A silent auction is a common fundraiser at elementary and secondary schools. At a silent auction people bid on items by writing down the amount of money they are willing to pay for a certain items. The highest bidder wins the item. All items are "auctioned" over a period of hours. This allows the members of the school community and public to participate at different times of the day.
Donations
You will need donations for a silent auction. A donated or free item makes your profit 100 percent. Ask the parents of students to donate something from their home or business to be sold at an auction. For instance, if someone owns a car wash business, they can donate 10 free car washes. If someone has an old piece of jewelry they not longer desire, that can be donated to be auctioned off.
Selecting a Date
A school silent auction might not be an event people necessarily make a special trip to the school for on their own. Therefore you want the silent auction to occur at another time when people will already be at the school. For instance, if your school is hosting a basketball tournament for area schools, it would be an ideal time to hold your silent auction because there will be a lot of parents and students at the school. Other ideas include silent auctions during school concerts or musicals. Guests can bid before and after the show, or during intermission.
Advertising
It's important that people in the school community and community at large know about your silent auction fundraiser. Place advertisements including the date, time, location and some featured items in school newsletters, on school websites and on social networking boards. Also, encourage friends and family to spread the word. On the day of the silent auction make sure you have signs which are visible from the road, as well as signs within the school property which detail where the auction is being held.
Tie-Ins
There are other ways to make money during the auction. For instance, you can hold a "silent raffle" where raffle tickets are sold. The person with the winning raffle ticket will receive 50 percent of the monies collected. You also can sell refreshments and baked goods which have been prepared and donated by students or parents.
Left-Over Items
If not every item receives a bid during the silent auction process, assign a few parents to auction the items on an online auction site if you think they have value. This can be especially profitable for lightweight items such as gift certificates or items which fit into "flat-rate" shipping boxes offered by the postal service.
