How to Host a Successful Fundraising Auction

 

The Anatomy of a Successful Fundraising Auction: A Practical Guide

Let’s be honest—planning a fundraising auction is no small feat. It takes strategy, buy-in, and stamina. As someone deeply passionate about helping nonprofits succeed in this space, I want to share what I’ve learned—hard-earned advice, smart planning tips, and pitfalls to avoid—so your next auction is not just fun, but wildly effective. Whether you’re a board member, staffer, or volunteer, these insights will help you raise more money and leave your guests wanting more.

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1. Start with Goal-Centric Preparation

Before dreaming up themes and entertainment, you need to ground your planning in your fundraising goal.

Board Buy-In is Non-Negotiable

Your board should be responsible for 90% of the fundraising. That means:

  • Purchasing and filling at least one table each with guests who can give.
  • Having 2–3 members pledge their annual donation publicly during the event.
  • Tapping into their commercial networks for sponsors, matches, or auction item donations.

Be Realistic with Your Goal

Estimate your goal based on board commitments and guest capacity. Remember, most people arrive with a donation number in mind—and it’s often less than you hope.

Your job?

  1. Showcase your impact so guests feel inspired to give.
  2. Create an amazing experience that makes them want to give more.

That means planning not just for entertainment and prizes, but also for seamless donation logistics and guest engagement.

2. Choose Your Fundraising Avenues Wisely

Don’t try to do everything your first year. Pick 3–4 solid fundraising components and build from there annually. I go in-depth below, but here are some tried-and-true options:

  • Ticket Sales: 90% should come from board networks. Public sales rarely move the needle.
  • Silent Auction: High effort, decent return. Needs strong procurement and good bidding infrastructure.
  • Live Auction: Showcase high-value experiences—vacations, unique dinners, or behind-the-scenes tours.
  • Raise the Paddle: Your biggest moneymaker. Do this after your keynote and use a match if you have one.
  • Dessert Dash: A chaotic, fun crowd-pleaser (but takes serious prep).
  • Drink Tray Auction: A great warm-up with donated cocktails for highest-bidding tables.
  • Raffle: Only works if the prize is outstanding—think airfare or a luxury getaway. Keep it flashy and limited.
  • Heads or Tails: Not a money-maker, but a fun perk for raffle participants.
  • Wine Pull: A low-risk, low-effort way to raise funds with donated wine (and a sprinkle of luck).

3. Plan the Party

Logistics matter. Here’s what to consider:

Venue

Pick a spot based on size, budget, location, access, and vibe. Does it match your theme or your nonprofit’s mission?

Food & Drink

Feed people well. If alcohol isn’t free, offer welcome drinks or drink tickets. And always include a cocktail hour.

Volunteers

You’ll need them before and during the event—for procurement, setup, check-in, item distribution, and more.

Donations & Procurement

Be clear about what you need: auction items, desserts, raffle prizes, wine, etc. Assign specific asks to board members or volunteers and follow up often.

Theme & Décor

Don’t overdo it. Pick a theme that fits your org or venue, but don’t let it distract your team from actual fundraising.

Keynote or Entertainment

You need at least a keynote speaker. The best ones combine leadership with client impact stories. Entertainment can elevate the vibe—but it’s optional.

Emcee or Auctioneer

A strong auctioneer pays for themselves. They keep energy up and encourage giving. Don’t cheap out here if you can help it.

Printed Materials

From catalogs to signage to bid paddles, your print needs depend on your event components. Plan ahead and prep backups.

4. Take Donations the Smart Way

Your donation software should ideally handle everything:

  • Ticketing
  • Credit card pre-registration
  • Bidder numbers
  • Auction catalog
  • Silent auction bidding

Avoid juggling multiple platforms. And skip the paper-checkout chaos at the end. Instead:

  • Register cards at check-in with payment agreements.
  • Let guests see a summary before final charges.
  • Consider QR codes for silent auctions (but pen-and-paper can still drive up bidding).

5. Staff Up with Volunteers

For those who can’t give money, giving time is golden. Target them in your invites, and take care of them:

  • Give clear, simple instructions.
  • Offer training time before shift starts.
  • Never assign the lead organizer a fixed role.
  • And yes—feed them!

Volunteer Roles May Include:

  • Cataloging donations
  • Setup and décor
  • Check-in and checkout
  • Raffle or wine pull helpers
  • Emcee support
  • Auction runner or A/V tech
  • Impact speakers or entertainers
  • Prize distribution

Final Thoughts

A successful fundraising auction doesn’t just happen—it’s the result of thoughtful planning, passionate people, and a laser focus on your financial goals. Start small, grow intentionally, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

You’ve got this.

And a deeper dive on the different fundraising components:

Ticket Sales

As said before, 90% of the onus is on the board. There should be pressure for each board member to fill a table (or ticket sale quota) from their own network or from the donors that they have a hand in cultivating (such as your major donors).  They should also send personal invites to your major donors, simply to buy tickets and attend.

You should only count on about 10% of ticket sales to be generated from public pushes to your donors/customers/clients. You should still perform outreach to them, especially to spread word of mouth and hype about the event, but do not expect a windfall of ticket sales from general outreach.

Silent Auction

These seem easy – but require a lot of work. First, you have to procure items to sell.  This works best in one of two ways: A committee of volunteers needs to be equipped with donation forms, verbiage, and a list of businesses to reach out to for donations. If your nonprofit’s constituents create art or experiences, have them create the items to auction.

Second, you have to have a way for people to easily “buy” the item. You’ll want paper forms or the use of a digital auction app.  Either way, you’ll need people to register a payment method upon check-in.  Read more about ways to physically take donations below.

Live Auction

USE A FUNDRAISING AUCTIONEER

I’ve seen live auctions of 5 items, and I’ve seen live auctions of 25 items.  It totally depends on your guest count, quality of items, and timeline/flow of the evening.

Types of items typically include: Vacations (Vacation homes, timeshare weeks or hotels), Tours & Experiences, Gift certificate for a fine dining experience, an experience created by a board member’s expertise (such as hosting a private 8-course meal; giving a ride in their 2-seat airplane, behind-the-scenes tour of somewhere they have access to, etc), or a Wine Crate (ie. All board members donate 2 nice bottles to the cause).

Raise the Paddle

Here’s where your “plants” do their heavy hitting.  Your 2-3 board members sharing their annual giving to the nonprofit publicly.  If you have secured a match, here’s where to use it.

This should be the LAST thing you do, preferably right after your keynote speech or performance, so that people feel most inclined to donate (especially if they’ve already hit their limit in their minds). If you do the raise the paddle before or during your live auction items, people may be hesitant to raise their paddle “in case” they win a live auction items that they have their eyes on.  But if they don’t win that item later, you’ve lost that donation completely because they can’t shift that “ideal donation” to the Raise the Paddle.

Determine your tiers or donations. There should be your highest pledged amount, 2-3 mid-tiers, and then a low amount that everyone should be able to do. Example:

  • $2500
  • $1000
  • $250
  • $100
  • $50

If a company has pledged to match up to $2500, leverage that to get more bids at a tier. For example:

  • $2500
  • $1000
  • $250
  • $100 <– “our sponsor has pledged to match the first 25 people who will raise the paddle at $100! That’s up to a $2500 match, but we can’t do it without 25 of you!”
  • $50

Board members should also have prepared their guests for the raise the paddle, or any kind of contribution. At time of invitation, I let my guests know that this is a fundraising event for a cause that I care deeply about, and they should be prepared to donate.  I tell them to come with an amount in mind, and that if they don’t donate that through the auction or raffle, they should raise their paddle.

Drink Tray Auction

This can be a fund way for local restaurants/bars to donate to your cause in a low-cost way, and a fun way to get your tables in a jolly mood.

Local places donate a signature cocktail (providing the ingredients, specialty glassware if applicable, and the recipe; enough for the max table size that you have).

Bartenders prep the drinks in time for the auction, and the table with the highest live bid gets to drink it, right then and there!

Dessert Dash

This is another table-bidding game, and is very fun, but requires a lot of prep.

You need to have donated one dessert for every table (typically a cake…though I have seen a pyramid of Twinkies!). If you have 20 tables, that’s 20 desserts.

The table has a card on it – and each person at the table donated/pledges a certain amount on it (with their bid card number, so that you can charge them later). The table adds up the sum, hands it to a volunteer, and each table is then ranked (secretly) highest to lowest.  Later, when it’s time for the dash, the host reads out the highest table donation – someone from that table RUNS to the dessert dash, picks a dessert, and comes back to the table with it (the service staff has dropped dessert plates, cutting knives and forks already).  Play continues from highest bid to lowest, overlapping so that it truly becomes a “dash” for the dessert that the table wants.

Raffle

The key here is that it’s an amazing prize, preferably donated by a sponsor. Examples are round trip airfare to anywhere, a cruise, or an exotic vacation.  If you don’t have an amazing prize, I’ve seen this done well as a “free choice of one live auction item.”

This has a high price tag – such as $100 per entry. There’s also a ticket limit, such as “only 50 tickets” or “only 100 tickets”.  You should set your limit based on your guest count and your fundraising goal.  For example, if you only have 100 guests, it’s unrealistic that you’d sell a $100 ticket to every person….so your limited ticket number might be 50.

Make it flashy. Give it a fun name, like “Golden Ticket”.  Give each guest something wearable to indicate to others that they bought a ticket.  Great examples are leis, feather boas, flashing rings, or beaded necklaces.  Everyone who buys a ticket enters a drawing that happens at the end of the live auction.

Advertise the entry into “heads or tails” with your purchase, and share that prize’s details too.

Don’t forget to get a permit. Most states have laws around raffles; state gambling boards usually have everything you need on their website; they also want to help you follow the law, so calling usually results in a quick, helpful conversation with a friendly and knowledgeable staffperson.

Heads or Tails

This is not a moneymaker – it’s an enticement for people to buy into the raffle. Use it as such!

There must be a prize. It should be something enticing as a secondary reason for people to enter the Raffle.

The entry to play this game is that you entered the raffle. During the dinner or live auction, everyone who bought a raffle ticket (indicated by their flashy adornment) stands up.

The host tells everyone to pick heads or tails. Each person places their hands on their head or their rear (they pick).

The host flips a coin. Everyone with the matching side, heads or tails, gets to stay standing.  Everyone else it out and sits.

Game play continues until only one person is left standing.

Wine Pull

This usually happens during the cocktail/silent auction time, where people pay a set amount (you set the price) and get to “pull” a random bottle of wine, hoping for the best. It can be “pulled” out of crates, wall racks, or even just packaged in wine gift bags on a table.

The prep for this is to have donated wine and/or purchased wine, a mixture of really cheap, mid-tier, and 1-2 fine wines like Dom or Veuve Clicquot (that you have advertised as something they might pull).

Reminder: there are state laws and rules about alcohol as prizes at auctions. Pay attention to your state’s laws!

 

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