130,500 causes · $320M raised · 4.7 since 2009
How much can a booster club raise with a silent auction?
Real numbers from booster clubs and youth sports organizations, and what moves them.
Free for up to 20 items Unlimited bidders No credit card required
Short answer: the number of families in your program, and whether you included the ones outside the current varsity roster, predicts the result more than anything you auction.
Revenue across booster clubs
Working it out from the program
A booster club's audience is a roster and everyone attached to it, which is a bigger number than most boards use.
- Athletes on the roster, times two parents, plus grandparents who attend
- Alumni families from the last five seasons, if anyone kept the list
- An average winning bid families in your program can comfortably reach — the fee burden is already real
- Local businesses with a visible connection to the program
Boards routinely plan against the current roster alone. Adding five years of alumni families usually doubles the reachable number and costs one export from the registration system.
What decides a club's result
1. Families reached, not athletes rostered
Count households, then add every grade in the program rather than just varsity, then add alumni families. Mailing only the current roster is the most common way clubs limit their own reach.
2. Whether you have access items
Reserved parking, concession privileges, the senior banner spot. These have no reference price and they draw the competitive bidding. A catalogue of donated gift cards will not do it. See item ideas that actually sell.
3. A named purchase with a season deadline
"Mats before September, and here is the quote" asks parents for something specific. "Support the program" does not, and a season deadline supplies urgency you do not have to manufacture.
4. Timing against the rest of your fundraising calendar
If the discount card sale closed three weeks ago, you are bidding against yourself. Map the club's whole year before you pick a date, and consolidate rather than add.
Setting the goal
Work from your own families rather than a benchmark: households who will open the link, a modest share bidding, an average winning bid you would accept. Publish a goal a little above that floor so the progress bar fills. And check the goal is something your club is actually permitted to spend on — see bylaws and revenue allocation.
Goal and budget mechanics: fundraising goals and budget.
More guides for Booster Clubs
Coach, AD, principal, district — in order Bylaws and revenue allocation
Where the money can and cannot go Item ideas that actually sell
What a program's families bid on Getting items donated
Team parents first, Main Street second Signed memorabilia rules
What you may and may not auction Valuing items and starting bids
Memorabilia, experiences and authentication Senior night packages
The highest-emotion night of the season Tax rules and individual accounts
The compliance issue most clubs miss Rules, approvals and equity
State association, district policy, Title IX
Frequently asked questions
How many families does a booster auction need to work?
Roughly twenty households as a floor — below that the bidder pool is too thin for competition and a direct ask does better. Count every grade in the program plus alumni families, not just the current varsity roster.
Does a bigger program always raise more?
Reach matters more than roster size. A small program that mails every grade and its alumni families may put more households in front of the auction than a large one that reaches only current varsity parents.
Should we run an auction and a discount card sale in the same season?
Usually no. They compete for the same wallets. Map the club's whole fundraising calendar first and consolidate rather than add.
Set your number and open bidding
Name it after what you're funding, set the season deadline, and let the progress bar do the work. Free for up to 20 items.
Free for up to 20 items · Unlimited bidders · No credit card required