During a recent chat, I mentioned that some participants might want to do away with their silent auctions and offer a well-orchestrated Fund a Need auction instead.
I wasn’t kidding. Well orchestrated, Fund a Needs outperforms silent auction revenue at several of my clients’ galas. And an increasing number of my clients want to remove their silent auctions.
For example, a client has a large event (800+ guests) and offers 80-100 items in their silent auction. She called me one day to discuss this. Here was our conversation.
- ELLA: “I’m running some numbers. Do you think we could get rid of the silent auction and make up the difference by adding a few more items from the live auction and upgrading Fund a Need?”
- ME: “Why do you want to get rid of the silent auction?”
- HER: “Because it’s a huge pain in my butt that takes up my time and only makes us $XX, XXX.”
- ME: “Tell me how you really feel…”
She’s not my only client with this “kill it” attitude.
Another client deleted their silent auction years ago. Your 300 guests enjoy a raffle during the reception period. No silent auction. No games. She offers nothing but a raffle.
“I HATE silent auctions,” she confided to me the first year we worked together, “Oh, I hate them.”
It will depend on your gala if it makes sense to cancel the silent auction.
With the first client I mentioned, the silent auction has been maintained. With the other client, he has never been offered one and has no plans to do so.
Here is one thing I know. If you’re going to run a Fund A Need auction, don’t assume that because you’ve watched it a couple of times at other shows, you understand the mechanics of it. Doing so would be like saying that you, as a wedding guest, understand what the bride is thinking.
Honey, you have no idea what the bride is thinking.
Think about it. The bride knows everything that happens behind the scenes. As a guest, you are missing that information.
- The bride noticed that the vendor changed the portobellos in the appetizers for cheaper white mushrooms.
- The bride knows that Aunt Ellen is unhappy with the seating arrangement and has demanded to sit at a different table, away from Cousin Margo.
- The girlfriend received a phone call telling her that the gang is stuck in traffic.
- The bride knows that she has a blister on her right heel.
The bride is not happy with any of these developments. However, as a guest at her wedding, you don’t know.
There you are sitting starry-eyed and enjoying the celebration. You probably think that the bride looks beautiful. And you’re downing those appetizers without realizing that mushrooms are all bad.
To be frank, you don’t know what the hell is going on! You don’t realize because you weren’t working behind the scenes.
When it comes to planning for a Need Fund, this is how most people are. Unnoticed.
Most auction guests have no idea how to properly run an auction or its many components, such as Funding a Need. That is because attending an auction is different from planning an auction.
(Just like attending a wedding is different from being the bride.)
When one of those guests becomes responsible for planning a necessities fund, they think, “Oh, I went to a gala six months ago where I saw them do that. I know how to do it.”
Sure. Of course yes.
Here is my advice. Before you abruptly cancel your silent auction and replace it with Fund a Need, learn how to Fund a Need correctly. Do your research, talk to your auctioneer and develop a plan.