130,500 causes · $320M raised · 4.7 since 2009
How much can a chamber of commerce raise with a silent auction?
A known membership, and a much larger audience sitting behind it.
Free for up to 20 items Unlimited bidders No credit card required
Short answer: whether member employees were reached, and how much the same members have already been asked for this year.
Working it out from the member roll
You know your audience exactly, which makes this the most precise sizing exercise here — and the one where the cumulative ask matters most.
- Members on the roll, sorted by sector so the catalogue gaps are visible
- Member employees, which is a much larger number than the member count and is rarely reached
- Banquet attendance, if the auction sits on the annual event
- What the chamber has already asked these same businesses for this year
The fourth input is the real constraint. Dues, tickets, sponsorships, the golf outing and the directory ad all land on the same businesses, and an auction added rather than substituted is sized by whatever is left.
What moves it
Member employees
The multiplier. A chamber counts businesses; a member with forty staff is forty potential bidders, and one newsletter line asking members to forward an item opens that audience.
Total ask across the year
Dues, tickets, sponsorships, the golf outing, the directory ad. The constraint is cumulative and it is not visible from inside a single campaign.
B2B lots in the catalogue
Advertising, services and introductions have no comparable and a business room bids on them: B2B item ideas.
Whether it sits on the banquet
The event exists, the room is assembled, and the date is fixed. Running separately means building an audience you already have.
Setting the goal
Name a programme members can see the value of — the scholarship, the leadership class, a downtown project — publish the figure, and report it in the newsletter with every donor named again.
Goal and budget mechanics: fundraising goals and budget.
General information, not tax or legal advice for your chamber. Whether a payment is deductible, and on what basis, depends on your entity's status and what the payer received — check with your own adviser before telling members anything about it.
More guides for Chambers of Commerce
A chamber is usually not a charity Annual banquet formats
The event you already hold Member donation drives
Asking the people you serve B2B item ideas
The category only you can sell Item ideas that actually sell
Consumer lots for a business room Getting items donated
Structure, so members are asked once
Frequently asked questions
What is the multiplier?
Member employees. A chamber counts businesses and markets to owners; a member with forty staff is forty potential bidders, and one newsletter line opens that audience.
What is the real constraint?
Total ask across the year — dues, tickets, sponsorships, the golf outing, the directory ad. It is cumulative and not visible from inside a single campaign.
Should it sit on the banquet?
The event exists, the room is assembled and the date is fixed. Running separately means building an audience you already have.
Name what it funds and open bidding
Set the real cost as your goal. Free for up to 20 items, no credit card.
Free for up to 20 items · Unlimited bidders · No credit card required