10 Game Changing Tips for a Successful

Online Auction

Brian D’Angelo

Marketing and Sales Operations Manager

Who Is BiddingForGood?

The undisputed leader in fundraising auctions and events

for organizations of every size and shape.

• Founded in 2003

• Over 31,000 auctions/events run

• Raised over $340 million and counting…

• Works with all types of schools and non-profits

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Health Education Arts, Culture, & Humanities

Media Community Service

Corporate

Charities we have worked with

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Auctions Tap A Different Pool Of $$

• Supporters have a specific budget that they tap

to give charitable donations

• Auctions tap household

discretionary spending:

- Sports tickets

- Theater tickets

- Restaurant certificates

- Travel: all come out of

a household/gift budget…

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It’s All About…

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Online Means More Bidders

Invite your ENTIRE community to your auction

• Think outside of the attendees at your event, or your usual donor pool

• Take advantage of email lists, mailing lists, and social networks to drive

traffic to your auction and attract more bidders

• Attracting new bidders to your auction helps build your donor list

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The Anytime, Anywhere Fundraiser

A fundraising auction that allows bidders

to bid on any device from anywhere.

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• Online

• At school events

• At galas

• At golf tournaments

• In stadiums

Several Ways To Run Your Event

The BiddingForGood platform is flexible

Event

Details

Tickets

Social

Sharing

Your

Brand

Tell Your StoryAccept

Donations

Track

progress

It’s Easier than You Think to Build Your Event WebsiteOur template-based system enables you to have an event homepage up in under an hour.

Fully integrated event management

We’re helping our clients raise more money and

we’re minimizing the work and the stress to do it.

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Live Event Features

Ticketing

Table seating

Streamlined registration/checkout

Mobile Bidding

Leaderboard

Quick sale

More relaxed auction committees

Sell Tickets Online

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Table Seating

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Our table seating tool helps you to plan your room layout with ease

Our drag and drop tool allows you to seat your guests and arrange your space before your event

Smartphones are Replacing Bid Sheets

Streamlined registration, bidding, and checkout

When you power your silent auction with mobile

bidding, our platform collects and stores all bids

and bidder information, alleviating several silent

auction woes.

What takes the place of clipboards?

Any smartphone or tablet, laptops

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Traditional silent auction = crowds

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How bidding works at the event

• It’s a mobile version of our site

• Day of event registration –

guests receive text message

with auction url

• Let the bidding begin

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A Better Bidder Experience

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Before the event

• Register to bid

• View catalog online

After the event

• Payments processed

• Go home happy!

During the event

• Receive outbid alerts

• Bid competitively without

interrupting the party

Encourage more bidding

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5 MINS

LEFT TO

BID!

YOU HAVE

BEEN

OUT BID

Outbid Alerts Max Bids Bid Extension

PLACE

MAX BID

First timers mobile checklist

Connectivity assessment

Spread the word that you’re doing mobile

Guests, board, volunteers etc.

Train your volunteers and your auctioneer

Set up bidding kiosks

Have charging station

Get ready for some fun

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Leaderboards keeps guests engaged

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• Promote sponsors

• Show auction progress and highlight featured items

• Thank donors & volunteers

Quick sale feature

With our point of sale system, you can roll all

transactions from your event into our system.

• Tickets

• Silent and live auction items

• Raffles

• Paddle-up

• Buy now

Tip #1 – Plan and set goals

• Develop plan for event and fundraising

• What are financial goals?

• What are fundraising tactics to use?

• Create a budget

• Review last year’s fundraising and assess

• Teams, sponsors, budget, reaching goals,

speakers, program, and more

• Give yourself time, get ahead of it all

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Tip #2 – Build the right team

• Select the ‘right’ staff/volunteers to truly

help

• Commitment

• Match up the right people to the right role

• ‘Core’ start to finish team

• Day of/day before teams with specific tasks

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Tip #3 – Find the right venue

• Select a place that fits your needs

• Begin searching early for more options

• Keep dates in mind

• Price range

• Equipment requirements

• Wifi Connectivity assessment

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Tip #4 – Your catalog = Your success

• Match the items to your audience

• What will appeal to them?

• What unique experiences will they like?

• Fun ‘packages’

• Determine businesses to target for ‘asks’

• Allow at least 3 months to solicit and

procure items and sponsors

• Track it all

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Tip #5 – Promote, non-stop

• Clear messaging on your site & social media

• Maximize all lists

• Get out and spread the word

• Signage, high traffic areas, newspapers/radio,

press releases

• If you have the resources, utilize a designer

• As it approaches, feature items or impact

stories to create buzz

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Tip #6 – Sell tickets online

• Easy to use for ticket purchase

• Helps save you time and effort

• Gets everyone registered to bid!

• Makes checkout easier

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Tip #7 – Preview/open auction ahead of event

• Let everyone see your items before the

event for excitement and ‘shopping’

• Use it as a promotion tool

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Tip #8 – Organization will save you

• Create day-before and day-of scheduled with timing

and tasks

• Create packing list

• Assign all tasks to individuals/teams

• Triple check with venue for equipment, floor plan,

timing, catering, etc

• Share with entire team, internally and external as well

• Have a close out/fulfillment plan. End of night can be

hectic

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Tip #9 – Create a recap document

• Wait a few days, but recap it all for next year

• Whether you’re in charge next year or passing

off, they’ll be thankful

• Will help make next year’s planning easier

with learnings will it’s still fresh

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Tip #10 – Maximize your subscription

• Run a remnant auction

• Turn your auction page into a store for

other fundraising

• Golf tournament, holiday auctions, strictly

online auctions

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Bonus tip – Take care of yourself

• The organization and planning is your best

gift to you but keep yourself in balance

• Eat and hydrate

• Delegate

• Show appreciation

• Be proud of a job well done!

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We’re Here To Help…

Support Options

• Email and phone

• Knowledgebase

• Planning center with videos, tutorials, webinars and checklists

How We Help You Raise More Money

• Include more bidders from your community

• Get more items with tools to request more item donations and manage

volunteers

• Use mobile bidding at your event for a better bidder experience and

more participation

• Sell sponsorships

• Collect cash donations online

• Sell tickets online

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“I found that the cost to run a BiddingForGood

auction is greatly outweighed by the benefits they

provide. My auction will generate more revenue

than it ever has before....

I highly recommend this program for anyone

currently running an online auction or those

considering it for the first time.”

-Junior Achievement of Akron Area

Happy Fundraising!

No one has more experience than we do in helping nonprofits

and schools raise money at their fundraising events.

Our complete, end-to-end event management solution offers our customers an

increased opportunity to raise more money and include more of their community

in bidding on their auctions

Our customers tell us that they raise more money from successful online

auctions and events with happy bidders, less frazzled staff, and an expanded

community supporting their cause.

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