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Philadelphia Eagles icon Chuck Bednarik

We are sad to hear of the passing of Philadelphia Eagles iconic player Chuck Bednarik.  Chuck is best known for the fact that he played both offense and defense, never leaving the field.  This photo shows Chuck at his best, when he sacked New York Giants Quarterback Frank Gifford.  Frank was totally knocked out with a broken leg.
  This photo is autographed by Chuck and inscribed "Sorry Frank...this F- ing game is over."
  As always, the autograph is 3rd party authenticated.
   BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising Leader in a " One Stop Shop " convenient setting.  www.BWUnlimited.com

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising presents...

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is proudly helping the Lancaster Yankees with their upcoming Fundraising event - the "Lanco Sports Spectacular" on May 8th from 7 to 11pm at the Lancaster Host.

Autograph Signing

From our recent autograph signing with Joe Montana www.BWUnlimited.com

Charity Soapbox Episode #2 - Are your donated items successful? www.BWUn...

Charity Soapbox Episode #1

Tips to host a Successful Silent Auction

A common question we are routinely asked is about the size or the amount of items which should be offered on a Silent Auction.

The answer to this question is found in the amount of guests you have attending your event.  We normally base the size of the silent on 1/3 of the guests.  However, when the goes above 300, the number will drop to 1/4.

Many charities misunderstand the size of a Silent Auction.  They commonly feel that if they have less items, the bidding will be higher – this is not the case.  Charities should understand that their guests do not blindly bid on the items available, basically continually bidding to support the charity.  This is a common misconception across many of the 104 million charities in the U.S. today.

On items that have a known retail price, the bidding will only go to 1/2 the value.  In a perfect world, the bids would go to the suggested retail, however, across North America this is not the case.  Unfortunately, especially if you are a fan of my blogs, we have already discussed “Local People attending a Local Charity Fundraiser with items donated by Local Businesses.”  In order to be successful, it’s imperative that your guests are treated to items they do not regularly see or can find on their own.

Another way to understand this question is to think about what will attract the attention of your guests.  A small Silent Auction is much less appealing than one that is larger with more variety of items available.  People are attracted to a Silent Auction which has a range of items available.

Continuing on this same process, items that have no theme or are basically a “Hodge Podge” of donated items begin to have a “Flea Market” or "Garage Sale" affect. 

Another important aspect of a successful Silent Auction is positioning it correctly in your event venue.  On many occasions, charities will break up a silent auction with different items in different areas.  This practice will negatively affect the financial outcome based on your guests not knowing there are items available in different areas.  Furthermore, the negatively affects the “Draw” to the Silent Auction.  We must also remember a crowd draws far much more attention than a few people standing in different areas.  The crowd of people walking through your Silent Auction will draw the most attention from your other guests.  Everything should have its place in your event.

On another note, we have seen this time and time again.  Having high quality items, such as our No Risk Charity Auction Items, will greatly influence the bids on the donated items.  Charities that use these items, will see much higher bids on the items that are mixed in.

Also, when planning the set-up of the Silent Auction, having different items on different levels is another major attractant.  By using boxes, standing easels and other ways of displaying your items, it become far more appealing then all of your items on the exact same level.

In a recent blog “Heard of Zebras” Silent Auctions, I described why it is a bad practice of placing all similar items together in different areas or zones.  This practice is also a bad practice because all of the items will tend to blend together, “Splitting the bids” between the items.

In summary, if you want to host a successful silent auction, here are a few tips to ensure its successful:

1 – Enough items available (1/3 the amount of guests)

2 – Have items which match a theme

3 – High quality Charity Auction items influence and spurs on higher bids.

4 – Do not place your similar items all together – see “Heard of Zebras”

We hope these tips help you and your charity host a very successful Silent Auction at your next Charity Fundraising event.  If you would like to learn more proven strategies, either read through our blogs or contact us today at www.BWUnlimited.com, we would love to help.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising leader in a “One Stop Shop” convenient setting.  The expert fundraisers at BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising can guide you and your charity through the myriad of fundraising pitfalls to ensure that you host a highly successful, highly profitable charity fundraising event.  Contact BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising at www.BWUnlimited.com.