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Charity Auction

A charity auction can be a fundraising event on its own or you can have a charity auction as one of the entertainments at almost any other fundraising event. It's something different, often huge fun, and it can be a very effective fundraiser.

This charity auction information covers:

·          what sort of items you might auction

·          types of auction you can hold

What sort of items you might auction

You can auction off just about anything but the more that you can choose items which you know that those attending your event will be keen to have, the more competitive the bidding, and the more funds you can expect to raise.

This doesn't mean you have acquire expensive items. A sports club for young people, for example, might persuade a local sporting hero to donate a piece of kit, or to sign a football. Or you might get a local restaurant to donate a free Sunday dinner; or a local beauty parlour to donate a free manicure.  And if you've a couple of willing volunteers, you could auction them off as "slaves for the day" to clean cars, or cut grass, or something similar.

With the popularity of car boot sales, an auction of similar bric-a-brac could be successful if members of your group have items to donate. Or you could make a one-off T-shirt or a mousemat or a bag specially commemorating your activities; and auction that. 
 

Types of auction you can hold

Conventional auction: There's an auctioneer, people bid by catching his or her eye, and the highest bidder is successful with the auctioneer first calling "going, going, gone", and striking the table with a gavel.

You need someone who can be a good auctioneer with all the patter, able to encourage bidding, and to turn hesitation into a firm bid.

Silent auction: You have a box with a slotted lid, and bidding slips, by each item. Anyone who wants to bid writes their name on the slip and the amount of their bid, and puts it in the box. At the end of the auction, the boxes are opened and the highest bidder for each item is successful.

As no-one bidding has any idea of what anyone else is bidding, the theory is that greater amounts will be bid than at a conventional auction. If you expect your items to be highly sought-after, then a silent auction might be a good idea though you don't have the same fun as at a conventional auction.  Click here to buy your bid box 

Raffola auction: A cross between a raffle and a tombola, this can be a great idea if you want everyone to have a chance of securing their chosen item even if they haven't much money to bid. Children can easily join in too.

You have a box with a slotted lid by each item and perhaps a raffle drum (with its hatch open) by the star item. You sell cloakroom tickets at a set amount per ticket or page of tickets which could be as little as 10p a ticket if you wanted. People can buy as many tickets as they like. You must give them both halves to the ticket.

To bid, they tear off one half of a ticket and put it in the box by the item. They can put in just the one ticket or as many as they like. At the end of the auction, a single ticket is drawn out of the box and whoever owns that ticket gets the item. However many tickets someone might bid, it comes down to the luck of the draw.

Dutch auction: Not the e-bay version! The traditional Dutch auction was used for selling tulips because it's quick, since a sale never requires more than one bid.

What happens is that you set an initial high asking price and a minimum price. The auctioneer begins with the high asking price; and if no-one accepts that asking price the auctioneer then offers a lower price. If no-one accepts the lower price, the auctioneer brings down the asking price again and again until either someone accepts the auctioneer's price, or the minimum price is reached and someone accepts that.

This type of auction might be a good idea if you've a lots of items to auction, but don't want the auction to go on for long. If the items you are auctioneering are likely to be sought after, then you may get close to the high asking price. With less popular items, you might only get the minimum price you have set.