Looking for a fun way to fundraise for a good cause? Silent auctions could be just the thing. These standout events combine the opportunity to network and get to know your audience with a way for guests to walk away with an awesome new item or experience.
Sounds great, right? Here’s everything you need to know about organizing your own silent auction.
What Is a Silent Auction?
A silent auction is a lot like a regular auction — just without the auctioneer.
Instead of the high pressure, high stakes environment where you call out your bid, you have plenty of time to make a decision. That’s because silent auctions use bidding sheets or mobile apps instead of a fast-paced auction frenzy.
With a silent auction, people browse items they’re interested in and get time to look over all the details while they chat with friends and network. Once they’re ready, they can write down a bid on a paper bid sheet or enter their bid through a mobile app or website. When the evening is over, the winning bids are called and everyone can head home.
Silent auctions are a great alternative to traditional auction formats. They promote a more relaxed, enjoyable, and sociable atmosphere — perfect for a charity fundraiser.
How To Run a Silent Auction
We love silent auctions and think they’re a perfect way to raise money and awareness for your nonprofit organization. Ready to jump into planning one of these great fundraising events? Here’s our simple yet thorough guide to planning and hosting a memorable silent auction.
1. Assemble Your Team
Before you jump into planning your charity auction, you’ll need to assemble a winning team. Gather a combination of your finest staff and volunteers to help you out.
To run a successful silent auction, you’ll need your team to help with tasks like:
- Event organization
- Marketing
- Sourcing items from local businesses
- Ticket and auction management
- Emceeing and event hosting
There are other smaller tasks, too, like helping with registration or being on call to support any tech troubleshooting. Figure out what help you’ll need, then build your team around that. Assign everyone clear roles, responsibilities, and deadlines to keep you all on track.
2. Find a Venue
Most silent auctions are held in person, so you’ll need to find and secure a venue that’s big enough and special enough for your event.
When you’re thinking about which venue to choose, here are some things to consider:
- Space: How many guests are you planning for?
- Location and ease of access: Is the venue easy to find? What about parking arrangements?
- Accessibility: Is the venue accessible to guests with mobility issues? Do you need to make adjustments?
- Layout: Does the space work for an auction? Is there room to display items and allow guests to walk around and view them?
- Wifi access: Can guests access free wifi? If not, can you bring in a provider to provide this service?
- Prestige and suitability: Does the styling and type of venue match the atmosphere you’re going for?
If you have any big ticket items, make sure there’s a way you can navigate these safely in and out of the venue. Look for a venue that has large stage access doors and plenty of space to display your items.
Making the switch to a mobile app for your live auction? Check out the venue’s WiFi coverage. If it’s not up to speed, look for an alternative venue or explore options to bring in a temporary provider to give the coverage and speed you need.
Start scouting for the ideal venue early. Once you’ve found a place you like, secure the booking ahead of time with a deposit and feel confident that you’ve got a major must-have out the way.
3. Source Silent Auction Items To Sell
It wouldn’t be an auction without items to sell. You’ll need to source the perfect items and experiences to auction off at your grand event.
The best place to look for silent auction items is in your network. Ask friends, family members, and colleagues if they know of a company willing to donate something. Ask your volunteers and staff to do the same. You can also build on existing relationships with corporate sponsors, to see if they’ll contribute.
As well as making donation requests through your network, don’t forget to promote your silent auction event. Not everyone will be on your radar, so this is a great way to get the attention of companies through local press, radio, and social media. You never know who’ll be out there willing to donate an amazing item.
When it comes to items, not all are created equal. Here are some of the most popular items to auction off:
- Tickets to theater shows, concerts, and comedy shows
- Season tickets for sports teams
- Vacation rentals
- Gift certificates for popular local restaurants
- Gift cards for upmarket retailers
- Private dining experiences
- Memberships for local attractions
- Signed memorabilia, like movie posters, albums, and sports gear
- Cooking or mixology lessons
The best items will always be ones that appeal to most of your audience. You know them best, so you’ll know whether they’re more likely to bid on a private helicopter ride or a season ticket for your local football team.
As you gather items to auction, make sure there’s a good mix of values. You want there to be a decent range of pricing at your auction so that everyone can get involved. If you receive lots of smaller, low value items, group them together to create a hamper or bundle to attract more interest.
4. Think About Your Auction Method
You’re now well on your way to planning a stellar silent auction. Before the event draws near, make a decision about how you’ll run the bidding process.
Paper Bid Sheets
A lot of silent auctions still use paper bid sheets. This is the more traditional option, but it’s still widely used because it’s practical, easy to create, and doesn’t require much technical assistance.
Guests will browse the items, find the matching bid sheet, and add their bidding number and bid amount. It’s a super simple way to record their bids.
Once the bids are in, your team will need to sift through the bid sheets and match up the bidding number to the winning bidder before they can be announced. You’ll also want to think more carefully about the flow of people and make sure there’s enough space for people to queue up and pay for their winning items.
Mobile Bidding Software
Mobile apps and online silent auction websites are a modern alternative to paper bid sheets. They’re a more eco-friendly way for your guests to see what’s available, make their bid, and manage existing bids.
These apps and silent auction software products create a great user experience for guests as they can bid from wherever they are without walking up to a crowded bid sheet. They can submit a bid online or through the app, then manage that bid if they want to increase it.
It can take some time to set up your silent auction on an app or website — especially if you upload photos and accompanying details. Once that’s done though, the process is often easier for your team to manage on the day.
There’s no best approach when it comes to how you manage your silent auction. Take a look at both options and see what works best for your organization, event, and guests.
5. Promote Your Event
With almost everything sorted, it’s time to get the word out about your silent auction!
If your event is for VIPs and organization donors only, keep your promotion to private channels like email or mailed invitations. For events that are open to the public, though, here are some ideas on where to promote your silent auction:
- Your website
- Social media channels
- Paid social media ads
- Email marketing
- Local press
- Local radio
- Ads in relevant local publications
When it comes to promoting your silent auction, there are a few details you’ll want to share with your potential guests:
- Event date, time, and location
- Brief outline of the items available to help attract interest
- How it’ll work (not everyone is familiar with the format)
- How people can RSVP if you’d like them to
If it’s relevant to your event, it’s also a good idea to mention dress code. Some silent auctions are glitzy affairs while others are more casual and laid back. Confirm whether it’s an adults only event or whether family groups are welcome and encouraged. Let people know whether there’s food and drink provided, if there’s somewhere to buy their own, or if they should eat before or after.
6. Prepare the Venue
The day’s almost here and it’s time to start thinking about preparing the venue. By working with the venue team, you’ll feel confident that everything’s sorted their end, but you’ll still want to take care of a few things.
Here are some tips on how to set up your silent auction area for success:
- Set up a simple registration area where people arrive. Here you can capture details, hand out bidder numbers, and welcome guests.
- Set up an attractive item display area. Use a variety of heights and surfaces to add interest. Group your items by theme, cost, or item type. Give each item space to shine.
- Display essential information alongside the items. Create a simple card that covers the item name, a brief item description, item donor, and the starting bid. You could include the fair market value here, too, so people can see what a great deal they’re getting compared to the minimum bid.
- Create plenty of space between tables, items, and areas. Make sure there’s an easy route for people to take to avoid crowding. Give people enough space to view items, network, and place bids.
- Set up a dedicated area for handling payments from the highest bidders. If it’s a large auction, dedicate a whole team to this. Look into taking credit card payments if you can to speed up the process.
As well as setting things up, go over things one more time with your team. Host a team briefing before the event opens and let everyone know where they can find you if they need help.
7. Host the Event
Silent auction day is finally here and you’re super excited to get things started. With everything in place and your bidding system set up, it’s time to open the doors.
Here’s how to run your event on the day:
- Welcome your guests. Greet your attendees as they arrive and make sure they’re feeling happy, comfortable, confident, and ready to get bidding.
- Announce the start of the auction. Every auction needs a start and finish time, so announce yours with some atmosphere. Get your emcee to work their magic and hype people up about spending for a good cause.
- Network the crowd. Silent auctions are great as they give you plenty of time and space to network with your supporters.
- Support other areas of the event. If there’s entertainment going on or food to be served, check in regularly to make sure things are running smoothly.
- Close the auction. End the bidding process with a countdown, or keep the closing time a surprise until the last moment to encourage spontaneous bids.
- Call out the winning bids. Let everyone know who the winning bidders are and ask them to head to your team to process their payments.
With all the business taken care of, it’s time to thank everyone for coming and send them home with a cheery goodbye. Express your gratitude for coming to your charity fundraiser and wish them well.
8. Follow Up Afterwards
The event might have ended, but that doesn’t mean the conversation has to. Stay in touch with your event attendees afterwards with a warm thank you message.
Follow up with your guests with a short, sweet, and heartfelt thank you email after the event. Send this out to everyone whether they had a winning bid or not. Compose a message that’s full of gratitude, and personalize it before you hit send.
Want a way to really put a smile on your guests’ faces? Swap your thank you email for a personalized thank you video instead. Record a thank you message from your founder or weave in clips from your whole team saying thank you for coming to the event. Use our automated video platform to personalize your thank yous and whizz them off to your event attendees.
Ace Your Next Silent Auction
Silent auctions are a lot of fun. They’re a great way to gather people together to support your cause — plus, a bunch of people walk away with a great deal on an item or experience. Everybody wins.Follow our tips and you’ll soon be planning and hosting memorable silent auctions that your guests will rave about. Make the most of your donor engagement afterwards with a personalized thank you video — book a demo with our team to find out how it all works.