Go Virtual with Greater Giving Online Bidding!

Greater Giving Online Bidding allows you to connect more people to your cause—wherever they are!

This innovative tool—fully integrated with Greater Giving Event Software Online—can transform your silent auction into a 24x7 online fundraiser that allows you to raise money before, during, and after your live event...or, host an online only auction.

With mobile bidding software, your attendees can bid on auction items in the room using their own smartphones. Mobile bidding introduces the best facets of the online bidding experience - ease of use and heightened competition - to your live event, enabling you to add new excitement to your fundraiser and to raise more money.

There are five primary benefits:

1. Raise more money - mobile bidding software typically generates 10-30% more revenue.
2. Get more bids than you would by using clipboards - the system will send alerts to bidders’ phones when they have been outbid, generating additional activity.
3. Give your attendees a better experience - it’s easier and more convenient for them to bid from wherever they happen to be - in line at the bar, mingling with other guests, etc. - without having to fight the crowds to make their way back to display tables and write in their new bids.
4. Make your event more exciting - you can track, display, and announce results in real time, to create heightened “auction fever.”
5. Save time and reduce hassles with streamlined check-out, since bidders have already provided their credit card details online.

Our research suggests that the majority of people who attend silent auctions own smart phones, so while we expect a very small number of your attendees to fall into this category, you should have a few laptops or tablets on-site so that everyone is able to participate. Also, you might consider having volunteers in the room to assist those who prefer not to use mobile bidding, particularly if these bidders also happen to be major donors! Your volunteers can confer with attendees who want to participate, and can enter bids on their behalf.

You can send bulk text or email messages to your guests to keep them engaged throughout the event.

This is something that you and your auctioneer will want to determine. The items that you are offering in your live auction with an auctioneer are typically managed separately. However, you can use the platform to list particular items as a “Preview” for your attendees and to acknowledge item donors. It is possible to include high-ticket items usually offered in a live auction, but this typically works best with an auctioneer or emcee, who can keep the excitement going by announcing bids, hot items, and by “selling” your high-ticket items.

We do not recommend doing a silent auction with clipboards in conjunction with online bidding, because that may confuse your bidders. You can print and display item sheets, which include descriptions, images, and other pertinent information. This will provide attendees with the same information as the item pages on your auction website, in a format that they may be more comfortable with.

This depends on a number of factors that are specific to your organization and your fundraising goals. Greater Giving Online Bidding is designed to take the pressure off of your live event as your sole, one-night opportunity to meet your fundraising target. You have several flexible options to choose from as you plan your event. It is recommended that you create your event website 2-4 months prior to the event, and launch the site 3-4 weeks prior to your event. If you are opening mobile bidding prior to the live event, it’s best to begin 1-2 weeks before the event, with the leading online bids becoming the opening bids for items moved into the room. With mobile bidding in the room, you can choose to have bidding continue for selected items.

It can enable you to streamline registration, reducing long lines and wait time at check-in, because the platform will allow your attendees to register before the event. However, we strongly advise that you have several computers available at your event so that anyone who hasn’t pre-registered can do so upon arrival.

Since your bidders will have already registered online and provided payment information when they placed their first bid, the check-out process is greatly streamlined.