Heading into their 23rd annual Einstein Gala, The Nuclear Museum knew that it was time to join the 21st century and explore a digital auction.The committee was looking for a platform that would allow easy fund transfers, have plenty of resources to help them with the transition, and also be easy for both the admins & volunteer team running the auction as well as the participants bidding. Deidre McVay-Schulmeister, a member of the Gala's committee, also wanted to be sure that it would be easy to track & download item performance, to aide with future auction planning.Luckily with Accelevents, the committee was able to find everything they were looking for in a digital auction platform, as well as some perks they were not expecting.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person portion of the gala had to be called off, but the online auction allowed bidders to participate & support the museum from the comfort of their own couches! McVay-Schulmeister said that bidders appreciated the visibility & detail on the Gala's auction site. Even if bidders couldn't see the items in person, the committee had still been able to upload multiple images & a description for each item, making it easy to get the details.After the cancellation of the in-person gala, the committee decided to open bidding for their online auction early, which led to higher proceeds for the event. In addition to making more money at the auction, McVay- Schulmeister reported that this was the quickest & easiest that checkout had ever been, with over 90% of the funds being collected in the days following the auction's close, opposed to the months it had sometimes taken in the past. The committee also loved the ease of being able to view & download all of the data from their auction with the click of a button.For all event hosts considering moving to an online-only fundraiser, McVay-Schulmeister had a few sage pieces of advice as someone who had been in the exact same position merely months ago:
"Really teach yourself & utilize the resources willing to help you make the transition, It’s important to learn every aspect [of the platform] from what the customer views to as well as being a back end expert. Utilize the help from Accelevents Customer Support. Get a buy in from everybody who participates. Guests, board, team etc., be open and honest to explain to them the process, make them feel comfortable, Assure them you’re there to help & have a volunteer team they trust."
If you're ready to take the leap & host your best auction yet, please reach out to our Customer Support team either using our Live Online Chat, or email us at info@accelevents.com!
