Why stretching a silent auction across weeks, not hours, works so well
Most fundraising auctions have to squeeze all their bidding into a single event lasting a few hours. What if you gave people three weeks instead?
That is how Paige runs things. She works at Renaissance Kids, a performing arts school in Vancouver. The preschool sits alongside a school of dance and a school of music, all under one roof. Each year the school picks a cause to support and channels its fundraising towards it, and a silent auction (supported by GalaBid’s online fundraising platform) has been part of that effort every year, since before Paige started.
Rather than tie the auction to one night, the school lets it run across its busiest season, when parents and grandparents are already coming through the doors for the year-end shows.
"The aim each year is simple: raise as much as possible for the cause the school has chosen, and make bidding easy for a community of families of all ages."
This year the school ran its biggest auction yet, with around 40 items, and Paige found the whole thing straightforward to manage,
"It was all pretty smooth and easy to do, which was great."
In this case study, Paige shares how the school runs its auction across a three-week season, how it sources items, and the small features that make it easy to manage year after year.
An Auction That Runs for Weeks, Not Hours
Instead of a single event, the school keeps its auction open for around three weeks, timed to run alongside its year-end dance show and music recital. Items are displayed throughout the school, and because the shows draw a steady stream of parents and grandparents over that period, there are far more chances to bid than a few-hour event could ever offer.
"It goes with our year-end events. All the parents and grandparents come and see it, and then they can bid on things."
As Paige is quick to point out, it stretches the definition of a silent auction, and that is rather the point.
"It's not really a silent auction [insomuch as it’s tied to a single event]. We've just always called it that. We just have the items on display throughout the school."
Fundraiser takeaway: If you already host onsite events during a busy season, running your auction across that whole window, rather than one evening, gives supporters many more opportunities to browse and bid.
Display It in Person, Let People Bid by Phone
Because the items are out on display around the school, Paige pairs that physical presence with online bidding,
"We display all of the items in person, and we print off the QR codes for everybody, and then they can just scan them right on the items."
It is a simple combination that lets people see and handle the items in person while keeping all the bidding, tracking and payment online.
Fundraiser takeaway: Displaying items physically while taking bids online gives you the best of both worlds. A QR code on each item turns anyone walking past into a potential bidder.
Sourcing Items from Every Corner of the Community
The auction actually began by accident. The school had gathered items for an anniversary gala that COVID forced it to cancel, so the following year it turned that stockpile into an auction instead, something it could run safely at the time. Paige has built on that ever since, drawing items from several sources.
Families donate generously, the school contributes its own offerings such as a music lesson package or a preschool uniform, and Paige approaches local businesses, giving them something in return.
"We have a little sponsorship program. If they donate something to the auction, they can get a little advertisement in our program at our dance shows."
That mix helped the school reach around 40 items this year, the most it has ever had.
Fundraiser takeaway: Spread your item sourcing across families, your own services and local businesses. Offering businesses a small piece of visibility in return makes it easy for them to say yes.
Offering a Way to Just Give
Paige has learned that not everyone wants to win an item. Some families would simply rather give. This year she used GalaBid’s Buy It Now feature to add set donation amounts, each with a tax receipt, for exactly those supporters, and she plans to keep it.
"Some of our families are quite generous, and sometimes they just want to donate money rather than getting an item, so we offered that as an option this year."
Not every feature has suited her crowd, though, and that is worth sharing too. An earlier attempt at a digital 50/50 raffle did not land, because her in-person audience, including less tech-savvy grandparents, were used to buying physical 50/50 tickets and were caught off guard. Knowing her community, she did not repeat it.
Fundraiser takeaway: Give supporters more than one way to contribute, including a simple donation option for those who don't want to bid. Just as importantly, match your features to your audience rather than the other way around.
A Quick Fix That Sold the Slow Items
Near the end of the auction, a few items had not attracted any bids. Rather than let them go unsold, Paige simply lowered their starting prices, and interest followed.
"I reduced the starting price, and then people started bidding. It was so easy. All the things that I reduced, they did end up going."
Being able to adjust on the fly, rather than being locked into her original prices, turned quiet lots into sales.
Fundraiser takeaway: If an item stalls, don't leave it sitting. Lowering its starting price partway through can be enough to get bidding moving, so choose a platform that lets you make those changes yourself.
Simple Enough to Duplicate and Go
Paige did not choose GalaBid herself. The colleague before her did, and when Paige took over she saw no reason to change something that already worked.
"I saw that it was easy, and I was like, let's just keep doing this one. This seems like it'll be a very simple, smooth process."
Each year she simply duplicates the previous campaign and works from there, without needing to start from scratch or reach out for help. Tellingly, the one year the school tried moving to paper bid sheets, it went the other way.
"My boss wanted to try paper, so he tried paper, and it did not go very well, so we went back to going online."
Fundraiser takeaway: For an annual fundraiser, the ability to duplicate previous campaigns and refresh them turns a yearly project into a quick, low-stress relaunch.
Looking Ahead
With a repeatable set-up, a reliable community of supporters and a growing pool of donated items, the school has an auction it can run confidently year after year. Paige plans to keep the Buy It Now donation option going, and keep refining an approach that already fits neatly around the school's year-end calendar.
By running its auction across weeks rather than hours, and making it easy for families of all ages to bid in person or by phone, the school turns a season of shows into meaningful support for the cause behind it.
Key Lessons for Fundraisers
Run your auction over a longer window
Tying it to events you already host gives supporters many more chances to bid than a single evening.
Display in person, bid online
A printed QR code beside each item lets guests see the items and bid from their phones.
Source items from everywhere
Families, your own services and local businesses can all contribute, especially if you offer businesses a little visibility in return.
Give supporters a way to simply donate
A Buy It Now donation option, with a receipt, captures people who would rather give than win.
Keep set-up effortless and adjust as you go
Duplicating last year's campaign makes relaunching easy, and lowering starting prices can rescue items that stall.
For Paige and the school, the auction was never about one frantic night. It was about making it easy for a whole community to give, at their own pace, across the events they already attend, and turning that into real support for the cause behind it.
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