How many of these apply to your event?
At Bliss Auctions, we comb the data and spot the patterns so that you don’t have to in order to stay current in the fundraising event space!
We’ve picked up on these Top 3 Trends going into the Fall 2024 gala season, and we want to share them with you so that you can make the most of your next event. Feel free to apply them to your own gala as needed and let us know if you have any questions.
Trend 1: Smaller Silent Auctions
To the relief of auction committees everywhere, the shrinking silent auction trend continues to make lives easier while raising as much money or more as their bigger counterparts. How can this be? Several factors are at play- for one thing, fewer lots means more competition for each lot. Also, combining multiple donations to create a single package helps blur the retail value of each item while emphasizing the emotional value of the total experience. In addition, you will get away from “Yard Sale vibes” and move towards a thoughtfully curated selection, increasing the perceived value overall.
And lastly, by spending less time acquiring, tracking, promoting and staging silent auction items, your team can spend more time focused on tasks that will raise more funds, like attracting sponsors, nurturing relationships with donors or soliciting donations for the live auction.
Trend 2: Shorter Live Programs
Our attention spans have yet to recover from those long months of lockdown, so we are thrilled that orgs are trimming down their live programs in recognition of the need to keep things moving. If you lose your audience before the fundraising starts, your auctioneer will have quite the challenge to get them back again. Better to get to the live auction and direct appeal while your donors are at peak attention and then give that award after the fundraising is over.
Whether this means you’ll need to cut a speaker or a performance, or play 1 video instead of 3, there are many ways to accomplish a tighter timeline. We always recommend a timed rehearsal before event day so that you have a clear idea of how long it will take while participants get used to the flow and learn when they need to be ready. It’s also a great opportunity to spot potential problems and make adjustments.
Trend 3: Buy-In Parties
Not just for school fundraisers anymore, Buy-In Parties have exploded in popularity since the pandemic and your organization can reap the benefits at your next event! Simply put, a buy-in is a future event that you are selling tickets to. A “spot” can be per person, couple, team or what-have-you, but the idea is you sell the spots either at a fixed rate during your cocktail hour OR as a live auction lot that is generally more accessible than your other live lots. That decision depends on demand, which you won’t know until you give it a try. If it sells out right away, you know for next time to either raise the price or put it in the live auction.
You’ll have a set date, location and activity- maybe one of your board members who likes to cook offers to host a 20 person Paella Party at their house. After you math out what you would need for expenses, calculate that ticket price so that you are raising a good chunk of change and making it worth your time to organize and execute. This can be scaled up or down depending on your audience size and fundraising level. We’ve seen parties of up to 100 people and activities ranging from communal dinners and concerts to poker tournaments and proms!
One of the things we love about this trend is that it can help your live auction be more accessible. Since the per-person price point may be lower than your other live auction items, more people are able to participate. If you sell 100 tickets at $250 each and the rest of your live auction lots are going for $5k-$10k each, then those folks participating in the buy-in are going to feel pretty good about the $25k they collectively raised- and you will, too!
Buy-In Party Suggestions:
- Tournaments (Poker or Pickleball)
- Trivia Night
- Prom
- High Tea
By keeping an eye on the data and spotting trends as they develop, the team at Bliss Auctions is always working to bring bliss to your fundraising adventures.
