Category: Fundraising Events

Your live auction is often the most important aspect of your event in terms of the funds raised. Givergy’s event team are experienced in managing a live auction and will work with you to make sure each element of the live auction is planned to make the most of every opportunity.

Here our top tips for your live auction:

Choosing the right auction lots is the first thing to think about.
It is a unique item? Try to use items that money can’t buy for a live auction, i.e. a sold-out event.
Are there restrictions on the item? Try not to use items with a short expiry date.
Does the item have broad appeal? Try to use items that are going to appeal to a lot of people to increase the number of bidders to drive up the price.
Can you sell it twice? If you have multiple bidders sell the item twice & double your profits. Ensure your spotters and the Givergy team know this is a possibility so they are prepared.

The next most important element to consider if the number of items you will auction live. You want to ensure you raise lots of money but be mindful that if live auction goes on too long, guests can get bored which will ultimately end up in a disengaged audience – the last thing you want for a live auction! In our experience, the most effective live auctions have an absolute maximum of 5 items – in fact the most successful auctions we have experienced have 2-3 items!

There are various ways to make your live auction engaging and to keep the energy in the room high:

• Do you have any videos to accompany the auction lots?
• Do you have a celebrity guest who could help the auctioneer to generate bidding activity?
• Do you have any items that could be walked around the room?
• Could you use glow sticks as paddles? This will help locate your bidders too!

Your auctioneer is paramount to the success of your auction – read this article on Selecting and briefing your auctioneer

The timing is a key element of the live auction.  Do not start or finish your event with a live auction. Just after the main course is often a good place – at this point guests are into the swing of their great evening; they are feeling energised and ready to give. More advice on your running order can be found here: Live Event Running Order

Be prepared! Make sure your spotters are prepped & ready as they play a vital role in making sure your live auction runs smoothly & most importantly getting the winners details for payment. If guests feel their bids are not being seen, they can get frustrated and stop bidding so position your spotters around the room to help catch the eye of the auctioneer. Your Givergy team will be happy to assist to collect all the bids during the live auction, but it’s great to get volunteers involved too.

Have you ever thought about running a reverse auction? This can work effectively as it makes sure the whole room is paying attention. Here’s how it works:

• Choose an item that you are able to sell multiple times.
• The auctioneer will ask everyone in the room to stand, and then start the bidding low, asking guests to remain standing if they are still willing to pay the bid amount as it increases.

Hosting a fundraising event can be the pinnacle point of the year for a charity. Sometimes occurring just once every two years, event co-ordinators put blood, sweat, and tears into the extensive planning of each and every element of the evening. Its crucial that the event runs smoothly to ensure success.

Continue reading “5 Top Tips That Every Fundraising And Event Specialist Can Apply To Raise More At Events”

Event data holds the key to future fundraising success at your events. Whether your data takes the form of surveys, information collected through ticket purchases, or data captured via your silent auction technology provider, it can help you with discovering trends, understanding your demographic and satisfying future attendees which will ultimately help you raise even more!

Continue reading “3 Ways Your Event Data Can Help You Succeed At Your Next Event”

We have supported over 5,000 events across the UK, helping charities to raise as much as possible for their individual causes. Here are 5 of our recommended tried and tested event venues from across the UK that make the perfect setting to encourage maximum participation from guests!

Continue reading “5 Fundraising Friendly Event Venues In The UK”

Its important to implement change into you fundraising event especially if you’ve followed the same format for years and seen a decline in funds being raised.

Continue reading “Webinar Wrap-Up: Reinvent Your Fundraising Event”

Hitting a target at a fundraising event is never easy, and sometimes your guests need a little push. However, there is a method to the madness. With the right presentation coupled with the right technology, targets are made far more attainable and even over achievable!

Continue reading “5 Tips To Maximize Your Pledge Drive At Your Fundraising Event”

Holding a fundraising event is a big investment, and when done successfully it can have a huge impact on revenue. On that same note, when executed poorly, your fundraising event becomes a missed opportunity to raise a substantial amount more for your incredible cause!

Continue reading “Maximise ROI on your fundraising event with these 5 event planning tips”

In the past 12 months alone we have supported over 1,000 fundraising events for 800 causes and raised over £25 million for incredible causes, putting us in a good position to be dishing out a few fundraising hints and tips.

Continue reading “8 principles for making your fundraising event a success”