Last week was the first part of our guide on how to run a silent auction. Here’s part 2:
Day of the silent auction
1. Set out bidding sheets – Set up tables around the outside of the room. Place the bidding sheets (attached to a clipboard) on the tables, along with a number of pens for each sheet. Also set up a sign for each item so people can easily find what items they wish to bid on – this should display both the item number and what the item is.
Consider mentioning the name of the donor on the sign, along with their logo if the item or service was donated by a company. This is another way of thanking the donor for their generosity.
2. Display items next to bidding sheets – Set out tangible items (like gift baskets, movie tickets, etc) on display next to their respective bidding sheets. For services (like helicopter trips, gardening, hotel stay, etc), try to display something anyway – perhaps a picture of the helicopter or hotel, as this will act as a visual draw.
3. Set up refreshments – If you’re running the silent auction as part of the evening fundraiser extravaganza, this will already be covered. If not, make sure there are snacks and beverages available for attendees.
4. Set up payment tables – At one end of the room (or perhaps a side room if there’s not enough space), set up three tables for people dealing with payments – one for checks, one for cash and one for credit cards.
Alternatively, if you’re expecting most payments to be made by credit card, set up two tables for that payment method and one table for people paying by cash or check.
5. Provide a lock box with cash – As you’ll probably have some people wanting to pay with cash, provide the volunteer on that payment table with a lock box that has different denominations of notes.
If you’ve set it up so that bids will be in multiples of 5s or 10s, there’s no need to have any $1 bills. Instead, have on hand some $5, $10 and $20 bills to provide change to successful bidders.
6. Larger silent auctions – If you have dozens of items for people to bid on, it may not be feasible to set out all of the bidding sheets at the same time. In that scenario, consider setting out half the bidding sheets initially, with the other half set out later during the auction once the bidding time on the initial items has ended.
Selecting which items to display initially can be done in one of two ways:
- Auction lower value items first – This means that the more expensive (and more exciting) items will be auctioned off later in the evening, encouraging people to stick around
- Auction items with different values – Some people may not wish to spend all evening at the silent auction though. By having higher value items available to bid on at the beginning in addition to lower value ones, you’ll be able to accommodate all of the auction attendees
If you’re not going to have all the items on display at the same time, ensure the bidding sheets and signs for the later items are organized so that they’re easy to set out as the evening goes on. Consider delegating this job to a volunteer whose sole responsibility is to set up the new items as the bidding time on previous items ends.
7. Set up a registration table – This is one of the most important parts of the preparation, as this will be where the attendees will be allocated a bidder number to identify themselves.
Print off a silent auction bidder registration form(s) that already has bidder numbers entered (see below for a free template you can download). This will make it easier for the registration table volunteers, as they’ll then only have to enter people’s names and contact details next to each number.
Here are a couple of ways to allocate bidder numbers:
- Random sequential numbers – This simply involves making a list of numbers in order, such as 201, 202, 203, etc. If you go with this option, also pre-prepare some sticky labels with the numbers already written down. The labels can then be given to each bidder as they register – this will save time and help the bidders remember their number
- Raffle tickets – Although you’re running an auction, raffle tickets can be perfect for allocating random bidder numbers. This has the added benefit of each bidder getting a ticket with their number on it, helping them remember what it is
Download a free silent auction bidder registration form.
Come back the next couple of weeks for part 3 and part 4 of how to run a silent auction, or check out part 1 here.
Question: What other planning and setting up needs to be done on the day of a silent auction? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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