Group small items together at a silent auction.
Participants in a silent auction write their bids for an item on a sheet of paper. At the end of the auction, the person who wrote the highest bid wins the item. A silent auction is perfect for fundraisers because you can auction many items at the same time, people can bid somewhat anonymously and you don't need an auctioneer. Once you have accumulated enough items for your auction, you need to set up your tables, prepare your bid sheets and assign numbers to your bidders.
Instructions
1. Create an inventory of all the items you have for auction, either in a notebook or on a computer spreadsheet. If some auction items are too small to stand on their own, group them together. For instance, consider combining some beauty products together and calling it a "beauty package," or group some art supplies and paper together and call it a "Kids craft basket." Once you have your items grouped and inventoried, you'll know how many bid sheets you'll need. Plan on one bid sheet for each item.
2. Create a display area for the auction items. You can make your display area as plain or fancy as you like -- a row of skirted tables, a stretch of counter space -- whatever best suits your event. Be sure there is enough room around each item so you can place a bid sheet and pen with it. If the items are placed too close together, they will appear cluttered and people may not bid on them. You can cluster your items in one place or spread them out throughout your event. If you do spread them out, be sure to let attendees know that auction items are located in multiple places so they aren't missed.
3. Determine whether you should assign each bidder a number. You have to know your audience when deciding whether to have people write their names down on the bid sheets when placing a bid, or whether you should assign them numbers to write on the sheets. The point is to choose whichever method encourages more bidding. With some groups, seeing other bidders' names sparks a friendly competition and encourages "bidding wars." With other groups, if people see that another bidder's name, they may be reluctant to bid because they don't want to "steal the item away" from the initial bidder. Be sure to keep a master list of who is assigned which number in case the bidder forgets. Distribute the numbers to the bidders on a slip of paper, or just tell them.
4. Create a bid sheet for each item. The bid sheet should include the name of the item and a brief description, who donated it, the item's value, a starting bid amount, an increment amount and finally, lines for people to write their names or assigned numbers and their bids.
5. Set a minimum bid and increments for each item. Starting bids kick off the auctioning and should reflect a percentage of the item's total value. You want to make the starting bid low enough that it encourages multiple bids, which is the fun of the auction. For something like a gift card that has a definite value, start bids at 50 percent of the gift card's value. For something like a tangible good or service where the value may be a little more subjective, set the minimum bid at 20 percent of the value. Listing incremental bids makes the math of bidding easy for bidders by indicating how much more each progressive bid must be. For example, if the item is a framed picture with a retail value of $100, set the minimum bid at $20 and the increments $10. Your first bid will be $20 and each successive bid will increase by $10.
