How to Run a Silent Auction

Thứ bảy - 27/04/2024 01:08
Silent auctions are auctions held without an auctioneer. People place their bids on sheets of paper instead. They're often used by charities to raise money, but they can be tricky to put together. With good planning, however, it's easy to...
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Silent auctions are auctions held without an auctioneer. People place their bids on sheets of paper instead. They're often used by charities to raise money, but they can be tricky to put together. With good planning, however, it's easy to set up an auction and get the most out of your items. Soon enough, you'll have raised a good amount of money in just a few hours!

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Preparing for the Event

  1. Step 1 Recruit volunteers.
    A contact list, especially an email list, is handy for this. You will need: volunteers to help set up; volunteers to monitor and close tables at the appointed time and make sure minimum bid and minimum increase requirements were met; a “bank” crew to organize bid sheets (especially of multiple winners) and collect money from winning bids; and a clean up crew.
    • Select volunteers willing to be officials. These people will need to know the rules of the silent auction and who to go to for questions they can’t answer. During the event they will wear something—hat, vests, jackets, or sashes—that designates them as officials.
  2. Step 2 Ask for donations.
    To make money for your charity, you'll need items or services to sell at the silent auction. Many businesses and even individuals within your community will likely be happy to help, if you tell them what the purpose of the auction is and who will benefit from it.
    • Don't forget to ask for services as well as tangible goods. Perhaps a local salon will donate a haircut and/or style, or a local golf course could offer a round of golf with a trainer.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

During the Event

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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

After the Event

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Things You'll Need

  • Bid sheets (can be made on a home computer)
  • Master list of items
  • Masking tape or packaging tape
  • Transparent tape (for taping bid sheets to the tables)
  • Painter’s tape to hang signs and silent auction items on the walls (painter’s tape is much less likely than masking tape to peel paint from the walls when taking things down)
  • Markers
  • Pens (Lots of these on hand! At-least one for every bid sheet). Pick up multi-packs at a bargain store.
  • Whiteout tape, not liquid
  • Tables
  • A tent or some of those pop-up shelters, for shade
  • A rain plan. Does everything fit under the tent? What if the wind starts to blow?
  • Colored paper and markers to make signs
  • One or two staplers (to staple together bid sheets of silent auction multiple winners)
  • An information sheet to put at the bank telling people who to make checks out to
  • A lock box and change. (For example, $100 in $1 dollar bills, $40 in $5s, and $50 in $10s). Change for the emcee if he or she will be doing fundraising games.
  • Banquet roll (inexpensive one time-use tablecloth for covering the tables that can be bought at a wholesale store)

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