When Charity Auctions Go Wrong

Charity auctions can be fantastic and worthwhile events that not onlycan be very community spirited, they also raise money for those inneed or special causes. If there are great items on offer for biddingon and a big crowd, a charity auction is likely to be successful andraise a lot of money. People can get involved in different areas of acharity auction, which makes the whole event fun and memorable for everybody involved.

However, charity auctions can go wrong every now and againparticularly if not enough planning has been undertaken before anevent. This is why planning is essential. If you are looking to organise your own charity auction, it is important to be on top of things from the beginning and ensure thorough organisation throughout the planning of the event, the eventand post-event too.

Planning

As charity auctions can sometimes go wrong, planning is essential fora successful auction. One of the first things you will need to workout is which will be the best type of charity auction for you. Thereare two types of auction and both suit different events. A silentauction and a live auction.

A silent auction is easier to organise and is not such a grand eventas a live auction. A live auction is where guests will attend an eventand bid on items throughout the event. They are often quite loud andmanic but good fun, whereas a silent auction is carried out by peoplebidding on items from a pre-published list and making their bid knownby writing to the person or organisation running the auction.

The Details

Another important aspect you will need to decide upon is the date ofyour charity auction. You should try to choose a date most suitablefor the type of people who will be attending. Don't host the auctionon a weekday in the middle of the day if you are expecting people whowork a 9-5 to turn up as it's unlikely they will be able to.

You will know from your audience when is a good time to hold theauction. It's also advisable to check out if there are any othercharity auctions in the area going on at the same time. This could beproblematic for both events as live charity auctions rely on a largenumber of people turning up in order to help the bidding increase.

Once you have the type of auction and date for it to be held, you areready to write a checklist to ensure nothing goes wrong at yourauction. A checklist of all the things you need to achieve from thecharity auction is a very handy thing to have. This can stop thingsfrom going wrong early on because if you haven't achieved something,it will be flagged up early, rather than waiting for nearer the day ofthe auction, realising something is missing but having little or notime to do anything about it.