Are the Volunteers at Your Charity Auction Informed?

How many times has a guest asked one of your volunteers about a certain activity or a timeline detail at your charity auction event only to be told the volunteer didn’t know the answer? Keeping your volunteers informed about the various activities going on during your fundraiser is very important.

I recently attended an event where the charity had asked me to be a part of their onsite training meeting with nonprofit staff and volunteers before the doors opened. We reviewed ALL of the activities as a whole so everyone had the same information. We covered basic things: what time the silent auction would close; what were the price points and prizes for the raffles/revenue generators; what time the ballrooms doors would open; when dinner would be served; etc.

This was extremely helpful to the volunteers. Not only did it help them feel confident in answering guests’ questions but it also served to make the volunteers feel they were a part of the event.

If you wanted to carry things a bit further, you could create a small cheat sheet with this information so all the volunteers have everything in writing. They could keep this in their pocket or take a photo of it on their phone so they’d have it to refer to if necessary.

Having volunteers who are informed about the various activities at your benefit auction ensures the guests get the info they need when they ask and creates unity among staff and volunteers.

Make every minute a revenue-generating minute!