subject: Charities Turn to Live Bid Online Auction Strategy to Bring in New Donors [print this page] Want to support a good cause? Then consider bidding in a live bid online auction. A live online auction, unlike a traditional auction, is held entirely online. There is no need to drive for hours down to the auction house. Waiting around for hours for your item to come up for sale is a thing of the past. Plus, the snipers of eBay will have no way of gaining unfair advantage over you.
However, those are just good reasons for going to any old online auction. However, we've spotted a new trend where you can not only get some great bargains, but you can also feel good about it at the same time.
Cash Strapped Charities Head Online
It started with the political action committee called Moveon.org. The organization was created during the second Bush presidency when some people were unhappy with the way the President was running the country. Moveon.org was a small website that no one had ever heard of and no one expected that they would actually amount to much.
However, a funny thing happened. Moveon.org became a phenomenon because they were there on the Internet right at the cusp of its moving from a place for geeks to a place more mainstream and where your grandmother had an e-mail account. The donations came pouring, in small amounts to be certain, but the number of people donating was so overwhelming that Moveon.org became a nationwide phenomenon.
So What Does That Have to Do with Live Bid Online Auctions?
We're glad you asked that question. You see, Moveon.org did such a great job of raising money online that everyone else started to pile on as well. These days, every single charity worth their salt has a web page and a donate button where you can easily send money to your favorite cause. They're also sending out e-mails and making phone calls, asking you to visit their website and contribute.
However, because everyone has a website today, some charities are trying to find a way to stand out from the crowd and do something different in order to attract money from new donors or from old donors who just feel worn out by all the solicitations. The answer? Hold a live bid online auction.
New Sources of Revenue and New Ways to Get Rid of Things
Many charities today will hold an annual auction in an effort to raise money for their cause. However, they sometimes don't end up selling the items they have for sale and sometimes they get new donations after the auction that they didn't get to sell. Rather than being stuck with those items, the charities have found a new way to distinguish themselves online by using live online auctions to offer their regulars, as well as new people, a chance to support the cause. In doing this, they're finding a willing market for the objects that they couldn't sell off before.
In fact, holding a live bid online auction has become such a popular choice that we expect to see rapid growth of the field in the charity world over the next few years. So next time you find a charity you want to support, ask about their live online auction. You may even get a good bargain along with a good feeling.
Charities Turn to Live Bid Online Auction Strategy to Bring in New Donors
