ProSpeak: The Advantages of Moving Silent Auctions Online

Much as iTunes is making the traditional music store obsolete, the Internet and e-commerce wave is a catalyst for the death of the silent fundraising auction and its inevitable migration to the Web.

The 100-year-old silent-auction model suffers from seven inefficiencies that cumulatively result in a less effective outcome. This is the primary reason that thousands of silent auctions are moving online. Nonprofit fundraisers, who have traditionally raised billions of dollars annually through silent auctions at live events and galas, increasingly are moving to or supplementing them with online auctions to reach more bidders, have a stronger value proposition to item donors, and to create a more competitive bidding environment. This is eliminating inherent inefficiencies and inviting a new audience of cause-minded consumers to participate and continue growing this $16 billion marketplace.