Here's an Easy Charity Auction Tip - Use Surveys

When it comes to incorporating a simple auction idea into your fundraising gala, don't forget about one of the easiest ways to get feedback from your charity auction: surveying your auction guests.

I was reminded of this recently while listening to the radio. The DJ was asking his co-hosts and callers about their preferred superhero power. "If you could have one superhuman power," he'd ask, "What would it be?"

Flying and invisibility were popular, but so was the ability to read minds.

The ability to read minds would be handy at a benefit auction. You could finally learn what guests really thought about your creation. Did they notice the theme? Did they understand where the money was going? Did they mind the cash bar? From a planner's perspective, we want to know what the guests preferred. Knowing our guests' preferences helps us plan a better event.

Some guests will comment about the gala when they check-out. Others will complain to an administrator. Some folks will make an effort to find and compliment the Auction Chair before they leave. But all three of these methods are haphazard ways to track data.

Surveys are an excellent, yet underutilized, charity auction tool. If you've collected email addresses as guests registered, it's easy to send out an electronic survey to capture quick data about their take on the gala.

Here are some of the questions you might ask:

• Did you attend the gala as a sponsor, as a guest, or as an individual ticket holder?
• What city / suburb is most convenient for you to attend a fundraiser?
• How many fundraisers do you attend in a year?
• What night of the week are you most likely to attend a fundraiser?
• Where did the proceeds of the gala go?

You can also ask guests to rate elements of the night. For instance, on a 5-point scale, you might ask them to rate the registration, check-out, food, dress code, location, facility, benefit auctioneer, auction items, or entertainment.

For high participation in your survey, keep it short. And send your survey promptly, preferably within three to four days of the auction. That way, the gala is still easy for them to remember.

There are several free online survey tools that you can find with a simple Google search. If you've got an event coming up, I advocate that you design and write your survey now, prior to the auction. Then the survey link will be ready to email the day after the event.

Outside of reading your guests' minds, a survey is your best method for finding out what your guests most enjoyed about your benefit auction.

Called the "Queen of Benefit Auctions," fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS has been featured in national publications (The Washington Post Magazine... AUCTIONEER) and on cable television programs (E! Style... TLC) for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. In addition to servicing clients through an elegant and playful auctioneering style, she specializes in a variety of popular online classes to teach volunteer auction chairpersons the simple steps for improving the financial bottom-line of their charity auctions. Her free or nearly free auction ideas are used by hundreds of charities, and her popular, FREE Auction Item GuideTM is downloaded by dozens each day who seek auction procurement help. GET YOUR OWN FREE GUIDE (listing the 100 top-selling items you can sell in your auction) AT http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.