130,500 causes · $320M raised · 4.7 since 2009
Multi-organization events
Every group in town is asking the same forty businesses. Stop doing that.
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In a town of any size the same forty businesses are asked for donations by the civic organization, two service clubs, the parks friends, the library friends, the fire department auxiliary, three school groups and the historical society — each running its own event, staffed by an overlapping and exhausted set of volunteers.
A joint auction fixes all of that at once, and an independent civic organization is the natural convener because it has no brand to protect and no competitive relationship with anybody.
What each participant gains
- Every organization's list, which for the smallest participant is transformative
- One ask per business instead of eight, which businesses notice and appreciate
- Shared volunteer load across several bases rather than one
- A bigger catalogue, which raises more per item
- One set of costs — venue, platform, printing, insurance — divided
- A town-scale event that gets media coverage no single group's would
The one-ask-per-business point is what persuades the businesses, and it is worth leading the pitch with. Local owners are not refusing donations because they are mean; they are refusing the eighth request this quarter.
Settle the money before anything else
The whole arrangement lives or dies here, and it must be written down and signed before a single item is solicited.
- Which entity receives the money, holds it and receipts donors — and it must be one that can, which is where charitable status matters
- How proceeds are divided — equally, by items contributed, by volunteer hours, or by a fixed split agreed in advance
- Who pays the costs, and whether they come off the top
- What happens to unsold items
- Who owns the donor and bidder list afterwards, which is the question everybody forgets and the most valuable asset produced
The list question deserves particular attention. The bidder list generated by a town-scale auction is worth more than the proceeds, and an arrangement that does not say who gets it will produce a dispute between organizations that need to work together for the next thirty years.
The cleanest answer is usually that every participant receives the full list, with everybody's agreement stated to donors up front.
Divide the work by strength, not equally
The organizations in a town have different capacities and pretending otherwise produces resentment.
- The group with the largest list does promotion
- The group with the most active volunteers does procurement and logistics
- The group with a treasurer who is an accountant does the money
- The group with a venue provides it
- The group with a good photographer does the catalogue
One person from each organization, one coordinator overall, and one shared spreadsheet for assignments so no business is approached twice.
Pick one purpose, or be explicit that there are several
Two workable models:
A single shared project. Everybody raises for one thing the town will see — the playground, the bandstand, the lighting. Simplest to promote, easiest for donors to understand, and it produces a visible result everybody can claim.
A split by organization. Each participant names what its share will fund and that is published. Slightly harder to promote, and it lets groups with genuinely different missions participate without pretending to share one.
What does not work is a vague joint appeal in which no donor can tell what they are funding.
Say plainly which entities are involved
A donor giving to a joint auction should be able to see who receives, which participants are charities and which are not, and where their money goes. A town-scale event with an unclear structure attracts exactly the wrong kind of attention.
Handle the awkward participant
One of the groups will contribute less than it takes, and everybody will know which. Agree the split by a rule set in advance rather than by judgement afterwards — by items contributed, or by hours logged — so the conversation is with a spreadsheet rather than with a neighbour.
Do it again
The value compounds. A joint auction in its third year has a combined list, an established date, a known name in the town, businesses that plan for it, and a structure nobody has to renegotiate.
Agree at the outset that this is intended to recur, and put the review date in the written agreement.
General information, not legal or tax advice for your organization. Charitable status, incorporation and any agreement with a municipality are specific and consequential — an independent civic organization has no parent body to ask, which is exactly why this is worth one conversation with an adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Why run a joint auction?
Because the same forty businesses are being asked by eight organizations each running its own event with overlapping exhausted volunteers. A joint auction gives every participant everyone else's list, one ask per business, shared load and divided costs.
What persuades the businesses?
One ask instead of eight. Local owners are not refusing because they are mean; they are refusing the eighth request this quarter.
What has to be settled first?
The money, in writing and signed before a single item is solicited: which entity receives and receipts, how proceeds are divided, who pays costs, what happens to unsold items, and who owns the list afterwards.
Which question does everybody forget?
Who owns the bidder list. It is worth more than the proceeds, and an arrangement that does not say will produce a dispute between organizations that have to work together for thirty years. Cleanest answer: everybody gets it, stated to donors up front.
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Free for up to 20 items · Unlimited bidders · No credit card required