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Fundraiser: Auction Variations

Purchase or seek donations of goods and services to be sold at an auction. Try one of these variations:
“Manly Man” Dessert Auction
Bake sales are the old “stand-by” for church fundraising, but here’s a twist that is sure to boost your sales and fun! Why not advertise your next bake sale as a “Manly Man Dessert Auction”?
Ask your board of elders or men’s group to provide the baked goods for your sale. They should not seek any help from their wives. The men from you church will likely get pretty competitive about their pies and cookies. This will only add to the excitement and fun of the event!
To sell the goods, you could either round up an auctioneer from your churh to auction off the desserts, or you could set up a silent auction sheet. We did this fundraiser with an auctioneer in conjunction with a youth-sponsored luncheon and made more than $700! Believe it or not, some of the pies were going for $50 or $75 each!
The secret to this fundraiser is to 1) have a well-communicated need, and 2) build the event up properly beforehand with flyers, bulletin and newsletter announcements and spoken announcements after worship services or church meetings.
from DCE Jason Glaskey, previously published on thESource
Pie-in-the-Face Auction
This fundraiser is pretty eash and lots of fun. For several weeks, have people nominate (by paying at least $.50 per nomination) and then vote (with money, of course) for someone they want to get pied. (Be sure to check with all the nominees to make sure they are okay with the idea.)
Stage the vote count at an event where most voters and all nominees will be in attendance. We staged our vote count at our church picnic. People with the top two and bottom two earnings get a pie in the face.
The auction becomes more interesting when you make it possible for people to buy back votes. Doing this allows them to take someone from a middle spot to one of the lowest two spots, insuring that their nominee will get a pie in the face. When we hosted this auction, we had ten people tied for the bottom spot alone!
The actual auctioning comes in when you auction off the privilege of getting to throw the pies. This is usually where you make the most money. The only expenses incurred in this fundraiser are usually for the pie pans, whipped cream and Polaroid film (we had envelopes with the person’s picture on it for the voting).
from DCE Tim Roggow, previously published on thESource
Silent Auction
We have found the silent auction an excellent way to raise a quick $1000! The basis of a silent auction is that the participants silently bid for the items during a given time by writing down their bids on a piece of paper placed next to the item being sold. Here’s how to get started:
You will first need items donated. Ask church members, merchants and businesses in the area to donate items for the auction. Some ideas include sporting events tickets; gift certificates to stores, salons, restaurants; golf passes; passes to mueums, the zoo, an aquarium; crafts; painting; appliances; gift theme baskets; get-away trips; etc. After securing donations, advertise what items will be at the auction.
You can have your auction with a dinner, or you can offer finger foods so people can walk around and bid while they nibble. Assign each person a bidding number when he or she comes in. This way people do not know against whom they are bidding, which increases the fun and excitement. Place a sheet of paper next to each donated item that tells who donated the item, its value (if known) and room for people to write their bids. People should write down their numbers and the amount they are bidding. When the auction is over, the last bid wins that item.
from DCE Tim Roggow, previously published on thESource
Servant Auctions
Offer “servant auctions” where pairs of students offer cleaning or lawn or baby-sitting services to members of the congregation. Consider offering these services for a set amount of money so the focus is on getting the service, not paying more of less on a particular person.
from 2010 National Youth Gathering Resources
Gift Card Balloons
Get gift cards donated by local businesses. Put the gift cards in balloons and inflate and label with dollar value (but not store name). People pay the dollar amount to buy the balloon without knowing what store they will get.
from 2010 National Youth Gathering Resources
Cake Auction
Get your best bakers to bake their best cakes and sell them to the highest bidder at a church event.
from 2010 National Youth Gathering Resources

Published March 28, 2012

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