How to add a silent auction at your next Fundraiser for fun and profit

Silent auctions are often combined with other fundraising events such as craft fairs, choir and band concerts and banquets. Whenever a large group of people together for an event, indoors or out, you can probably have a silent auction and raise funds for the organization or charity.

Silent auctions are so called because there is an auctioneer keeps alive the auction. Instead, the items to be auctioned are on display with a bid sheet for each item. The auction goers bid by writing their bid amount on paper. At the end of the auction, all bid sheets are collected and the bidder pays for the item of the auction.

The opening and minimum bids are generally predetermined. Bidding starts usually one half of the retail price of the product. It 'a good idea to set minimum bid increments so that people do not just raise their bids for five cents each time. The highest value of the dollar increase shall be the greater of the item offered. For example, if you are auctioning a pair of tickets worth $ 500 you should start the bidding at $ 250 with bid increments set at $ 10.00. If you have a gift certificate for $ 40.00 to a hair salon you should start the bidding at $ 20.00, an increase of $ 1.00.

Most of the time for the silent auction items are donated by members of your organization or by businesses. When the auction items donated to the organization will be ready to collect one hundred percent of the money for the item sells. You can also use donations of money and buy items for the silent auction but make sure it continues to make a profit if you buy items. Gift certificates from local businesses are the most popular items for the silent auction. Companies obtaining a tax benefit write-offs and the potential for a new customer when they donate to your auction.

You can hold a silent auction with lots of items for the gift, or you may also have a silent auction when you have only one item to auction. Depending on the case, airline tickets set forth above may be used alone as a silent auction.

You can also get creative with the rods and have a theme. For example, you can create themed gift baskets with items that you receive. Baskets can be filled with an assortment of coordination. Some themes are possibilities for lovers of chocolate, coffee and tea lovers, bath and body, gardening, candles, and sports. Of course, this requires more work by volunteers in preparation for auction.

Some things to remember when you hold a silent auction are the following:

Make sure that your items are displayed attractive and that people have enough room to gather around the display tables.

Have volunteers on hand to help bidders and keep an eye on the elements to prevent theft (unfortunately, sometimes occurs).

If you have auction items as well make sure the expiration date gives the buyer a reasonable time to use the certificate.

Announcing the end of the race and let the people have a better chance to bid.

When the race ended leaving yourself enough time to collect the offerings, the money and hand out items. People are usually ready to leave at the end of an event and do not want to wait for an hour to receive their voice.

Always remember to thank the donors and give them a receipt for tax purposes .......