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.

Charity auction items are the bedrock of a successful fundraising event. They offer a fun and engaging way for guests to interact, spend money for a good cause and even take something special home at the end of the night. All too often, however, auction items at Nonprofit fundraising events garner too few bids, don't raise much money and generally aren't worth the amount of time it took to procure them. So what gives? Usually it comes down to a few easy-to-rectify mistakes that can kill the earning potential of the auctions items you spent months procuring. Generate record fundraising numbers at your next charity auction by avoiding these five mistakes: Mistake #1: Ignoring audience interests Items up for auction must appeal to the people attending the event. That's why understanding audience interests before you start procuring items is key. For example, if you know you have a lot of foodies and wine enthusiasts on your guest list, tailor your auction items to include culinary workshops, dining packages or travel experience to wine country. For music gurus, tickets to the local concert hall or an auction package to a nationally televised awards show will draw big interest. Use the knowledge of audience interests to your advantage so you can procure items and select experiences that will inspire fierce bidding. -- For more read: 3 Ways to Procure Auction Items Based on Donor Interests Mistake #2: Lack of advertising Unveiling everything on the day of the event might seem like it would create a nice surprise factor, but this strategy often backfires. If you have amazing auction packages for this year's event, advertise them early on! This builds excitement prior to the event and lets attendees gauge their interest before they even enter the building. When you get people coming to the event already knowing they are going to bid for a particular item, you're positioned for a very active and successful auction. -- For more read: 5 Tips for Using Auction Items to Generate Buzz For Your Event

In a perfect world, auction committees would have no problem getting unique and exciting charity auction items donated for their fundraising events. Anyone who has served on a charity auction committee knows this is rarely the case.