Tips to Host a Successful Silent Auction

Transcription

1 Tips to Host a Successful Silent Auction After reviewing these guidelines, please reach out to Allie Samis, associate development specialist, at the SHRM Foundation to discuss the details of hosting an auction /Allison.Samis@shrm.org Is a silent auction the best fundraiser for your chapter or state council? Silent Auctions sound simple, but require lots of time and support from the members of your group. It is extremely difficult to do an auction as a one person show. A silent auction can be a great fundraiser when hosted during a large event (i.e. gala, conference) and when items can be easily donated. Before committing to hosting a silent auction, first consider other events or activities. The SHRM Foundation has a list of quick and easy fundraisers to help your group educate others about the SHRM Foundation s mission as well as raise funds to help shape the future of HR. Top 10 fundraisers to hold at your next meeting or conference Is a silent auction legal in my state? Before you can hold a silent auction, please check out your state s fundraising laws. The SHRM Foundation cannot provide legal guidance about your state s fundraising rules. Please use the following link for guidance: After doing your initial research, create an event timeline: Silent auctions work best when paired with a special dinner, awards banquet, meeting, or conference that is likely to attract a large number of people. 9 Months Out - Connect with the SHRM Foundation to request permission to use the SHRM Foundation logo, brainstorm ideas, and collect resources o Send Allie (Allison.Samis@shrm.org) an discussing your event - Determine time, date, and location - Gather your committee of dedicated volunteers who will help you make the event successful 6 Months Out - Brainstorm a list of leads to reach out to about donating items (including potential sponsors) - Create your marketing materials which will include letters to businesses for auction items, response cards for businesses to send in with their commitment or with item, and event flyer (the SHRM Foundation has included templates at the end of this document) o Especially if this is an inaugural event, donors may be unsure of its success rate and hesitant to donate. Promote your event as a way for local businesses to get in front of HR leaders in their community Mention how you will be publicizing their brand throughout the process, including before, during, and after the event

2 Start by reaching out to your members to request they donate an item from their place of employment If your event has sponsors or vendors, request that each of them bring an item to auction Make sure to follow up with businesses you reach out via or phone or mail The most successful events are auctions that have low overhead by getting most items donated IMPORTANT NOTE: Though the SHRM Foundation is a non-profit and tax-exempt, your group is not and therefore, does not have an EIN number. Donations you will receive are not tax exempt since the donations were not directly received by the SHRM Foundation. The SHRM Foundation is happy to provide a letter of support discussing how your group has supported the SHRM Foundation in the past and why businesses should consider donating because of the marketing benefit they will receive. 1 Month Out - Create a master list of all of the items o Make sure the form is filled out completely including Fair Market Value (FMV) and address of the donor. This way you know where to send the thank you note and you can reach out to them next year. o Assign a bid number to each item - Create Bidding Sheets o Include a short description and the FMV o A general rule of thumb is to start bidding at 40% of the state value of the item. The bidding increases in increments of about 10% of the value (round up) - Create a program/item list for the event of the auction and discuss how to share this program/list before the event - Auction item and placement o Have your auction be in the center of it all whether that be the registration area or in the middle of the room o Use attractive displays to show items such as gift certificates and bundle smaller items together 1 Week After - Thank you or letter to everyone who attended, donated, or purchased an item - Turn in donations to the SHRM Foundation using our event worksheet - Mail to: SHRM Foundation, c/o Allison Samis, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

3 How to Submit Funds to the SHRM Foundation The SHRM Foundation has created an event worksheet to help you track your silent auction donations. The worksheet tracks information about the item, payment type, and winning bidder. If you are submitting your donation as an individual donation, you will need to submit this form at the same time you submit your donations. The worksheet can be found under the Volunteer Resources tool kit or by clicking the link above. Before your event takes place, consider if you would like the funds you collect to count as individual or chapter/state council donation. - Chapter/state council donation are funds that come from your chapter/state council bank account and count towards your SHAPE requirement. The winning bidders will make their donations out to your chapter (not the SHRM Foundation). The chapter receives the acknowledgement letter for the donation. The winning bidders do not receive a receipt. - Individual donation comes from an individual and the donation is made out to the SHRM Foundation. The individual receives the acknowledgement letter from the SHRM Foundation for the payment above the FMV of the item (ex: Individual was the winning bidder for a purse that has a FMV of $100 and their winning bid was $150. Individual will receive an acknowledgement letter for $50). FOR SHAPE REQUIREMENTS: o If you submit a chapter/state council donation, then the full amount of the donation will be reflected as a chapter donation or a state council donation. o If you submit individual donations, then the individual will receive credit for payment above the FMV and the chapter and state council will receive recognition credits for all payment amounts (i.e. the full winning bid). o Donations will appear on the contribution reports.

4 Cash donations from winning bidders - Do not mail cash donations - If the cash donation will be a chapter/state council donation, deposit the cash in your chapter/state council bank account and write a check to the SHRM Foundation from your chapter/council account - If the donation will be an individual donation, deposit the cash in your chapter/state council bank account AND write a check to the SHRM Foundation for the amount of the donation and include a specific note in the check memo and in an attached letter describing who should receive credit for the check amount. Check donations from winning bidders - If the donation will be a chapter/state council donation, the check should be payable to your chapter/state council and deposited in your chapter/state council bank account - If the donation will be an individual donation, the check should be payable to the SHRM Foundation. Mail checks to the SHRM Foundation with your event worksheet Credit card donations from winning bidders - If the donation will be a chapter/state council donation, your chapter/council can take credit card donations but no credit card donations accepted by a chapter/council will be considered tax exempt - If the donation will be an individual donation, collected credit card information using the SHRM Foundation donation form and submit all completed forms with your event worksheet Where to send the information - Mail your donation and your SHRM Foundation donation form to: SHRM Foundation c/o Allie Samis 1800 Duke Street Alexandria, VA If the donation will be an individual donation, please include your event worksheet with the SHRM Foundation donation form and donation How to check that information has been received and data entered? - The SHRM Foundation post weekly updates on chapters and state councils fundraising totals throughout the year. Your donation will post on the reports within 3 weeks of being received by the SHRM Foundation. - Access the contribution reports: here

5 Appendix A Sample Solicitation Letter Date Name Company Address 1 Address 2 City, State Zip Dear Name: The (name of chapter / state council) invites you to participate in the (xth annual) silent auction, which will take place on (date) at (location). Proceeds benefit the SHRM Foundation, a public charity that provides scholarships, research and education to shape the future of HR. (If applicable:) Last year s silent auction featured (xx) items and raised more than ($x,xxx) to support the SHRM Foundation. The success of the silent auction depends on the creative and interesting items we receive as donations for bid. (Personalize as appropriate highlight their participation last year, list a few of the companies that had participated and invite them to join) Don t miss out on this great opportunity to demonstrate your company s support of the HR profession. We are expecting more than X attendees, who are all adult professionals in our community. These individuals are working professionals in our community, and they are your current or future customers. This silent auction is a great way to showcase your company s products/services while supporting a worthy cause Your company will receive acknowledgement of your participation in the silent auction in the (fill in here your newsletter, or event program, or other mailing to your members in advance?). We will also highlight your company s participation (fill in here will you have a sign made listing all item donors? Scroll a PowerPoint listing of donors?). Thank you in advance for your consideration! In the meantime, if you have any questions about the (chapter/state council) or the silent auction to benefit the SHRM Foundation, please contact me at ( ) or (phone). Sincerely, Name Title (Silent Auction Chair?)

6 Appendix B: Sample Description Sheet Template BID # Autographed TITLE books OF ITEM from keynote speakers at SHRM Annual Conference Short description of item to engage and entice bidders FAIR MARKET VALUE: $ STARTING BID: $ Donated by:

7 Appendix C: Sample Bidding Sheet Template #Bid Number: Title FAIR MARKET VALUE: $ NAME BID AMOUNT $«Starting_Bid» (ex: $10) (ex: $20) (ex: $30) (ex: $40) (ex: $50) (ex: $60) (ex: $70) (ex: $80) (ex: $90) (ex: $100) (ex: $110)

8 Appendix D: Sample form to use when collecting items SILENT AUCTION HOSTED BY XXX to benefit the SHRM Foundation Please accept the following item: Click here to enter text. Fair market value of item: $ Click here to enter text. Description of item ( words): Click here to enter text. Are there any regulations regarding this item? (i.e.: expiration date to use or redeem, required minimum bid) No, there are no regulations regarding this item. Yes, the regulations are: Click here to enter text. To redeem or schedule, the winner should contact*: *Contact information will be provided to the winner of this auction item. Name: Click here to enter text. Telephone: Click here to enter text. Click here to enter text. Information: Name (as it will appear on item signage): Click here to enter text. Address: Click here to enter text. City: Click here to enter text. State: Click here to enter text. Zip: Click here to enter text. Telephone: Click here to enter text. Click here to enter text. SHRM Member ID: Click here to enter text. Please send a copy of your company s logo to: XXX@XXXX.com Thank you for supporting our silent auction!

9 Appendix E- Sample Thank You to Item Donor (please note this is not a tax receipt) Date Name Company Address City, State Zip Dear (name): Thank you for your generous donation of (xxx) for the (your chapter or state council name) s Silent Auction held on (date). With your support, the silent auction featured (xxx#) items ranging from (xxx) to (xxx) [e.g.. travel excursions to electronics] and raised ($x,xxx). (Add more here if you would like e.g., We doubled the amount raised last year! or We surpassed our fundraising goal of $xxx! or anything else noteworthy.) As you may recall, the proceeds from the silent auction benefit the SHRM Foundation, a charity affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management. The SHRM Foundation supports academic research, scholarships, educational materials and practitioner resources to shape the future of HR. Your support will help deliver scholarship to future leaders, further HR research, publish reports and briefings, and produce case study DVDs. We are planning to hold this silent auction again and hope we can count on your support next year. Thank you again for your generosity! Sincerely, (your name) (your title perhaps Silent Auction Chair)

10 Appendix F- Sample Thank You to Winning Bidder (please note this is not a tax receipt) Important note: The individual only receives an acknowledgement letter if the SHRM Foundation receives an individual donation and the amount is more than the fair market value. Your thank you letter should not include the standard IRS language (the tax-deductible portion of their gift, etc.), and does not even need to mention the amount they contributed that would duplicate the official thank you letter we send from here. Instead, your letter is a thank you from the chapter or state council, thanking them for their participation and support. Date Name Company Address City, State Zip Dear (name): Thank you for participating in the Chapter/State Council s Silent Auction held on (date). With your support, the Silent Auction raised ($x,xxx) for the SHRM Foundation! (More here if you would like e.g., We surpassed our fundraising goal of $xxx! or This was our most successful Silent Auction ever! or anything else you d like to share.) Because of your support, the SHRM Foundation, a public charity, will deliver scholarship to future leaders, advance HR research, publish reports and briefings, and produce case study DVDs and move thought leadership forward. We hope you enjoyed the auction and will plan to participate again next year. Thank you again for helping to shape the future of HR! Sincerely, (your name)