Why is a live charity auction the best fundraiser for your nonprofit? Let’s first look at some of the alternatives.

Anyone reading this is likely to have been involved in a fundraiser of some kind. Let me guess. Your son sold popcorn or your daughter sold cookies. You put miles on your car and spent your own money on gas. If he was “lucky” to sell a lot, he had to make a lot of deliveries. Or was it discount cards / books, bread, calendars, should I continue? What percentage of sales actually went to your nonprofit: 50%, 25% or less? Now take the number of volunteers and multiply it by the number of hours each spent on the fundraiser. If you counted all the volunteer hours and expenses, you will be lucky if you did not meet the expenses. How many weeks did it last? It felt like a long time, didn’t it? Did the people who bought the products learn anything about your nonprofit and the good things it does? Did you also know that, with cold calls and door-to-door sales; There are consumer protection laws that allow the buyer to terminate the contract, so what may look like a sale is not?

Let’s look at another form of fundraising. Marketing companies consider a direct mail campaign successful if it receives a response from just 0.25 – 1 percent of senders. Imagine sending 1,000 postage-paid full-color postcards that could cost $ 1 per piece sent, and if you have 25 respondents (0.25 percent), your campaign is considered truly successful. Please note that a reply is not considered a donation and your expenses are already $ 1,000 for every 1,000 senders.

What about cold calling? Of course, many people actually consider this to be a hassle. So much so that laws now exist to restrict cold calling. There is a national “do not call” list and some states even have their own stricter “do not call” lists. Even without the restricted leads, you need a trained professional and without that training your percentage rates could very well be lower than even a direct mail campaign.

So before you organize your next car wash and spend hours in the sun for a disappointing return, call a professional benefits auctioneer and let them help you plan a fun and lucrative charity event. A charity auction should be really enjoyable for your volunteers and guests and can sell a variety of donated items. One of the biggest benefits of a charity event is the information you can give your guests about your organization. They will leave knowing what your nonprofit is doing and what your money is going to support. This produces a sense of belonging to your cause. Of course, an organization can use many of these types of fundraisers, but a live auction event produces, without question, the highest return.

If the auctioneer you’ve chosen can’t help you plan your event to maximize your fundraiser, don’t give up. There are strategies to improve your next auction event, and there are professional benefits auctioneers who are dedicated to your success.