding: To raise more funds for your charity auction, a host and organiser must make the bidding process as easy and engaging as possible. Remember that your guests and attendees might also be attending many other auctions online, so to make them bid higher and more frequently, you can use technology. Through a mobile bidding app or software, you can entice your guests to start wishlisting the auction items, so they can easily keep a tab on what’s interesting to them. Further, a software based silent auction eliminates the need for bid sheets, which are cumbersome and not very easy. Technology makes bidding easier and faster for guests.
Now that you understand the massive impact and numerous benefits of using technology to host, organise and promote an online auction, the next step is to find a suitable online auction platform.
This is where Charity Auctions Today comes into the play to help you simplify the silent auctions experience and streamline every step of the auction journey. With Charity Auctions Today, setting up your first online auction is easy, fast and secure. Instead of days and weeks, you can custom build your auction within hours and take the confusion out of the process.
