Here at Charity Fundraising, we want to provide your nonprofit with the best silent auction items in the market. We also want to come along side you and help present those items well!
While stellar auction items procure high bids as they are, creating a space and presentation of said auction items can increase their appeal.
There are two principles that must be utilized in order to create an attractive (and functional!) silent auction table to enhance your auction items….
Simplicity is King and Dream Big!
These two go hand and hand.
Simplicity – concise informative language, congruent displays and bid sheet templates – make your table presentations easy to navigate for your audience.
But this is where the second principle becomes crucial.
Simplicity does not require boring displays. Having the consistency and simplicity of message and functionality gives your nonprofit the freedom to create a visually beautiful and engaging display.
So let’s look at the ways your nonprofit can make auction item displays simple in it’s function…
Simplicity is King
Describing your items with concise, but accurate information helps to keep your guests engaged.
There is a lot of information to be addressed in a print display.
Try to keep your displays smaller than the items themselves. You don’t want the print display to overshadow the item itself.
Information should be given in an order that excites the donor, not bores the donor.
Here is our suggestions on how to order the information on the print display.
- Start with a big and bold title.
- Set expectations of minimum bids immediately (if you choose to utilize minimum bids) so that your guests can understand what it will take to start engaging with the bidding sheet.
- Excite your guests by outlining the item’s details. Doing this in a bullet point form helps your guests read this information quickly and with ease.
- Then, providing logistical information about restrictions and limitations.
- At the bottom, don’t hesitate to recognize the item donor as well as brand the display with your nonprofit name and event.
Additionally, consistency with colors, graphics, fonts, and genre provides an important base to your entire auction fundraising event.
Having this platform of consistency from the save-the-date invitations to the event banner of the event to the display tables will help unify the experience.
While we want to encourage interesting display tables, consistency in atmosphere must be attained so that your event comes off as professional and polished.
After all, a miss-mosh of fonts styles and font sizes can become confusing. And formal cursive fonts do not scream “afternoon picnic and silent auction”. Nor does bright neon colors emphasize a “black tie gala and auction”.
More inconsistencies in the way information is given and presented to the audience may hurt the shopping experience for your guests.
Dream Big!
Your silent auction is a time for your guests to dream a little bigger than they usually do.
Silent auction items, like our one of a kind and rare Autographed Memorabilia or our Exclusive VIP Vacation Packages provide a priceless gift to your donors as well as procure high bids.
Creating a captivating shopping experience is part of the fun of auction events.
We want to help you make the items come alive to your guests by having tangible items present. It makes a large difference!
We ship you our auctions items free of charge. And if they do not sell, it’s at no cost to you to ship them back to us! This is part of our Zero-Risk auction item guarantee.
So remember, simplicity is King, but don’t be afraid to dream big! Both of these principles will help your guests interact and engage with your auction items with ease and excitement!
Contact Charity Fundraising today to find out how you can receive zero-risk auction items from us!
