Auction Volunteers

Any well run auction relies on the auction volunteers. Are you ready to organize, motivate and direct this willing group? In order to achieve maximum success an auction has many moving parts. Most of the volunteer corp will be the ones moving these parts! Volunteer Management becomes a critical component. Let's look at a typical volunteer committee structure.

Auction Volunteer Committee Structure

How many people does it take to run a successful auction? Well, the answer depends on many factors. The number one auction strategy is your volunteer committee. As such, an organized committee with clear tasks and responsibilities is critical. Depending on the size of your auction, you could have individuals assigned to one or more committees. Synergy and communication are key. Your motivated volunteers will help generate the needed auction ideas and energy to make your event special.

Everyone is so busy these days that it is most important that there are clear expectations set at the beginning of the process. Here is a suggested committee structure

• Steering Committee: made up of Co-chairs of all other committees
• Procurement: this committee can be broken down further (for example, silent/live auction, raffle, special appeal, etc.
• Decorations
• Invitations, catalog, graphic design
• Sponsorship
• Registration and Bank: can include check in and check out process and procedures
• Display: can include display and set up for silent auction
• Class Kits/Class Projects (if appropriate)
• Audio Visual
• Matching Funds - coordination of matching gift fulfillment from donors and their matching gift companies
• Break down and clean up: can include coordination of transport of larger items to winning bidders
• Day of/Night of Event - Live and Silent Auction (people to shut down silent auction, runners when silent auction closes to bring items to check-out, etc.)
• Thank you/Recognition

As you can see, many of these committees could be combined or even broken down further depending upon the complexity and size of your event.

Another auction tip and one that is important in volunteer management is the volunteer job description. Volunteers deserve to understand what they are being asked to do. Having a clear job description for every role avoids confusion and allows for a better overall event and participant experience. See an example of a job description sample auction volunteer job description.

Auctions are terrific ways to raise big dollars for your organization. They are an amazing amount of work but can build a tradition for your organization that over time will be very profitable.