A printable-style countdown — 90 days, 60 days, 30 days, week-of, day-of, and post-auction — so every task has an owner and nothing falls through the cracks.
"Nothing slipped this year." — Renee, chair
A printable-style countdown from 90 days out to post-event. Work the phases in order; the nonprofit auction planning guide explains the why behind each one.
If you do only one thing early, make it procurement. Teams that complete the 90- and 60-day donation work almost always outraise those who treat the checklist as a final-week sprint.
Open your account, reserve your URL, and begin building. Free base auction, live in minutes.
What's on a nonprofit auction checklist?
A phased countdown: at 90 days, set the goal, date, format, and committee; at 60 days, push procurement; at 30 days, build the auction and publish rules; the week of, promote and open bidding; day of close, run and verify winners; after, collect payment and thank donors. The full phased list is above.
How far ahead should we start the checklist?
Start about 90 days out. The earliest phases — setting the foundation and pushing procurement — are the ones that most determine how much you raise, so the further ahead you begin, the better.
What's the most important phase?
The 90- and 60-day procurement phases. The number and quality of items you secure early caps everything downstream, so front-load donation requests and follow-up before setup and promotion.
Can a small volunteer team run this checklist?
Yes. Assign each task an owner and combine roles where needed. The checklist is designed so a small committee can run a strong auction by working the phases in order rather than scrambling at the end.
What goes on the day-of and post-auction checklist?
Day of close: send reminders, monitor bidding, confirm the on-schedule close, and verify winners. After: invoice and collect, arrange pickup or delivery, export reports and record fair-market values, and thank every donor, sponsor, and bidder within a week.
Open your account and reserve your custom link now. Free base auction, no credit card.