DoJiggy Auctions

Charity Auction Software for Fundraising Auctions

Looking for user-friendly charity auction software to organize and manage successful fundraising and charity auctions? You found it!

  • NO SUBSCRIPTION Required
  • FREE Bidder Text Message and Email Notifications
  • FREE Text to Bid (for US Auctions)
  • FREE Custom Website Branding
  • FREE Gamification Elements (Countdown, Thermometer, Chatter, Livestream)
  • FREE Customer Success and Technical Support
  • 4.9% Auction Platform Fee
Charity Auction Software for Fundraising Auctions

Setup Your Online Auction Website Today

Beautifully Designed

Beautifully Designed

Our campaign templates are designed to look beautiful, whether your donors use a phone, tablet, or computer to access your websites.

Incredibly Easy-to-Use

Incredibly Easy-to-Use

Designed for the best user experience. Our platform is intuitive for administrators and easy to navigate for supporters and event participants.

Seamlessly Interconnected

Seamlessly Interconnected

Streamline fundraising operations with one platform for donations, peer-to-peer crowdfunding, auctions, giveaways, product sales, and event ticketing.

Features of our Fundraising Auction Software

Our fundraising and charity auction websites are simple yet powerful fundraising tools loaded with tons of features and customizations. Be up and running in minutes – and we mean it!

  • List an unlimited number of auction items.
  • Include images, starting bid, and bid increment for all auction items.
  • Place auction items into categories.
  • Set a fair market value for auction items. This helps constituents to include auction donations in their tax deductions.
  • Easy online and mobile bidding is supported.
  • Fundraising thermometer to track your fundraising goal and auction progress.
  • Live Stream video studio for virtual fundraising events.
  • Text to Bid feature – supporters can text your unique keyword to get a link to bid.
  • Take online donations from supporters in addition to bids.
  • QR code and unique URL generation for auction items.
  • Sponsor promotion via sponsor logos and links to websites and social media.
  • Auto-generated email and SMS alerts to let bidders know they are outbid.
  • Easy social media share options.
  • Auction countdown to inspire urgency.
  • Winning bidders are automatically charged, and winning bid notifications can be sent automatically by the auction platform.
  • Included technical support to make sure you get it all right!
Features of our Fundraising Auction Software

Online Bidding Options

We offer two methods for online auction bidding to suit your organization’s needs:

  • English Bidding – This bidding system requires each bid to be higher than the last bid placed. Administrators add the desired bid increment as well.
  • Proxy Bidding – This online bidding system will automatically bid for users up to a pre-specified amount. This proxy or auto-bidding system works similarly to eBay, making it easier for your bidders.

See How Our Online Auction Websites Work

See How Our Auction Websites Work

If your event is a virtual charity auction, let our auction websites do all the work. Simply create your website and add auction categories and items. Set the time for online bidding to start and begin advertising your auction via online and social media channels. All bids are made online and via text to bid. Auction winners are automatically charged, and winning bid notices can be automated.

If your organization is hosting a gala or other fundraising event in conjunction with your auction, mobile bidding continues seamlessly during the live event. Text to bid and QR code generation make it easy, and all bidding is completely mobilized.

Our auction platform provides easy online and mobile bidding software for fundraising auction campaigns. List auction categories and items with starting bids and bid increments. Include images and your nonprofit branding, and your auction website is ready to go! Our flexible auction software works with two bidding options and includes an online donation form. Works great for virtual auctions and campaigns during COVID.

Auction Websites Packed with Features

You won’t believe how easy our auction websites are to create. Work through the administration setup in no time to create a beautiful, custom fundraising auction. Stand-out features include Social Media share, Buy It Now pricing, a fundraising thermometer to show auction progress, live stream video option, text to bid (for US organizations), an auction countdown to inspire urgency, support for fund-a-need campaigns, and many more.

Our Auction Websites Are Packed with Features
QR Codes and Custom Item URLs

QR Codes and Custom Item URLs

Make it easy for supporters to bid with custom URLs and QR codes generated for auction items. Promote items to specific audiences and drive supporters to the auction items that interest them. Print out the unique QR code for each item and display it within scanning distance for live events. Our built-in QR codes and custom item URLs give administrators powerful auction promotion tools for mobile bidding.

Online and Mobile Bidding

Easily create auction items with minimum bids and bid increments for each item. Administrators will select from two bidding types – depending on their constituents and the organization’s needs. Your bidders will place bids online and through their mobile phones. Bidding is entirely mobilized, and there is no app to install. Text-to-bid functionality allows users to text a phone number and get a link to a unique auction item.

Online and Mobile Bidding
Outbid Alerts Via Email and SMS

Outbid Alerts Via Email and SMS

When supporters are outbid, the system sends them an email and an SMS text message alert. Bidders simply click a button in the alert to submit a new bid. The auction platform recognizes them; they needn’t add their details again. This allows constituents to easily up their bid, making more money for your organization’s charity auction. Talk about quick and easy one-click bidding!

Wrapping Up the Online Auction

No more long auction lines and lengthy check-outs with our online close. Our auction software calculates and charges your auction winners at the moment the auction is set to end. Bidders store their credit card information when making their first bid for ease of final payments. If payments fail, auction administrators and bidders are emailed to take action.

Wrapping Up the Online Auction

Fundraising Auction Software Pricing

Charity Auction Software Pricing Regular Stripe payment processing fees apply.

7 Steps to Running a Successful Silent Auction

Silent and online charity auctions are a great way for nonprofits, schools, and community organizations to raise money for their cause. Not only do charitable auctions have tremendous fundraising potential, but they are relatively easy to plan, especially with the help of charity auction software. Let’s review the steps and learn how to run a silent auction successfully.

Step 1: Start with a Strong Auction Fundraising Committee

Planning a silent auction involves many moving parts, so don’t try to go it alone. Your development team can get help from volunteers and Board members. Auctions are fun events, and many supporters will be interested in helping.

Start with a Strong Auction Fundraising Committee

You’ll need key people in these areas when forming your auction committee:

  • Event Planning: Several event planning tasks must be considered if you’re hosting a live auction event. Booking the venue, determining the menu or catering options, organizing auction day volunteers, and more.
  • Item Procurement: You’ll need at least one individual or a small team to procure auction items. Be sure to find people comfortable asking for donations for this role – as this is key to your auction’s success.
  • Marketing: Marketing and PR are vital to your event’s success. Be sure that your marketing team considers online promotion, like email campaigns and social media, as well as traditional and community advertising.

Step 2: Planning Your Silent Auction Logistics

Planning Your Silent Auction Logistics

The first step in organizing a silent auction is planning the auction logistics. Here are a few things you’ll want to consider:

  • Determine how you will host your silent auction. Will it be an online charity auction? Will it be part of another fundraising event where people physically bid on items displayed? Will it combine the two, going from online to live?
  • What is the auction date, and how long will constituents have to bid online?
  • What are your fundraising goals? How much money do you plan to raise?
  • Do you have a fundraising budget? What costs and resources do you have?
  • Do you intend to secure sponsorships to help with any upfront costs?
  • Does your auction have a theme? If so, this may influence the type of donations you wish to acquire. Perhaps you are a baseball team raising money for a new stadium. Autographed sports memorabilia and season tickets to your local professional sports team would be great prizes.

Step 3: Procuring Great Auction Items

This is a critical step to the success of your silent auction’s bottom line. The items you secure for your auction are the items people are purchasing, thus bringing in the money for your cause. The more unique and valuable the auction items are, the more money they will bring in. You will also want to be sure the items you choose to auction off work with the vision of your organization and the theme of your event (i.e., it would not make sense for an animal shelter fundraiser to auction off fur jackets).

Great Auction Items are a big part of How to Run a Silent Auction Online

First, you’ll want to reach out to the community, businesses, local celebrities, and any networks you have to receive donated items, talents, or treasures to auction. Examples of popular donated auction items include:

  • Gift certificates from local businesses of all kinds
  • Hotel stays or vacation packages
  • Spa treatments – manicures, massages, and more
  • Autographed CDs, movies, or pictures from famous people
  • Sports-team memorabilia
  • Antiques or unique artwork
  • Dinner for two gift certificates from local restaurants
  • Donations of time and talent from local community members, such as free piano or crafts lessons, handyman for a day, and more.

Don’t limit your auction procurement to only in-kind donations. Consider including high-ticket items such as vacation getaways, even if you need to purchase them. Don’t worry; you often don’t have to pay for these items upfront, and they can add a lot of value to your charity auction. Check out our no risk vacation packages to find out how you can include high-ticket items that bring in large donations without taking on any risk.

Step 4: Setting Up your Auction Website

Charity Auction Websites and auction software

Once your committee has determined the basic auction logistics and started item procurement, you’ll want to set up your auction website. Your charity auction website is the place where all the action happens. Here, you will host information about your organization and the purpose of the fundraiser, as well as detailed information about the items up for bid. The auction website is an online catalog where supporters can easily browse items and safely place online bids. Your auction website includes detailed information about each auction item up for bid, including product images, starting bids, the fair market value of items, reserve amounts, bid increments, links to the donor’s web page, and more. You can set up all of the important details on your auction website. Be sure to set minimum bids for your auction items so you aren’t disappointed and give bidders an idea of the item’s value.

In addition, utilizing a silent auction website gives people who are unable to attend the event a chance to bid on items.

Step 5: Promoting the Silent Auction

The next step is effectively spreading the word about your online charity auction or silent auction event. Encourage employees, sponsors, and supporters to share information with their network of family, friends, and associates. They can easily post announcements on their social networking pages with a link to your online auction, helping drive traffic to your auction website.

Your organization will need to promote the auction with the following tasks:

  • Distribute a press release to local media announcing the event and auction website where online bids can be made. Make sure to highlight any special one-of-a-kind items such as antiques, rare artwork, or celebrity-autographed merchandise.
  • Post announcements on your organization’s website.
  • Send email invitations to your constituents.
  • Create event flyers to post on community bulletins.
  • Research community calendars for opportunities to post nonprofit fundraising events.
Promoting the Silent Auction is Essential to your fundraising success

If your silent auction is part of another fundraising event, you’ll want to promote the silent auction at the actual event as well. Consider printing a silent auction program that lists all items up for bid, including photos, descriptions, and starting bids. Distribute this at the start of your event as a quick preview of what items are available to spark attendees’ interest. This will likely send them to the display table to review the items and place bids.

Step 6: Managing Charity Auction Details

Managing Charity Auction Details with forms and letter templates

Showtime! If you’re having a live event, there are some considerations in displaying auction items. Be sure the items are displayed nicely, with good lighting. Galas can sometimes be dark, but supporters need to see jewelry and other items to feel comfortable placing a bid.

DoJiggy provides silent auction letter templates for item procurement and sponsorships. Be sure to thank your donors – they are a big part of your silent auction success! You can print these silent auction forms for the event, such as a sample paper bid sheet.

Step 7: Wrapping Up the Fundraising Auction

Wrapping Up the Silent Auction

After the silent auction wraps up, the first thing you’ll want to do is to review the goals and objectives you established prior to hosting your event. See if you’ve accomplished what you’d hoped and determine how to do better next time.

  • What items drew the most bids?
  • What procurement strategies worked?
  • What marketing efforts brought in new supporters?
  • How was the auction website?
  • How much money did you raise?
  • Was it fun, and will your bidders return?

If you did not outline metrics for success before your event, you can still use these guidelines to evaluate your event and plan to use these as parameters for establishing fundraising strategies and goals for future events.

Tips for Auction Fundraising Success

Tips for Auction Fundraising Success

Online auctions are a great way for nonprofit and community organizations to raise money for their cause. Not only do charity auctions have tremendous fundraising potential, but they are relatively easy to plan, especially with the help of our easy-to-use charity auction software. Here are some important tips for fundraising auction success.

Remember that your auction items are one of the biggest factors in determining the success of your auction. The more creative you are in sourcing auction packages and the more valuable the auction attendees perceive these items, the more successful you’ll be in your fundraising efforts. Don’t be afraid to purchase auction items. That’s right, not all auction items have to be donated, and you are shortchanging your organization if you aren’t willing to consider purchasing items for bidding. 

Another critical factor in auction management is promoting your auction. You can have the rarest treasures to auction off at your event, but if nobody knows about it, the items do you no good. Use your networks to inform people about the fundraiser. Post announcements on Social media often, highlight the auction event on your nonprofit website, send email invitations, ask volunteers, sponsors, and supporters to spread the word. Issue a press release to local media with information about the charity event, emphasizing how donations will support your cause. Be sure to highlight rare items that will be up for bid, activities, and entertainment that are part of your live charity auction.

Fundraising
Auction Resources

Take your fundraising and charity auctions to the next level

  • Auction Bid Sheets & Forms

    Creating silent auction forms and bid sheets is an important part of the auction process for live silent auction events. We have you covered with these auction templates and forms.

    Learn More
  • Charity Auction Timeline

    We have created this auction timeline to help make your fundraising auction a success. The timeline is designed for online to live auctions but can be tailored to meet your nonprofit’s needs.

    Learn More
  • Auction Travel Packages

    Looking for ideas for great auction items? Auction procurement is an important part of all charity auctions. These unique travel and virtual event packages are sure to please any audience.

    Learn More
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