5 Strategies for Hosting More Profitable Silent Auctions

It’s no secret—these past few years have been a rollercoaster for just about every sector, nonprofits included. Financial resilience has shifted from a nice-to-have to an absolute must, ensuring organizations not only survive but thrive in their ability to further their missions.

Part of becoming more financially resilient is hosting more effective, profitable fundraisers. Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do so. In this guide, we’ll explore how you can increase your success and revenue from a tried-and-true fundraising event: silent auctions.

By fine-tuning your approach to silent auctions, you can strengthen your organization’s financial foundations and keep delivering the impactful work that matters most. Let’s explore our top five strategies to boost silent auction profits.

1. Use mobile push notifications to spur bidding wars.

One of the first steps you should take to make your auction more profitable is to use a silent auction platform with mobile bidding capabilities. Mobile bidding is a game changer for silent auctions because it allows guests to bid on items from their smartphones, eliminating the need to constantly check back at the auction table. Another key benefit of mobile bidding is that you can give bidders automatic alerts via push notifications when they’re outbid on an item—leading to fast-paced bidding wars and ultimately higher bids.

Here’s how you can use push notifications to boost the revenue from your event:

• Send notifications to all interested bidders about a new bid or counteroffer from another guest.
• Notify guests when a bid exceeds a certain threshold or reaches a designated “hot” price.
• Notify guests when there is high interest in a particular item, indicating competition and potentially encouraging higher bids.
• Send personalized notifications to individual bidders when someone outbids them, encouraging them to increase their own bid to win.
• Offer exclusive discounts or bonuses for those who bid above a certain amount within a specified time frame.
• Implement a “last call” notification system for bidding, reminding potential buyers that time is running out and they could lose the opportunity to win their favorite items.

Ultimately, using mobile bidding software with push notifications makes auctions more profitable, enjoyable, and faster-paced. Plus, allowing guests to bid from the comfort of their tables (or even from home!) makes your event more accessible for guests who may not be able to constantly walk around the bidding floor to check on their items.

2. Solicit and offer high-value items or experiences.

Naturally, offering higher-priced auction items will lead to higher final bids and more funds for your nonprofit. Try to solicit a variety of high-value silent auction items that will appeal to your guests, such as:

• Concert tickets
• Artwork
• Airbnb or hotel stays
• Movie theater rental
• Fine dining experiences
• Streaming service baskets

As you search for the best items to offer, remember that your auction shouldn’t feature only highly-priced items since you want to cater to guests with different tastes and budgets. Try to strike a balance between item prices, and focus on the high-value items that you know guests will be interested in based on their interests or based upon the most popular items at your last auction.

3. Incorporate recurring giving.

Recurring giving is a great way to generate ongoing support for your nonprofit that lasts well beyond your auction. When planning your auction, consider offering recurring giving options for guests to sign up for. This can be in the form of a monthly donation or a quarterly or annual membership program. Not only will this provide consistent revenue for your organization, but it also allows guests to continue supporting your cause even after the auction is over.

While it may seem unorthodox, you can easily incorporate recurring giving into your silent auction options to boost fundraising revenue—especially if your silent auction is online.

For example, an animal charity might encourage guests to bid $25 per month to support dogs in need of medical care. This not only creates a sense of urgency during the auction but also motivates guests to continue supporting the cause on a regular basis. Additionally, offering recurring giving options can attract new donors who may not be able to afford a one-time large donation, but are willing to make smaller monthly contributions. Offering to pay for a membership on a recurring basis is another great approach.

4. Set different sponsorship levels.

Corporate sponsorships are extremely valuable to help cover parts of the auction and cut down on event costs, especially for auction items, catering, venue space, or advertising. Sponsorships can be more enticing for businesses than direct monetary donations, as they can provide them with exposure, potential business leads, and company reputation boosts.

To attract more sponsors to cover your costs and ultimately make your auction more profitable, consider offering tiered sponsorship packages with varying levels of benefits such as logo placement, social media mentions, or VIP access to the event. This not only adds value for the sponsor and encourages them to give more, but it also creates a sense of prestige for your event.

When setting corporate sponsorship levels, be sure to clearly outline what benefits each level includes and how much it costs. For example, you might create the following three tiers:

• Silver: For $500, the business receives logo placement on your event website and social media mentions.
• Gold: For $1,000, a sponsor gets logo placement on your event website and social media mentions, as well as a full-page advertisement in your event program.
• Platinum: If a sponsor is willing to give $2,500, they’ll receive all benefits of the Silver and Gold levels, plus VIP access to the event and logo placement on all of your event signage.

To find businesses who might be willing to sponsor your auction at higher levels, search through the data in your CRM about businesses you’ve worked with in the past. Also consider companies who provide services to you on an ongoing basis.Additionally, look for donors with connections to other businesses that may be interested in sponsoring your organization for the first time.

5. Promote matching gifts at the auction.

Highlighting matching gifts is a great way to increase the impact of donations without adding an extra cost to guests.

In essence, matching gifts are when a company agrees to match donations made by their employees to eligible nonprofits. This means that if an employee donates $20, their employer would donate $20 too, totaling $40 for your nonprofit. Many companies have matching gift programs in place, but often employees are not aware of them or do not know how to take advantage of them.

While auction item bids themselves can’t be matched by corporations, you can increase the revenue from your event simply by promoting matching gifts during the auction. During your event or on your online auction website, encourage attendees to check with their employers about matching gift programs and provide information on how they can easily submit a match request. Some guests are bound to want to give traditional donations in addition to bidding, making it the perfect time to highlight this opportunity.

When aiming to boost fundraising revenue, there’s no need to compromise on quality. These auction strategies focus on creating a positive experience for both guests and your organization. Don’t forget to highlight traditional one-time and recurring donations at your auction, too! Together, these methods can help your organization reach its fundraising goals and make a greater impact in your community.