Your Benefit Auction
Maximum Benefit Auction Seminar
Auction Quality Sound System
Pricing Options
Event Payments
Auction Items
Maximum Benefit Auction Services
A well-planned and executed benefit auction serves as a central focus for your organization’s fundraising and public relations.
Maximum Benefit Auctions can provide your organization with the planning services you want—the services that will move your event to the next level:
- Free evaluation of your prior year’s event
- Evaluation of prior year’s auction data to help improve results
- A step-by-step Benefit Auction Manual, including written job descriptions for your volunteers
- Acquisitions rally with your committee—the best selling items and how to acquire them
- Audience development session with your committee—get the best buyers at your auction
- Going…Going Gone, Benefit Auction Seminar
- Customized acquisition form
- Benefit auction catalog template with auction rules
- Benefit auction space planning, with attention to sound & lighting
- Your silent and live auction items arranged for best selling potential
- Certified appraisals for donated items from NorCal Valuation.
The night of your event, Maximum Benefit Auctions can provide the organizational support your benefit auction deserves:
- Written job descriptions and a training session for your volunteers
- Bid Cards, Silent and Live Auction Bid Forms
- Professional benefit auction event help—registration & Auctionpay enrollment, cashiering, computer services, clerk-recorders, professional benefit auctioneers, assistant auctioneers, online bidding systems, and many other services
- Computers, software, operators and printers at your benefit auction to produce professional guest statements on-site
- Credit card services
During your benefit auction, Maximum Benefit Auctions will provide:
- Closing of silent auction sections in a manner that generates energy and builds towards the live auction
- Clear, respectful and lively bid calling
- Instant and gratifying recognition of high bidders
- Selling of multiple (duplicate) items in a professional manner
- Auction items of your choice to enhance and round out your live auction
- Exciting & rewarding auction add-ons such as fund-an-item, cake raffle, bidding frenzy, ticket raffles and much more
- Recognition of sponsors, volunteers and other valued guests
Going... Going Gone, Maximum Benefit Auction Seminars
The success of a benefit auction is in the planning. Whether you are a first time auction chair or a seasoned veteran, this seminar is for you! We will share best practices from auctions around the country and provide a guide for each step of your benefit auction process. From choosing a professional benefit auctioneer to selecting what to have for dessert, Maximum Benefit Auctions will share valuable time-tested insights with you.
This day-long seminar is offered twice a year. You will network with fellow auction staff and volunteers, leaving full of ideas and excitement for your upcoming event.
Topics will include:
- Benefit auction best practices
- How to make every minute a revenue minute while maximizing the fun
- Acquisition ides, Room Layout & Much Much More!
Contact Maximum Benefit Auctions if you want to be included in the next Benefit Auction Seminar.
Top of page.It is extremely important that the sound system be adequate for the room and the number of guests. If the bidders cannot hear or understand the auctioneer, all of your effort and expense will be wasted. Many otherwise excellent auctions have failed because of an inadequate sound system.
Be wary of house sound systems and of using the sound system brought in by the band or DJ.
Maximum Benefit Auctions can investigate your venue’s house sound system and, if necessary, provide your event with an auction quality sound system that will ensure all your bidders be able to clearly hear and participate in your event.
By investing in a quality system, you ensure not only that your professional benefit auctioneer will be heard and understood by happy, comfortable bidders, and that any speakers later in the evening will also be clearly audible to your audience.
Top of page.Pricing Options for Your Auction
Depending on your needs, we offer two ways for you to retain the services of a professional benefit auctioneer:
Stipulated Sum Plan
Pay per individual service
The advantage of a Stipulated Sum or Fixed Fee agreement is that you know what the expense will be for the services and products you select. The stipulated sum can be put into your auction budget; the expense will be exactly that amount. You simply pay for the services and products you receive. The Stipulated Sum Plan has been very successful with benefit auctions of every size, and we recommend this option for our benefit auctions that want to be certain of this expense.
Services Fee™ Plan
More services; bidders pay for auction services
For our benefit auction clients who would like to receive a wide range of support/services, we suggest the Services Fee™ Plan. This choice provides your benefit auction a complete package of valuable services including auction planning and auctioneering; event-night supplies, registration & cashiering support as well as additional services appropriate to your auction; and a post-auction review.
Instead of budgeting the thousands of dollars required to procure these services, you, our auction client, authorize us to place a 10% Service Fee™ on purchases (and donations if you choose) made the night of the auction. This method allows auction guests to effectively underwrite the cost of your professional benefit auctioneer, as well as other important auction expenses. These services, if budgeted at their value, could cost your auction upwards of $10,000. With the Service Fee ™ plan, your auction receives an in-kind grant from your auctioneer for any difference between services received and Service Fee revenues collected.
An example of Services Fee™ plan:
At-Auction Revenue is $55,000, yielding $5,500 of Services Fee revenue. Your benefit auction received a $10,000 package of services. Your organization receives a $4,500 grant from us; your organization pays nothing from the auction budget.
Whichever option you choose, we will work with your organization to put together a package of services and products for a fee that you feel comfortable with.
Top of page.Securely process payments at events.
We recommend Auctionpay Event Payment system.
Auctionpay is the only payment processing solution customized for nonprofit events. Whether you are holding a gala, an auction, a luncheon, or a golf tournament, Auctionpay Event Payments creates a better experience for your guests.
More than 4,500 nonprofit organizations use Auctionpay Event Payments for their silent and live auctions. It’s quick and easy for guests and for volunteers:
- Guests who plan to use a credit card to pay for their purchases, can have their card swiped at registration or check-in.
- All credit card information is securely stored in the Auctionpay terminals.
- After the guest's card is swiped, a bidder number is entered, effectively linking the credit card data to the bidder number.
- The guest signs a $0.00 balance receipt and receives a copy, eliminating the need to see the cashier at the end of the event.
Maximum Benefit Auctions offers travel packages that will generate interest and bidding excitement among bidders. Best of all, these auction items help you raise more money for your cause with no risk to your organization. No funds are required up front.
Travel packages available include trips to:
- Africa
- Mexico
- New York
- Caribbean
- Latin America
- Europe
- Oceania
- and many other national and international dream locations
