Nonprofits every day are moving away from old school, pen-and-paper bidding, toward automated software solutions. Online bidding puts guests in charge of their own auction experience: they can browse items from anywhere in the venue, place bids on their mobile devices, or find out what they’ve won—all without needing a volunteer’s help. Online bidding shifts… Read More »
Planning and executing an auction is hard work. There’s the venue, the guest list, the catering, the sponsors—the list goes on and on. There’s one big question we get from event directors every year: How can I make this easier on myself next time? That’s where the “self-driving” auction comes in. Managing hundreds of guest… Read More »
Are you a little anxious about adding mobile bidding to your fundraising event? Worried your guests won’t like it? Confused by all the options out there? Listen in as our partner Renee Jones helps you make sense of how mobile bidding can help you and when to use it (or not). This session was originally… Read More »
If you manage benefit auctions, finding the best way to communicate with bidders en masse at events is an important aspect of a successful event. How do we let them know the silent auction’s about to close if they’re in the bathroom and can’t hear the emcee? And trying let guests that you’ve extended the… Read More »
This is the fifth in a series of posts about running a successful fundraising event night, written by event service professionals. Event service professionals help troubleshoot technology, advise on using event software, and ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible at auctions. Professional event services consultants like me, working the front lines of fundraising events, have witnessed… Read More »
So, you’ve already done some of the heaviest lifting in adopting a new technology—you’ve sold your nonprofit’s board on online bidding, then you reached out to guests about how to use it, while adding great online bidding resources to your website. But there are some more considerations to keep in mind when making such a… Read More »
Online bidding is a trend here to stay in nonprofit fundraising—for good reason! Organizations who adopt online bidding report steep jumps in the quality of guests’ experience, and in their overall fundraising. Some nonprofits see bidding become much more competitive, because they’re able to extend silent auctions into dinnertime, and people start bidding before the… Read More »
Having outgrown both paper tools and PC software, Chaminade College Preparatory School needed better technology to move their fundraising to the next level. Chaminade is a Catholic day and resident school for young men in St. Louis, Missouri. Providing a well-rounded educational program, the school seeks to help each student develop his talents and discover… Read More »