Overcome Fundraising Auction Obstacles to Achieve Success

Tweet

 

Every fundraising auction starts with Day 1.  This day marks 90 days before your auction open date when you have that first auction committee meeting to divvy up tasks, strategize about the types of items you want, and get out there and start asking.  Everyone leaves that meeting thinking “This will be the best auction yet!” and hopes are high.  Fast forward to day 10…day 37….day 62….do you still feel the same way?  Or have you run across an auction (stumbling) block?  Here are three common problems and what you can do in your Day 1 meeting to avoid them.

1. Not enough volunteers: People are busy. Asking for auction items can be uncomfortable for some.  Unexpected life events happen.  And your team shrinks because of all this.  The solution – interns!  Unpaid internships are pretty common these days, and students are willing to take them because they are trying to get some experience on their resumes.  Sometimes their internships can earn them college credits which can save them thousands.  You can post your internship to www.idealist.org, Craigslist, or with the career center of your local community college.
2. Not enough items:  The solution to not having enough items is to know before Day 1 how many items you will need and to set expectations early enough. Let’s say your average selling price point in previous years has been $100, and your goal this year is $10,000.  That means you’ll need to sell at least 100 items to meet your goal.  Assuming you have a moderate sell rate (let’s say 75% of your catalog) that means you’ll need around 130 items to feel comfortable you’ll sell the 100 that you need to.  If 8 people show up for the first meeting and they’ll be bringing in 130 items, that’s an average of 16 or 17 items a person.  Half the battle is knowing that number up front.  If that’s been done, and you are still falling short, then check out our earlier blog post on top performing items, especially the parts on homegrown items and fund-a-need.
3. Not enough donors: Do you feel like your list of potential donors isn’t long enough?  That you don’t know enough people? The solution for this is easy – brainstorming!  Your contact list and network is usually much longer than people give themselves credit for.  Go through your Outlook contacts, personal email lists, and your LinkedIn profile, and have everyone on your committee do the same.  Think about where they work, or what their hobbies are.  Could your VP of Sales, who is an architect buff, donate a tour of downtown buildings?  Or, ask your committee to take note of every place they’ve purchased something from. The easiest way to do this is to collect business cards, menus, or something that has their name and contact information on it.  Then have them go back to ask for a donation.

And don’t forget, if you hit a dead end, your BiddingForGood Auction Expert is there to help!