Auction Off an Immediate, Exclusive Experience

Add excitement to your event with a tableside, decadent dessert cart or staffed, stocked bar cart

Few things sink a fundraising director’s heart more than looking toward the bar or food tables and seeing your dedicated, generous donors waiting in long lines. Eliminate the wait. 

Allow your guests and golfers the opportunity to get a personal, staffed bar cart for their table or foursome. Less time in line results in a better experience for your donors AND allows them more chances to give at your event. 

Is a bar not the right fit for your event? Consider a dessert cart with a variety of candy bars, cotton candy machine, or chocolate fountain.   

According to our Ultimate Silent Auction Study, exclusive experiences like these raise big! They are nearly the most successful category in terms of the number of bids and return on fair market value. Some of our partners have netted thousands live auctioning off a dessert or bar cart.  

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Set It Up

Let your supporters know about any exclusive experiences that will be available for bidding at your gala or golf outing. Hopefully, you use auction management tools that allow you to showcase an item before it is open for bids. GiveSmart does! And, winners can pay right away online, starting your event with an exciting revenue generator.   

Make sure you write an engaging description and include both photos and video to spotlight your item(s). Highlight the exclusivity of these experiences—only guests who get multiple dessert options tableside and with no lines! 

Live auctioning off your dessert or bar cart at the beginning of your event will start it off on a lively foot. It sets the tone that generous giving is happening and encouraged, too.   

Tips for Success

Contract Conditions

Ask your caterer if they have a bar cart you can use. No? Can you set up a VIP area and give your winners passes? Take a look at your caterer or event space contract conditions and see if you can shift the labor and cost of one passed appetizer or other fees to staff and food or drink for your cart.  

Sponsored By

Consider offering this live auction item as a sponsorship activation. As it would be auctioned off right at the beginning of your event, any company would have a captive audience. If a sponsor underwrites the item, you could even outsource some exciting elements like high-end candy, whiskey, and more!  

Social Media Preview

Preview your exclusive items via social media for your support network. Virtually hosted auctions allow bidding from anywhere. While a bar or dessert cart only makes sense for people in the room, sharing exciting, exclusive items encourages everyone to engage with your entire auction catalog.   

Double Up

Use this tried-and-true auction strategy when you auction off your dessert or bar cart. Give the bidder who lost out a chance to buy a surprise duplicate item for the highest price they had bid before losing. 

Enablement

Make it easy for your committee and board to share information about your event. Give them images for social media posting, as well as draft text. Virtually hosted auctions allow people from near and far to support your mission! 

Starting your event off with a fun, exclusive, revenue generator not only pleases your donors but also sets your organization up for fundraising success! Looking for a way to easily offer your auction online? Check out GiveSmart today.