Human psychology factors into fundraising auctions in many ways.The fear of loss propels a bidder to bid. Smart pricing strategies in a raffle influence how many tickets will be sold. Properly structured silent auction bid sheets generate 10% to 30% higher sales. Well-written auction donation request letters secure more "yes" responses than "no" responses. Using a proper method to properly close a silent auction generates higher sales on the most popular items. (E.G. Create an ... Read On >
Silent Auctions
Kendra Scott: An easy jewelry donation for many nonprofits
If a Kendra Scott jewelry store is in your area, call the community / charity relations contact in your local store. For the last two years, my clients have received generous donations from the retailer via its "Kendra Gives Back" program.Frankly, I haven't seen this kind of generosity since Keurig hit the market several years ago.Do you remember that? Not so long ago, every auction I worked had at least one Keurig coffee system in its silent auction. It was often accompanied by a ... Read On >
New idea for your silent auction or raffle: Surprise Box
I want to share a new idea for silent auctions or raffles.Let's kick it off with a related story.============================Many years ago, one of my clients was annoyed.She oversaw the fundraising for the local chapter of a national nonprofit. The national management team had recommended she and other fundraisers working in major cities change the model of their silent auction.This new silent auction model was based on the success another major metropolitan area had ... Read On >
Five best free stock photography sites for live & silent auction displays
Last week I wrote about being busted by the photo police for illegally using a photograph on my website.A portion of that blog was devoted to sharing sites whereby auction planners could secure free stock photography for live and silent auction displays.To make it easier to find the sites, I've re-posted the list below.=============================== Here are my 5 best free stock photography sites for gala auction planners. This is where you can secure legal images to use in your ... Read On >
Busted! Be wary of images used in fundraising auction displays
In the summer of 2015, the nonprofit division of Venable law published "Busted: Nonprofits Will Have to Pay the Photography Piper." The article itself is short and worth reading, but here's the synopsis. For many years, nonprofits have pulled images from the internet and used them in their publications or websites.Until recently, software didn't exist to make it easy for photographers and their agents to track down these copyrighted images. Now the software exists, and nonprofits are ... Read On >