How to Hold a Dinner Auction Fundraiser

Holding an auction is a smart way to raise funds for a cause because each participating attendee will leave with something tangible to show for his donation. A dinner is an ideal place to hold a charity auction event. Good food and conversation may help put people in a generous mood. If you are planning to hold a dinner auction fund-raiser, there are a few details to which you must attend.

Things You'll Need

• Dinner program
• Banquet hall and caterer
• Auctioneer and spokesmodel
• Valuable items to auction
• Tickets
• Place cards

Instructions

Before Auction Day

1. Ask businesses and individuals to donate items to your auction. Start with your list of contacts. Ask them for donations of anything that has a perceived value, including jewelry, paintings, clothing, antiques, and tickets to a sold out event.

2. Hire an auctioneer or local celebrity to oversee the auction.

3. Book a banquet hall that can accommodate at least 100 people at a number of tables. The more people in attendance, the greater the chance that you will have enough buyers to make your fund-raiser successful. Ask for a stage or platform to be erected in the hall. Hire a caterer to provide the food for the event.

4. Print tickets for the dinner or allow guests to purchase e-tickets, which can be printed online. Charge enough to cover your per person cost for the caterer with a modest profit to be contributed to the cause.

5. Organize the program for your dinner auction fund-raiser. Allow sufficient time before the dinner for the guests to peruse your collection of items up for auction. Start the auctioning process after dinner, during coffee or desserts. Include descriptions and photos of the auction items in the program and print one for each attendee.

Day of Auction

1. Lay out the items that you are auctioning on a table at the entrance of the banquet hall. If you wish, you can make this a silent auction by placing a bid sheet on the table next to each item.

2. Position a table at the entrance of the banquet hall with two people to process payments. Accept all major payment forms, including credit cards, cash and checks (at your discretion) so that every bid winner can take care of her transaction that night.

3. Place cards on the table that contain information about the charity.

4. Discuss the charity or cause for which you are raising funds before the auction starts.

5. Hold the bidding part of the event. Have a spokesmodel show off each item to your guests on stage as the auctioneer is speaking.

6. Make sure that someone writes down each auction winner's name after the bidding on an item is complete so that he will be held responsible for paying for the item before he leaves the premises.

Tips & Warnings

• Post the auction items online and send the link to your final list of attendees before the day of the dinner.

References

• Fund-raiser Dinner Auction

Resources

• Fund-raising Ideas
• Print Invitations and Place Cards