Imagine this—you’ve just kicked off your nonprofit’s exciting auction event. Bidding starts and the event rolls along. You’re busy mingling with guests, discussing your mission, and handling logistics. After the auction ends, you take a look at your fundraising results.

The numbers are disappointing, and something clearly went wrong with the event. Why?

There are all kinds of reasons why this might happen, and many of the most common have to do with the auction items up for grabs. Maybe there weren’t enough items, or the items that were available weren’t appealing enough to everyone to spur competitive bids. Maybe some lower-price items were highly appealing to large groups of donors, but your big-ticket items got little attention, causing your revenue strategy to fall apart.

Now imagine an auction that strikes the perfect balance between types, numbers, and values of items for its unique audience—this one will naturally do a better job at reaching its revenue goal.

Your auction item ideas and final catalog inherently play critical roles in your event’s success. Let’s walk through the essential steps and tips you’ll need to succeed with procurement.

Step 1: Lay out a procurement plan and timeline.

Start by laying out some guidelines for your procurement process. Collaborate with your event planning team to answer these questions:

• When will the auction happen?
• What is the auction’s revenue goal?
• Does the auction have other goals related to the number or average value of bids?
• Are we hosting a live auction, silent auction, or both?
• What format will the auction be: in-person, virtual, or hybrid?
• Do we have a specific target audience in mind, or is this event targeting a broad audience of our organization’s supporters?

Lay out a rough timeline for procurement, including specific deadlines for completing procurement, finalizing the catalog, and beginning to promote the items to attendees before event day. The time you’ll need might vary based on the scale of your event, but, generally speaking, you need a lot of time for effective procurement. Try to get started on this process as early as possible.

Next, recruit a procurement team. A mix of event staff, volunteers, and a board member or two will be helpful. Each individual will need to be comfortable reaching out to potential item donors, sponsors, and consignment companies, with one team member overseeing the effort to keep it on track and lead the catalog creation and pricing processes.

Step 2: Review your donor data.

Before you start brainstorming actual items to procure, it’s important to review your data. Insights about your target audience will be invaluable for guiding what can otherwise become an overwhelming or too open-ended process.

Review your nonprofit’s CRM or donor database to look more closely at your event’s target audience as a group. Note any trends or highlights related to information like:

• Past event attendance—specifically auction events if possible
• Average giving levels and/or lifetime value
• Duration of relationship with your organization
• Marital and parental status
• Location, if hosting an in-person auction

If you’ve hosted auctions in the past, be sure to review event-specific data like:

• Past auction performance and revenue KPIs
• Items which received the most/least bids
• Items which generated the most/least revenue compared to their market values
• The donors or sponsors that provided items
• The target audiences of past auctions

Look for connections between these points of data. Think through what they might mean for your current auction—what types of items have either a proven track record with your audience or would likely appeal to them based on their interests and budgets?

Step 3: Create an item wishlist.

Now comes the fun part! Sit down with your procurement team, review your data findings, and start brainstorming items and experiences that you think would make for a winning auction.

Don’t limit yourself too much here, but do try to identify items that span a range of price points. Most silent auctions lead with one or two big-ticket, ultra-desirable items or packages, then a spread of mid-level items, and a smaller set of more accessible items and packages to ensure that all bidders can feel involved. Live auctions typically feature 12-15 higher-quality items to drive maximum engagement from a target audience.

The goal is to create a robust list of “nice-to-have” items that you think would fit well with your audience and goals. You can put a few “must-haves” on your list, but keep in mind that during the actual procurement process, you most likely won’t be able to secure everything.

Once procurement is underway, you’ll get a better sense of how your catalog is shaping up and can direct more intense focus to specific items or price ranges as needed.

Step 4: Create an auction item procurement packet.

To prepare for the procurement process, create helpful resources for your team. Winspire’s auction item procurement guide recommends creating “item procurement packets” of go-to- resources that your team will need out in the field. These resources include:

• Item procurement letters that clearly detail information about your nonprofit, its mission, the auction, the in-kind donation process, and tax deduction instructions.
• In-kind donation forms to standardize the collection of donor/sponsor names, addresses, contact information, items, estimated values, descriptions, and other details. Copies of these forms can easily double as receipts or gift substantiations if needed.
• A copy of your wishlist for team members to easily discuss other potential donations should a prospect say no to the first ask or express interest in helping further.

These resources should cover your bases for procurement team members to hit the ground running but don’t forget backend logistics, too. Create a central spreadsheet to input prospect information, associated items, and data collected from the donation forms as in-kind gifts are secured. This sheet should be accessible to everyone to avoid inadvertently double-asking a prospect or forgetting to procure “must-have” items.

Step 5: Review your donor, sponsor, and community contacts.

Take a look back at your list of previous auction item donors. Screen your nonprofit’s list of contacts—including individuals, large companies, local companies, and other nonprofits.

Review this list of prospects against your item wishlist and make some connections. Try answering these questions:

• Which donors or organizations would likely want or be able to donate which items?
• Do we have any close but informal relationships with companies that we could tap into? For instance, do we receive many matching gifts from a local company that hasn’t yet sponsored an event?
• For items that we can’t easily procure all in one go (like themed baskets), would any prospects be willing to donate money for us to purchase those bundled items instead?
• Do other nonprofits in the community (like zoos, theaters, or museums) have unique experiences or packages to offer?
• If there are big-ticket item ideas or experiences on our wishlist that we aren’t likely to receive as donations, do auction item consignment companies offer them?

From here, you may wish to divide your prospect among different team members to take a more organized approach. If anyone has an existing personal or business connection with a prospect, make sure that they own the procurement process for that prospect.

Step 6: Stay organized as you solicit items.

Start working down your list of auction items and prospects. With their item procurement packets in hand, your team should be well-equipped, but make sure to provide some guidance for non-fundraisers and volunteers if needed.

Stay organized by asking all team members to immediately report the results of their conversations with prospects and the information from their in-kind donation forms. Your central procurement spreadsheet should be the source of truth for the process, and this info will be essential for:

• Completing your procurement process and well-rounded catalog
• Donation collection logistics
• Item pricing
• Donor stewardship and gift substantiation

Remember, when it comes to item procurement, time is your friend. Try to begin the outreach process as early as possible before your auction so that you have plenty of breathing room to contact prospects multiple times, find new prospects, or come up with alternate item ideas if needed.

Step 7: Begin the item pricing process.

As the auction items begin arriving, dedicate a member of your procurement team to get a headstart on the pricing process.

Striking the right mix of starting bids is a delicate process but extremely important for the ultimate engagement and revenue that your auction will generate.

Item pricing is complex and warrants its own in-depth explanation. To recap the fundamentals you’ll need to understand, take a look at this graphic:

For each item, start by determining its fair market value (FMV), or what a person would reasonably expect to pay for it on the open market. For bundled items and experiences, roughly estimate and add up the FMVs of the component parts. For consignment travel packages, the vendor will likely provide pricing guidance, but most of the time, any amount you raise over the item’s list price goes back to your nonprofit.

Next, determine which items will have buy-now options. For many auctions, this option is ideal for your most valuable items to maximize earnings, but be careful not to discourage engagement by using it on too many items. It’s recommended to set these options at 150-200% of the item’s FMV so that the barrier is high enough to be profitable for your organization but not so high as to completely discourage bidding.

All items should receive a starting bid amount, which should be 30-50% of their FMVs. You can play around with this range based on each item’s rarity and desirability, aiming higher for high-competition items and a bit lower for common or lower-price items. For consignment packages, set this starting bid at 100-120% of its list price to ensure your nonprofit will generate revenue.

From here, set a minimum bid increase for each item. This should be high enough to ensure new bids are substantial, but not so high that it deflates the total number of bids the item receives. This requires careful strategy—another reason why it’s a good idea to get started on procurement early! A reliable rule of thumb is to set the minimum increase at roughly 10% of each item’s FMV.

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Item procurement is certainly a high-stakes process, but it’s completely learnable. Its best practices are likely already familiar to you as an event planner or fundraiser, so lean into that experience to ensure your approach is organized and strategic. In no time, you’ll be promoting your items and preparing for your most successful auction yet. Best of luck!

These days, a significant portion of college life happens on students’ phones. On average, students spend almost 95 minutes a day texting—meaning that if you want their attention, you need to meet them there. This is true for both current and prospective university students.

Fortunately, the applications and uses for higher education SMS are limitless. From recruitment all the way to graduation and beyond, text messages can help you deliver a better and more engaging student experience.

In this guide, we’ll focus on where text messages fit into the admissions process. We’ll discuss how the right strategies and technology can boost efficiency and help you build relationships with prospective and admitted students. Let’s dive into five ways you can leverage SMS for admissions.

1. Connect with prospective students.

Text messages are the perfect communication channel for getting prospective students’ attention and building genuine relationships that make them interested in learning more about your school.

But why should you opt for texts instead of traditional channels like email or direct mail? Mogli’s SMS marketing guide explains that texts are the best choice because they’re easy for recipients to read and easy for your team to send with an intuitive text marketing app. Plus, SMS messages have an impressive 98% open rate, meaning recipients are much more likely to open your text messages than emails. 

To leverage this channel to connect with prospective students, you might use texts to:

• Send a survey asking recipients how interested they are in your school and how likely they are to apply.
• Send an automated text to everyone who attended an admissions event expressing how glad you are they attended.
• Share links to student testimonials or blog posts on your college website that give prospects a positive impression of your school.
• Respond to text messages from prospects to answer their questions and further engage them.

Ideally, you should build out a strategic SMS campaign cadence for prospects so you don’t overwhelm them with too many messages in a short time. For instance, you might use a content calendar to space out messages across the fall semester or use automation tools to set up certain prospect actions that trigger relevant messages.

2. Send application reminders.

Most applicants aren’t just applying to your school—they’re likely deep into their college search and may feel overwhelmed with all the applications and details they need to keep track of. Help out prospective students and encourage them to apply by sending simple text reminders about upcoming deadlines, the status of their applications, and other important announcements. 

Plus, using the best SMS marketing apps, you can easily automate messages for certain groups to streamline these reminders. For example, you might segment prospective students in your database based on their:

• Application status: Create groups of prospects who have submitted applications, those who started them but have not finished, and those who sent in applications with missing information. You can send requests for missing application data and remind those in the “started” category to finish by the deadline.
• Level of interest: Consider sending out a text survey that asks about prospects’ interest levels, then grouping them based on their answers. Those who are the most interested will want more frequent application reminders, while students who aren’t sure will need a more strategic approach.
• Potential field of study: If you have multiple applications for different colleges or programs within your university, applicants will need to remember to fill them out before the deadline along with their main application. Send targeted reminders for those with an interest in specific schools so they don’t forget.

Setting up automated reminders saves your staff time, keeps prospective students in the loop, and delivers a better overall admissions experience. Even if they apply to five other colleges, these messages will give them a positive impression of your school that they’ll remember when it comes time to make their decision.

3. Respond to questions quickly.

One-to-one text messages open the door for impactful two-way communication, empowering prospects and admitted students to ask questions and bring up concerns directly to your admissions team. Instead of leaving applicants and students in the dark or losing their questions in mountains of emails, you can answer with a quick text.

When you receive a question via text, any of your team members can respond quickly to get students the information they need to navigate the admissions process with ease. With a unified SMS app that integrates with your CRM, all relevant team members can see and respond to text conversations at any time. Follow-up questions will stay organized in the same text thread so no data gets lost in the shuffle.

Get a question you can’t answer? Pass their text message along to the financial aid team or the appropriate counselor. You can even direct prospects to pages on your website with more information by sending them a link directly. 

4. Provide real-time application updates.

As every admissions counselor knows, applicants have a lot on their plates. Their future often feels unclear until they know if they’ve been admitted to their top school and made their decision, and they feel this pressure acutely. Anything you can do to ease their minds during the application process and keep them as up-to-date as possible will help.

One easy way to do so is to send real-time updates about general admission, financial aid, and scholarship applications via text. Applicants can read all the details in their emails, but they’ll greatly appreciate an immediate text alert when their application status changes. 

For example, you might send the following texts to update applicants:

• Andrew, we just received your application for the Singh College of Business. We’ll let you know if we need any more information. Otherwise, you’re all set!
• Hi Andrew, it looks like we’re missing your FAFSA information. Could you please edit your application in our portal here to complete it? Thank you!
• Congratulations, Andrew! Your application for Singh College has been accepted! Please check your email for more information. We’re so excited to have you!

The easiest way to send these texts is to integrate your text automation tools with your CRM or application management software. If you go this route, Acceptd’s application management software guide suggests finding a solution with intuitive progress tracking features. This way, you can set up automated messages based on application progress and status changes.

5. Support new students in their transition into college life.

With the right SMS strategies, you can engage students with text messages throughout their entire journey with your university, from prospect to full-time student to alum. 

Don’t stop texting students once they’re admitted! Use SMS to help them prepare for the transition to college life during the summer and throughout their first semester. For example, you might send the following message to students admitted to your liberal arts program in July:

Langston, are you getting excited about coming to campus yet? We can’t wait! 🎉 Check out our blog post about the most important dorm supplies to pack here.

You can use messages like this to send reminders about room assignments, blog posts to ramp up excitement, and more. Put yourself in the shoes of incoming freshmen and write messages that speak to their needs, emotions, and concerns about coming to college.

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All of these tips will help you connect with prospective and admitted students in the format that they’re most comfortable with—texts. Best of all, the power of texts extends beyond the admissions process. You can use SMS to improve your university’s fundraising, alumni engagement, student communications, and so much more.

For event planners at an association, nonprofit, or other organization, investing in the right event management software can streamline many of your tasks, making your job easier.

From large trade shows to fundraising events, having an event platform that facilitates planning, alleviates common bottlenecks, and enhances the attendee experience can ensure success every time. It also ensures your organization has ongoing access to data that you can use to guide your future decision-making.

However, there are a lot of options on the market and not all of them provide the same level of support or effectiveness. Here’s how to make the best decision before you invest. 

What is Event Management Software?

Event management software is a tool that supports the entire planning process for your event. This typically includes online registration, attendee badging and check-in, and gathering reporting data. 

Well-selected event management software is capable of:

• Ensuring team productivity and successful working relationships
• Enhancing attendee satisfaction
• Improving return on investment (ROI)
• Gathering strategic insights for decision-making
• Reducing event planning costs and time drains

The best event management software helps you plan and execute events from start to finish. 

Types of Event Management Software

Every organization’s event needs are different, which is why there are so many different platforms to choose from. There are primarily two types of event management software:

Specialized Single-Purpose Tools

Some software products are single-purpose tools, meaning they are very good at doing one thing or one event. These tools can typically handle tasks like:

• Registration and ticketing
• Event marketing and promotion
• Mobile app design and management
• Floor planning
• Badging
• Sponsor management

If one single, specialized platform meets your specific end goal, it may be more cost-effective to consider this option.

All-in-One Event Management Software

All-in-one event software aims to address all of your event needs in a single platform. This typically includes all event planning tasks, including those listed above.

While these platforms have a higher cost, they can streamline event planning by keeping the entire project within a single application. This often includes everything from registration, event marketing, and event reporting. Their more robust features make them ideal when you’re not just planning a single event but likely will host multiple over time. 

What are the Common Features of Event Management Software?

Depending on your event needs, your software should include the tools and features necessary to plan an effective event and manage it from start to finish. There are numerous areas to consider, such as:

Sponsor Management

Managing sponsors is critical for all event planning teams. Event sponsorship management features can include:

• Sponsorship categories to organize sponsors based on commitment or sponsorship levels
• Digital asset management for sponsor logos and graphics
• Sponsor portals that provide sponsors with relevant information
• Custom sponsor branding options
• Sponsor advertising options through an event app

These features streamline the sponsorship process, enhance sponsor engagement, and maximize the value for both event organizers and sponsors.

Registration Technology

Most event management solutions support establishing and managing your event registration process. Though tools are different, expect to find features like:

• Badge creation and printing
• Various types of registration, timelines, restrictions, and other customization options
• Automated registration emails to provide reminders and detailed information for attendees
• Group registration options
• Secure payment gateways

These features are designed to make the registration process as smooth and efficient as possible, improving the experience for attendees and providing event organizers with essential data and insights for future event planning and marketing.

Event Marketing

Many platforms offer marketing tools that will assist in growing your total registration and attendance. Some of the most common features of event marketing are:

• Email tools for sending various messages like event invitations, registration confirmations, and newsletters
• Customizable event website, including registration forms, speaker profiles, agendas, and payment tools
• Social media integration, which streamlines access to various social media platforms to share updates and engage with attendees before, during, and after events
• Marketing analytics and reporting

Having a strong marketing plan is vital to ensuring your event produces the ROI needed to make the whole event worth it.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Event Management Software

Before deciding on any platform, it’s crucial to know what you need the tool to do based on the way you run your event. Effective event management software must meet your specific needs, and while these may change, consider what key factors matter most or how adaptable your prospective platform is. Here are several essential factors to keep in mind: 

Event Goals and Objectives

When selecting event management software, consider how the solution aligns with your event’s objectives and the overarching goals of your organization.

The software you choose should not only resonate with these goals but should also amplify your ability to achieve them with finesse and precision. It’s about finding a tool that transforms your vision into reality, fostering an environment where every aspect of your event is seamlessly orchestrated to meet, and even exceed, your attendees’ expectations.

Attendee and Staff Experience

The software you select should specifically address the types of experiences you hope to create for both attendees and event staff. Giving your attendees an impactful experience is key to building relationships. Always look for:

• User-friendly experience for attendees
• Ease of use for your staff
• Available onboarding support

Keep an eye out for solutions with an easy-to-use but intuitive interface and supportive tools. You don’t want to make more work for your team or make it complicated for attendees to get the support they need.

Event Planning Frequency

How often do you plan to host events? For occasional or one-time events, you need solutions that align just with that type. However, if you’re hosting events on a regular schedule, it’s more important to ensure the planning and execution of multiple events at one time can work well together. 

Necessary Features

While event software with a plethora of features might seem attractive, focus on those that are essential for your specific requirements. Identify the features that are critical to your event’s success. This could range from registration and ticketing systems to attendee engagement tools or analytics.

Software bloated with features you’ll never use can lead to unnecessary complexity and costs. It’s important to differentiate between ‘nice-to-have’ and ‘must-have’ features. Use cost-effective decision-making and keep your budget in mind as you conduct research into potential options.

Integrations

Many organizations use a variety of digital tools in their daily operations. The right integrations with an event management system can keep everything smooth and organized. Consider tools that align with your CRM, for example.

Steps to Choosing the Best Event Management Software

Navigating the event management software landscape can be intimidating, with an array of options each boasting unique features and capabilities. However, selecting the right software is crucial for your event’s success. Simplify your decision-making by following these steps:

1. Understand your event management needs.

Using your event goals, figure out what specific needs you want your event management software to address. For instance, consider:

• Event types 
• Team skills or in-house supportive tools
• Target audience and attendees 
• Growth rate over time
• Analytics insights
• Regulatory or compliance concerns

Note these down and use these as a reference as you begin exploring potential event solutions for your organization.

2. Identify your event management software non-negotiables.

Every event management solution should support the way you plan to operate your events over time. Outline factors you consider non-negotiable or the specific features and tools you want your product to offer. This may include:

• Functional aspects like ticketing, event registration, attendee engagement, and agenda management
• Integration requirements, including marketing and CRM tools
• Training and support
• Security features

For example, if you’re planning to host a hybrid or virtual event, you might want to prioritize solutions that make it easy for you to engage attendees online.

3. Research and compare software providers.

Once you have these lists, it’s time to check out the products on the market. During your research, consider the following information:

• Market research and case use studies
• Vendor evaluation, including references and reviews
• Pricing comparison among products

Compare each solution based on your requirements and needs to start compiling the top options for your team to consider.

4. Request demos or sign up for free trials.

With your shortlist created, ask for demos or sign up for trial periods that allow you to test-drive prospective platforms. Take the time to read through and understand the often unseen aspects of new software like:

• Pricing
• Contract terms
• Limitations and restrictions
• Service level agreements
• Legal and compliance requirements 

Once you’ve asked any specific questions and gotten a clearer understanding of how the platforms work, re-assemble your team and make your decision.

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Choosing the right event management software tailored to your specific needs can transform how you orchestrate your events. By thoroughly evaluating and comparing available options, you can make a strategic decision that will yield long-term benefits, enhancing the way you manage and execute your events for years to come.