If your nonprofit is hosting an auction fundraising event, it’s important to consider how to get participants excited about bidding on your most valuable auction items. Designing a charity auction catalog will help you do just that!

Many nonprofits find a live auction to be one of the most lucrative fundraising events they run. Participants have the opportunity to meet other passionate supporters and get caught up in a fun, competitive atmosphere as bidding wars ensue. This entertainment value combined with the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind items creates a positive attendee experience while bringing in revenue to fund your organization’s mission.

Gift baskets are a staple of silent auctions. It’s generally easier to procure smaller, lower-value auction items than big-ticket ones, and bundling several of the smaller donations you receive into one basket gives the items a higher starting value. Plus, well-designed baskets are more unique than physical items or gift certificates alone.

A silent auction is a classic nonprofit fundraiser and with good reason. Nearly any organization can hold a silent auction either in-person or virtually, and they pair well with many fundraising events from galas to golf tournaments. As participants bid on their favorite items, they foster a fun, competitive environment while raising funds for your nonprofit.

If your nonprofit is planning a charity auction, the most involved part of the process will likely be procuring items. You’ll need to approach businesses and providers that are willing to support your mission and offer products or services that your supporters will be excited to bid on, all in time to build out and release your auction catalog prior to the event date. Although finding the best auction items is your team’s top priority, how you solicit item donations is just as important in ensuring you secure those items. Businesses will be impressed by a professional approach, and your organization is looking to maximize the value you gain from items while minimizing risk in procuring them.

As all nonprofits know, the key to event night success is preparation, preparation, preparation! For those using Winspire software to launch your event -- be it through event registration, raffle ticket sales, auction bidding, or something else -- we wanted to give a couple tips to make sure the launch of your campaign is a roaring success! 

Now available to all users is the 'Test Mode' feature for Experiences and Donation Pages. Test Mode allows users to test the full donor experience, from start to finish. This will help users identify any potential errors or glitches ahead of launch. 

One thing has remained true two years after the world went online during the beginning of the pandemic: the ability to reach a virtual audience has expanded nonprofits' ability to raise more funds for their mission. Winspire Fundraising Software is a user-friendly way to engage a virtual audience and increase your next event's fundraising potential at little to no cost to your organization! Read on to find out how Winspire Software can boost your fundraising potential this fall. 

You asked and we listened: donors can now save payment information to their accounts! This means that when the bidding gets heated eager donors won't have to worry about whether or not they'll need to enter their credit card information again! Let the excitement of auction night begin!

Don't let the summer fundraising slump get you down Summer is the time for us all to take a breather between the chaos of spring and fall gala season. However, we know for busy nonprofits, the need for fundraising never quite goes away, even as donors go on vacation and the team gets a well-deserved break. 

If it's been awhile since you logged on to your Winspire Fundraising account, next time you start a new campaign you may notice the set up experience looks a little different. We've made some changes, with you in mind, to our experience set up. Users will now be able to better distinguish between fundraising campaigns for specific causes, and one-time events!