Your charity auction software is one of the most important investments that you’ll make. But are you taking full advantage of this investment? Can it support in-person, virtual, and hybrid events? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To ensure you\u2019re leveraging your charity auction solution to the best of its ability, it\u2019s worth it to do your research\u2014and you\u2019re in the right place! This guide will walk you through why auction software is so important and offer actionable tips to take your own auction events to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before you dive into how you can get the most out of your charity auction software you need to invest in the best solution for your organization. Explore<\/em> our <\/em>2021 updated auction software buyer’s guide to get started<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With charity auction software, you get rid of the hassle of paper bid sheets and offer a streamlined experience for both attendees and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your auction software should provide features like easy event setup and registration, real-time bidding with a mobile or web-based interface<\/a>, outbid notifications so attendees can stay on top of their coveted items, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, your auction solution should offer these top benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To reap these benefits, you’ll need to leverage your auction software<\/a> smartly. Keep reading to explore our top ways to get more out of your solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you know that donations made on a branded donation form are, on average, 38% larger<\/a> than gifts made through a generic PayPal page? <\/p>\n\n\n\n With your auction software, you should have the full ability to set up your event in a way that represents your organization\u2019s brand effectively, supports your mission, and promotes the auction to entice registrations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You should be able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you’re setting up your auction event website, don’t skip out on your branding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past year, virtual and hybrid events have been skyrocketing in popularity\u2014 and for good reason too! They bring your organization benefits like opening up your audience beyond people who live in the neighborhood or have the means to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to add virtual elements to an event and create a hybrid experience\u2014 with the right auction software and tools, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider embedding a livestream video<\/a> right into your auction page! This way, you can open your auction entertainment to any at-home guests and altogether create a more engaging experience to actively encourage bids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To increase both fundraising, brand awareness, and engagement with your supporters, consider building a virtual store to go alongside your charitable auction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure you have eCommerce capabilities so you can set up a virtual store with just a couple of clicks. You might use your virtual store to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding an extra revenue stream can only help your fundraising efforts. With a virtual store, attendees can purchase items no matter where they are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s imagine you\u2019re hosting a charitable auction and you\u2019re $200 from your overall fundraising goal. But the event momentum has died down, and the volume of incoming bids and gifts is slowing. You then make an announcement that you only need four more donations of $50 to successfully reach your target. This call to action inspires your event participants to reach in their wallets to donate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When supporters see just how close they are to reaching an achievement, they are much<\/em> more motivated to actually help. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Use your charitable auction solution to display fundraising progress and provide live updates of your event right on your auction page. You might embed a Fundraising Hub that displays:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a correlation between showing fundraising progress and reaching fundraising goals. Make sure to display this within your auction platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To increase your fundraising revenue, instead of only offering items for supporters to bid on, you might also offer Fund-a-Need items. These are items or services your nonprofit needs that supporters will \u201cbuy\u201d to fund that specific need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You won’t need extra tools to incorporate Fund-a-Need options in your auction. Use the auction platform to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Above is an example of how your auction bidders can choose to fill a backpack and fund a need instead of bidding on an item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to successful charity auction software, having an optimized and streamlined registration process is crucial. After all, this is the first touch point for potential attendees, so it\u2019s worth it to make a good first impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with ensuring that guests can pay with their preferred payment and offering varied ticketing options, you should also incorporate sharing tools for registrants. As soon as they sign up, attendees can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure that registrants can sign up and pay in the way they want. When everyone has an easier and convenient experience, they\u2019re much more likely to complete their registration and share it with others who might be interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We mentioned how important it is for your charity auction solution to provide both app and web-based bidding. This way attendees can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only is it more convenient for guests, but offering flexible digital bidding options also allows you to gather valuable donor data that can improve future auctions. For instance, you might find that mobile bidding was more heavily used than other types of bidding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to effective and reliable charity auction software, the ability to customize your event to match your mission and audience needs is critical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most import areas to customize in order to benefit your nonprofit is your form fields.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/strong>From registering for the event, to completing auction checkout to receive the items they\u2019ve won, there are a number of forms your charity auction might offer attendees. Taking the time to streamline this process as much as possible is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, you can use custom fields to ask additional questions that can customize the auction experience. Within your registration form you might add fields for participants to select meal\/drink options or to offer custom group packages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on your solution, you might even be able to offer conditional fields<\/a><\/strong>. These allow your form fields to adapt to situations with conditional logic, providing a truly customized experience for each registrant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Curious about how you can leverage conditional fields? <\/em>Explore our dedicated guide here!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to charity auction events, the majority of your funds will likely come from registration fees, concession purchases, and bids on your auction items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An easy way to add another revenue stream to this event is to allow anyone to donate.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t limit gifts to just those who registered for the event. Within your auction site, embed a donation form<\/a> right into the page. This not only captures attention right when supporters are inspired, but empowers those who can\u2019t actually participate in your auction to still support your mission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One major challenge that can impede the value of your auction software<\/a> is getting the average person familiar with it. If auction attendees can\u2019t figure out how to navigate your mobile app or web platform and bid easily, then your investment in this solution is moot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why we suggest offering auction guests an interactive software tour before the actual event day! This software tour can guide them through participation via both the mobile and web-based options to ensure attendees can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, when the big day comes, supporters can start bidding as soon as they want!<\/p>\n\n\n\n An easy way to build excitement for your charity auction event is to release the auction items before the big day. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This way, attendees can explore what they can bid on and make an action plan if they know exactly what they want. You can even tease certain prized items on your social media feeds to incentivize others to sign up! You never know what item your followers will be interested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From there, participants can build item watch lists within your bidding platform. Then, if a bid is placed on one of their watched items, they\u2019ll receive a notification and can quickly make their own bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Encourage item watch lists by sending out an email prompting attendees before the event. Make sure to segment your donor list so that you only reach out to those who have already registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one likes registering for an auction to bid on a specific item and waiting until the big day just to get outbid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure that attendees can keep a close eye on the auction items they want to win, encourage them to opt into push notifications if participating from the mobile app. This will send a real-time notification to the attendee\u2019s device as soon as it is needed. Push notifications can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Encourage item watch lists by sending out an email prompting attendees to make one before the event. Make sure to segment your donor list so that you only reach out to those who have already registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether on a mobile device or their home computer, participants will love the convenience of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With charity auction software, you can ensure that the entire event experience is as streamlined as possible, from checking in for the event to paying for auction items at the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your constituent relationship management (CRM) system is the place where all your important nonprofit and fundraising data live. When you integrate your auction software with your CRM, you can ensure that your form data, auction communications, and attendee information is stored safely and securely in a centralized database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This streamlines the following processes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Explore Qgiv\u2019s different integrations<\/a> to ensure that your charity auction software can easily send data to your other fundraising tools effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take your fundraising auctions to the next level with dedicated and comprehensive charity auction software. Make sure you’re leveraging all of its benefits and taking advantage of all features to increase your fundraising and develop important donor relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To continue your research and ensure your next auction goes off without a hitch, here are some additional resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want help planning your auction? Download one of our Qgiv auction planners:<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy is Charity Auction Software Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
14 Ways To Get More Out of Your Charity Auction Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_brand.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n1. Brand your auction site <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_livestream.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n2. Embed a livestream video on your auction page <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_store.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n3. Build a virtual store<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_sponsorship-package.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_progress.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n4. Show fundraising progress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_fundraising-thermometer.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_fund-a-need.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n5. Add Fund-a-Need items <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_fund-a-need-example.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_sharing.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n6. Use sharing tools to increase registrations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_flexible-bidding.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n7. Allow flexible bidding options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_mobile-and-web-bidding.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_custom.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n8. Customize your fields<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_donate.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n9. Allow anyone to donate <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_tour.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n10. Provide guests with an auction software tour <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_lists.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n11. Ask participants to build item watch lists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_notifications.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n12. Encourage push notifications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_online.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n13. Allow both check-in and payments to be online<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_online-check-in-and-out.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Make](\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/charity-auction-software_integrate.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n14. Integrate your auction software and CRM <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n