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If you a throwing a high-profile business event, then you may well want to add a charitable element to your soiree. This is why at events such as corporate dos, award ceremonies and after parties, people often opt to feature a silent auction. Being both a fun pastime as well as adding a serious tone to a knees up, incorporating a fundraising aspect to your event is a must.  

However, choosing a charity or cause to fundraise for is difficult, with so many organisations, both locally and internationally, worthy of support. If this is something you and your team are struggling with, then allow us to help. Having worked with thousands of charities from across the world, we can help steer you in the right direction, picking a charity that is trustworthy, respectable and will strike a chord with your guests.  

Registered charities   

Modern fundraisers are a lot more particular about where their donations are going and how they will be used. This is why most decide to vet charities and nonprofits, ensuring they will use the money for good. One way to ensure this is by fundraising for ‘registered’ charities. These are charities that satisfy the definition of a charity in the Charities Act. 

The Charities Act says that a ‘charity’ is an institution which: 

• is established for charitable purposes only and 
• is subject to the control of the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction  

In order to become a registered charity, you take on various responsibilities, operating as a fully-fledged charitable organisation that takes its duties seriously. From creating trustees’ annual reports and producing accounts to following a ‘governing document’, a registered charity is one you know is in many ways, legitimate. What’s more is that organisations with income over £10,000 must publish their accounts. Remember this when scouting for a charity to raise funds for.  

Local and community-based projects  

If you are putting on a charity event that involves local entertainment, businesspeople and vendors, then you may want to take this celebration of ‘local’ one step further. By raising money for local, community-focused projects, you will understandably capture the attention of bidders, being a subject in which they can resonate with and potentially; benefit from.  

Personal attachments  

Being responsible for putting on any type of event is difficult, being time-consuming, challenging and presenting varied obstacles. This is why we find organisers that choose to fundraise for charities close to their heart gives them a focus, reminding them of why they are putting all this effort in. 

So, if you have a charity that strikes a chord with you, be sure to consider fundraising for them. Giving a backstory and some context as to why you are asking guests to donate, those that know you personally will certainly dig deep into their pockets.  

Reputable charities  

If you wish to play it safe, then choosing to support one of the larger organisations could be the route to go down. With Britain being at the epicentre of world charity fundraising, we boast a vast selection of large-scale charitable operations. From Cancer Research, Bernardos and Ty Hafan to Macmillan Cancer Support, The British Heart Foundation and The Red Cross, there are plenty of well-known, established charities that your guests will be happy to give their money to.  

Multiple organisations  

While you may feel pressure to pick the perfect charity that will please both you and your charity event attendees, the truth is, you can raise funds for as many organisations and causes as you so please. Often, picking two or three charities works well at large events, with different people responding and reacting to different charitable causes and organisations.  

Whatever charity you choose, make the objective and fundraising target clear  

Whether you choose to select one charity to partner your event with or like the idea or fundraising for a number of worthy charities, you will need to give your guests a figure that the auction aims to meet. Highlighting what that will achieve and where their money can help, it is essential that you define this. Having a clear goal will also look admirable to your guests, showing everyone that you have thought long and hard about why you are fundraising and actively striving to make a positive change in the world.  

Running a silent auction for your chosen charity  

If you are considering running a silent auction to raise money for your charity then we at Bid-Aid can help, working with you to make your event as profitable as possible. Managing everything that the silent auction entails, the Bid-Aid team can do everything from sourcing the memorabilia, arranging the booklet/iPad bidding and even sending the funds to the charity at the end of the night.  

So, if you are looking for a silent auction provider with a difference, then we would love to hear from you. Contact us today for an informal chat about how the whole process works.

Wednesday, 3rd April 2019