Managing fundraising events can be challenging — we get that. There are so many things to keep track of. Any setback can feel like it could jeopardize the whole event.
At ClickBid, we’re dedicated to helping nonprofits overcome their challenges. Since 2002, it’s been our focus to help nonprofits raise awareness, strengthen donor relationships, and enable year-round giving opportunities to raise more money.
How ClickBid enable nonprofits to make it to the million-dollar milestones?
Introducing Success Stories — stories from nonprofits and charities on how they’re managing their auctions, reaching more people, and raising more money.
Here’s one of their stories.
Germantown Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (KoC) is a membership-based organization that focuses on community outreach in an effort to support those in need around the world. With deep roots in faith and service, the Knights of Columbus tirelessly engages in charitable initiatives, supporting multiple different charities, and has thousands of satellite councils with over 1.9 million members, making it one of the world’s largest charitable organizations in the world.
Located in the heart of Tennessee, the Germantown council of this national organization has partnered with ClickBid to help raise money to support local charities. With approximately 200 members, their council focuses on making a difference within their community. Recently, they partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes, providing their time, skills, and resources.
From Pen and Paper to Mobile Bidding
In years past, the Germantown Knights of Columbus gathered annually and ran a one-day-only dinner with a silent auction. Auction items were set up around the room with paper bid sheets, while attendees would continuously leave their seats to see if they had been outbid.
“This process was okay, but it was a lot of work to run the event, and a lot of work to complete the checkout process,” says Jim Clark, the council’s treasurer.
In 2020, Jim and his team realized the need for a dynamic shift in their fundraising strategies, prompting a search for an innovative and online solution to enhance their fundraising efforts. Jim turned to ClickBid to seamlessly adopt a mobile bidding strategy — opening the playing field for both in-person and online donors to contribute.
After switching their fundraising approach, the Germantown Knights of Columbus ran a multi-day silent auction utilizing ClickBid’s Bidding Software. The results spoke for themselves as the organization witnessed an increase in participation, higher bidding activity, and ultimately, greater fundraising success.
“We opened the auction the same Saturday as our dinner, and the auction remained open until the following Friday evening. Even with the fast pace of a silent auction, ClickBid has made it so easy for our bidders to keep track of what they are winning and quickly place new bids — our attendees don’t even need to leave their chairs to bid!”
Enhanced Engagement
In addition to mobile bidding, ClickBid’s messaging features also were imperative in creating a successful multi-day event for the KoC.
“We love that you can run the auction for several days, and still have the option to communicate with bidders using the mass messaging feature. The auction used to be limited to one day and only in person. Now we can send an email or text message to every donor, ensuring that they are well-informed, keeping the entertainment going for more than one day, and ultimately driving up our donation totals,” stated Jim.
“We really like this software. It’s so robust and makes our life easier. Bidders can simply open up their phones and place bids. Since the first time we used ClickBid in 2021, we have averaged more bidders, higher net proceeds, and received more donations than ever before. The preparation work we have to do for this auction has been streamlined, and we are consistently better than in previous years. It’s made our life simpler,” he said.
Before implementing mobile bidding, the Germantown KoC always conducted a last-chance auction, giving donors the ability to purchase any unsold items. Conducting this last-chance auction was always a worry for the nonprofit because they didn’t want to see any items be unsold and lose out on those crucial fundraising dollars.
“ClickBid has also changed how we run our second chance auction. We’re able to easily and effectively communicate with bidders after the auction to organize pickup times and items still available for purchase,” Jim explained. “That being said, with how successful our auction was this past year, I don’t anticipate needing to run a section chance auction next year!”
Embracing Technology – One Event at a Time
The Germantown Knights of Columbus’ partnership with ClickBid revolutionized their fundraising approach. Their efforts to easily learn and adapt ClickBid’s software allowed them to reach more individuals and make a greater impact within their community.
ClickBid’s features not only simplified event logistics for the Germantown KoC and donors alike, but also increased participation, bidding activity, and donations, leading to overall increased fundraising success.
ClickBid is proud to partner with the Germantown Knights of Columbus in their efforts to make a difference within the Germantown, TN community and around the world.
For more information about the Germantown Knights of Columbus, please visit their website.
For more information on how your nonprofit can implement mobile bidding to streamline fundraising efforts and surpass fundraising goals, click here for more information.