Using Online Auctions To Raise Money For Charity

Auctions have long been a favorite tool of non profit organizations as well as individuals raising money for their friends battling illnesses such as cancer.  The fundraising auction is typically part of the evening’s entertainment with items donated by businesses and other donors. Bidders frantically trying to win not so much concerned about whether they are getting a bargain but with the purpose of contributing to the charity and of course getting something in return.  Fundraising auctions are very lucrative as well as being fun for the donors, so why not do them more often?

Challenges of ballroom auctions

Well, the short answer is that they take a lot of planning.  Fundraising events in elegant venues are a major challenge to put together from an organizational point of view.  Organizers have to start months in advance, selecting the location, creating a list of potential attendees, printing mailers, publishing to their website, advertising, contacting people by phone and using other grass roots methods of notifying their donor base.  Meanwhile they have to reach out to businesses in their community to find items to auction arrange for an auctioneer and pay an auctioneer show up for the event (unless they choose to do a silent auction).  As lucrative as fundraising auctions are, they are very hard to pull off, especially for the first time fundraiser who isn’t looking for a career in the fundraising business but is just trying to help out a friend with her medical bills.   One idea that might be better than a real-life live auction is a charity online auction.

What Are Charity Online Auctions

Online bidding platforms like Virtual Auction and Auctioncause are neat because they enable individuals and organizations to rapidly put together auctions online and will even help you auction off things like Bill Cosby’s sweaters (Super-Awesome!!!).

The benefit of these virtual auctions is that they can utilize audio and video streams to help create a sense of excitement for donors.  Bidders are able to view all donated lots online, input bids online in an exciting live format.  If they can not attend the live online auction then they can even put in a proxy bid prior to the auction so that the computer will bid for them.  Most important is the fact that through online auction software an individual can put together an auction in 1-2 days not 3-4 months! In other words, virtual auctions are to live auctions as a GiveForward online fundraser is to the traditional spaghetti dinner fundraiser – faster, easier and with a far wider geographic reach.