Imagine you’re shopping online for a new reusable water bottle, and you find two options on two different websites. The first one just says “Insulated Water Bottle” with no further description or photos of the product. The second option lists detailed information about how much liquid the bottle holds, how long it keeps drinks cold, whether it’s dishwasher safe, and other aspects of its construction, along with eye-catching pictures. Which water bottle are you more likely to buy?
If you’re like most shoppers, you’d probably pick the second option since the description gives you a better idea of what you’re getting. The same principle applies to silent auction items.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to craft silent auction item descriptions that grab participants’ attention and encourage them to bid, including:
- Essential Elements of a Silent Auction Item Description
- Display vs. Bid Sheet Auction Item Descriptions
- Winspire’s Silent Auction Item Description Template
Our team at Winspire has created an item description template to help you develop a consistent shopping experience as you plan your auction. But first, let’s look at what your silent auction item descriptions should include.
Essential Elements of a Silent Auction Item Description
Auction item descriptions should have enough detail to capture everything participants need to know about each prize while being simple enough to read quickly as they browse the tables at an in-person auction or flip through your online listings for a virtual auction. To strike this balance, focus on the following four elements of your descriptions.
Your Nonprofit’s Branding
Consistent branding gives your item descriptions a professional look and feel, and it helps new supporters get familiar with your brand throughout your event. Configure your description template so it includes key brand aspects, such as your nonprofit’s:
- Name
- Logo
- Color scheme
- Typography
- Messaging standards (tone, word choice, mechanics, etc.)
While your organization’s branding should reinforce its mission, you may also want to include a condensed version of your mission statement or a brief note about how you plan to use the funds from the auction under your name and logo. This ensures everyone understands your event’s purpose, and it can encourage them to place more bids.
A Bold, Creative Title
When coming up with names for your auction items, put yourself in your supporters’ shoes. If you were attending your auction, which of these prizes would you be more likely to bid on?
- The “Board Game Package” or the “Game Nights Rule! Gift Basket”?
- “Two Tickets to a Beyoncé Concert” or “The Cowboy Carter Tour VIP Experience”?
- “3-Night Vacation in Los Angeles” or “Lights, Camera, Action! Hollywood Adventure”?
Chances are, the second title in each pair would draw you in and make you excited to bid. Especially for valuable, unique prizes, make your titles as creative as possible to pique participants’ interest, and use a large, bold font so they’re noticeable.
Item Details
This section will be the bulk of each silent auction item description. While you’ll need to include a lot of information here, remember that silent auctions can include 100 items or more, meaning your supporters will be doing a lot of reading during your event! This is why you should also write concisely (i.e., short paragraphs and bullet points where possible) so participants can skim them.
Make sure to list the following details about each item:
- Everything the winning bidder will receive, which is particularly important for gift baskets and other bundled prizes.
- Any restrictions on the item’s use (e.g., if a vacation has to be taken during a certain time frame or a restaurant gift certificate is only valid at one of its multiple locations) to ensure winners can get the full value from their prizes.
- Pricing details so bidders know the starting bid amount, minimum bid increase, and “Buy Now” price (if applicable for high-value prizes). Some organizations like to list fair market values (FMVs) for tax deduction purposes, while others omit them to avoid creating a cap for bidding, so it’s up to you whether you want to share each item’s FMV.
- Donor or sponsor information as an acknowledgment of their contribution to your event.
When you request an in-kind donation of an auction item or purchase one on consignment, ask the provider if they’ll give you some details about that prize and any useful pricing information. Since your team will need to write individual descriptions for 100 or more items, getting providers to lay their foundations can save lots of time.
Images
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that cliché rings true for auction items. Just like with our online shopping example, participants want to see what they’ll win before they bid, especially if you’re hosting a virtual auction or if you can’t place an item on the table at an in-person event because it’s intangible (i.e., an experience) or risky to leave out (i.e., a gift card).
For the latter types of items, you’ll need to use photos related to the prize rather than images of the prizes themselves. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Iconic sights or landscape pictures from the destination for a vacation package.
- Window cards for concerts or musicals you’re auctioning off tickets to.
- Photos of a restaurant’s signature dishes that a winning bidder might purchase with their gift certificate.
If you take a photo of a physical item for a virtual catalog or to help match the prize to the correct display, position it against a solid-color background and ensure the photo looks as professional as possible in its lighting, framing, etc.
Display vs. Bid Sheet Auction Item Descriptions
The silent auction item description elements above can be featured in two different places: display sheets (or prize listings for virtual auctions) and bid sheets. While some of the information on these documents may overlap, what’s most important to include on each document differs slightly.
Display sheet item descriptions can feature more details since their entire purpose is to showcase your item. Use large images and fonts for item titles to grab participants’ attention. You also don’t need to include pricing information on this sheet, although you can put the FMV at the bottom if you want to share it.
On bid sheets, your item descriptions should be more condensed in content and format to make room for bidding rows. You often won’t have room for images, but pricing information should be front and center. Make sure to still list bundle contents and restrictions to reinforce these important details, though.
Winspire’s Silent Auction Item Description Template
To make it easy to create professional-looking, consistent display sheets with thorough item descriptions, here is a template you can adapt for your nonprofit’s needs:
While we love creating fundraising resources like this at Winspire, our specialty is providing bucket-list travel packages (known as Experiences) as nonprofit auction and raffle prizes. Each Experience is risk-free to use because you only pay for what you sell at your event, and every dollar you earn above the Nonprofit Cost (list price) goes directly to your mission. We’ll also send you a description of each package you choose and photos for your display sheets—we want to make the process as easy as possible for you!
Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on Silent Auctions
Silent auction item descriptions can make or break whether supporters want to buy your highest-value prizes. With the tips and template in this guide on your side, you should be well equipped to write descriptions that encourage competitive bidding and help you reach your revenue goals.
For more information on silent auctions, check out these resources:
- How to Craft a Silent Auction Donation Request + Template. Discover tips and a template for creating another essential type of silent auction document: donation request letters.
- The Ultimate List of 150+ Silent Auction Item Ideas. Explore our top ideas for prizes to include in your silent auction that appeal to a wide range of audience preferences and budgets.
- Silent Auction Rules: How to Ensure Your Event Runs Smoothly. Learn how to set and enforce rules at your silent auction that promote fairness and efficiency.
