Charity Car Auctions -
A Tough Yet Profitable Fundraising Event

A Charity Car Auctions fundraiser is one very tough fundraiser to do... But it can be done!

And if you do it properly, then it will be one of the most profitable fundraisers that you ever hold.

If you are genuinely thinking of holding a car auction fundraiser then I would highly suggest that you get professional help with it.

There are professional car auction companies that run auctions all the time and will make the running of yours so much easier.

You can do a simple Google Search below to find a local professional car auctioneer...

A Charity Car Auction is one tough fundraiser to organize but if done properly it will be one of the most profitable fundraisers you ever run! (Photo by Airwaves1 / Flickr)

Educate Yourself...

I would also suggest that you read enough of the right material to help you with organizing your car auction and any other auction or event you hold...

This page is a good start but also take the time to read the other pages and resources recommended through this charity car auctions page.

They will be extremely helpful in ensuring that your auction is profitable and successful!

Another great idea is to watch Sherry Truhlar's, How To Run a Nonprofit Auction Checkout - A Step-By-Step Guide. It will help increase your profits.

Let's get started...

Acquiring The Cars:

The most ideal way to get your cars is for them to be donated.

It's also probably the harder way but you will be very surprised at how many people and even companies will be willing to donate their used cars to you!

What you need to do is just ask. The worst someone can say is no.

Obviously by getting them donated you will be able to make a much larger profit on your charity car auctions, as your auction items will cost you nothing.

The other way would be to have car companies and dealerships provide you with vehicles for the auction.

You will then take a cut of each Auctioned vehicle.

Make sure you set a minimum bid on each of the cars to ensure that the car companies and your organization actually make a profit!

What Fundraising Auction Will You Use:

Another important decision will be to decide what type of fundraising auction you will hold.

Here are the three I would suggest...

A Live Charity Auction:

A live Auction is one option for running your Charity Car Auction. (Photo by M. Holland / Flickr)

This is the obvious way of running your charity car auctions.

It creates huge excitement and buzz, and is a sure way of getting those bids soaring.

I would recommend that you use a professional auctioneer to run it and obviously use a professional car auctioneer if you can.

You will need volunteers to help out and also a venue.

Read more about running a live Charity Auction here.

An Online Auction Fundraiser:

Here is the Ace in Hole!

An online auction fundraiser is one of the most rewarding fundraising ideas that you could hold.

It is not restricted to geographic locations, and also has no time constraints that a regular live auction has.

Which means that anyone can bid from anywhere on the world (or anywhere in the country you allow bidding from), and that you can run the auction for a week or even a couple of weeks.

It also gives you the ability to promote it in a way that brings the prospect straight from the promotion to the auction. The magic of online promotion!

It's a Definite Option...

This type of auction is definitely an option for your charity car auction and I would highly recommend it.

You can setup an online auction fundraiser easily with MyEvent. They have all the tools and support available to help make your online auction a success!

For more information on running an Online Auction Fundraiser go here...

Another option is to combine an online auction with your Live Auction.

A Silent Auction:

Silent auctions have become very popular and I've seen quite a few groups have unbelievable success with them.

You will have bidding sheets for each item (car) pinned to a wall where people can come and place their name and bid on the sheet. Obviously their bid needs to be higher than the previous bid.

The silent auction will then have a cut off time and at that time the person with the highest bid will take the item. That's the basis of how it works.

It May Prove Difficult...

As a charity car auction it may prove a bit difficult. But because there are no time constraints with how long you can run it for, it can also prove to be very successful!

You may rather want to run a silent auction that includes a car, instead of a silent auction that is totally based as a car fundraising auction.

Final Notes On Charity Car Auctions:

The most important thing to do to ensure that your charity car auctions are a success is to promote and advertise them properly.

Without anyone attending or bidding at your auction you have almost no chance of succeeding.

So read the Live Charity Auctions page for tips and ideas on promoting your car auctions effectively!

Also read this page for more Promotion ideas.

A Good Idea...

...Would be to promote the auction to car dealers and salesmen. They will definitely be interested in bidding at your event to try get some good deals!

Before embarking on this fundraiser you should also evaluate whether your supporters are the right type of people for a car charity auction. You do not want to run an auction where no one is interested in buying anything!

This is a tough fundraiser, but if run successfully can be extremely profitable for your group. You just need to decide whether you can pull it off or not.

I would highly recommend that you read the Instant Event Fundraising Guide , which will help you with organizing and running any event successfully.