About one in 4 donors give to a nonprofit through an public sale. In the event you’re working your charity auctions on-line, you’ll have a number of knowledge to higher perceive what occurred at your silent public sale.
However what does all of it imply, and how will you apply what you will have realized to realize even larger fundraising outcomes along with your public sale subsequent time?
Evaluating your silent public sale knowledge in-depth can additional develop giving and even seize new donor giving. Listed here are 5 methods to make the most of your silent public sale knowledge to enhance your fundraising technique.
1. Take a look at the Public sale Packages with Prime Bids
What public sale objects obtained essentially the most bids? Those bidding patterns supply perception into the place you increase a beginning bid to generate extra income. It additionally gives perception into what public sale objects you must preview with subsequent 12 months’s company to generate pleasure.
If you may get comparable objects subsequent 12 months, see should you can supply any as a double-down, providing the identical merchandise to a second or third individual on the worth the dropping bidders have been prepared to pay.
2. Take a look at Public sale Packages with the Fewest Bids
Whereas essentially the most bid-on objects inform you numerous — and may profit your donor stewardship — packages with the fewest bids additionally supply nice perception to your occasion group and committee.
Take into account what patterns yow will discover with objects with the fewest bids. Was the worth level too excessive? Are they a part of a distinct segment class? Was it lots of work to get these objects?
By strategically utilizing your bid historical past reviews, you possibly can see how few bids an merchandise obtained and filter out objects that solely had a couple of bids to curate a higher-quality public sale. It’s going to additionally assure a larger return on funding (ROI) on your public sale.
3. Run a Report on the Losers
Take a look at the bids report back to see who was excited by objects however didn’t win. Don’t overlook to take a look at what they have been prepared to spend. Particularly if the identical individual misplaced a number of objects, they could have walked out of your occasion with cash they wished to offer.
Wanting on the losers provides perception into their giving capability and the place you may supply extra giving alternatives at your event. Your main giving group can leverage this knowledge in sponsorship, main giving, and legacy planning conversations.
4. Consider Your Public sale Opening and Closing Occasions
Nonprofit workers and committees have opinions on how lengthy to maintain an public sale open and when to shut it. Taking a look at previous public sale efficiency might help drive data-driven decision-making for these vital choices.
An extended opening time could be a sensible alternative should you solely host a digital public sale with none in-person parts. If in case you have a program with a strong dwell public sale and paddle increase, think about closing your public sale forward of these moments, so donors understand how a lot they’ve already given within the night. If in case you have a speaker and impactful mission moments, you don’t need your public sale to shut throughout these moments in order that company and donors are solely targeted in your audio system.
Additionally, think about your public sale checkout course of. Workers and volunteers can take time to maneuver objects and set up. Persons are generally keen to choose up their objects and depart instantly after the public sale closes. Evaluating your complete occasion and refining your run of present might help generate extra income total on your occasion.
5. Evaluate Common Successful Bids to Prior 12 months’s Common Successful Bids
Extra isn’t at all times greatest. As you take a look at the variety of packages and the typical gross sales worth throughout event-post-mortem, compare it to prior years.
Auctions take a substantial quantity of labor. Suppose 50 public sale packages yielded you marginally lower than 75 public sale packages. In that case, different turn-key wrap-around fundraisers or income enhancers could take much less time and will generate extra occasion income total.
Leveraging silent public sale knowledge is essential to elevating your total fundraising occasion technique.
By analyzing the objects that garnered excessive and low bids, you possibly can refine your choices, alter pricing, and even uncover hidden donor potential by means of those that got here shut however didn’t win. Moreover, fine-tuning your occasion’s timing—from public sale openings to closings—ensures that each second is optimized for donor engagement and income era.
Benchmarking your present public sale efficiency towards previous outcomes gives a transparent roadmap for steady enchancment. Embracing these data-driven insights sharpens your public sale and lays a stable basis for sustained fundraising occasion success.
Are you searching for extra steering on leveraging public sale knowledge? Take a look at GiveSmart’s Final Knowledge-Pushed Public sale Fundraising Information to be taught what you are able to do along with your public sale knowledge as an alternative of guessing.
