What to Say (& What Not to Say) During Charity Auction Marketing

Effective charity auction promotion isn't about clever copywriting or marketing tricks. 

It's about understanding what actually motivates people to care about your fundraising event. It involves creating a genuine emotional connection and knowing how to be specific with your posts.

But finding the right words to get those messages across can still be difficult. We’ll walk you through the core principles of effective messaging, show you before-and-after examples of what works (and what doesn't), and show you how to really inspire donors to come support your cause at your charity auction.

Different types of messages and content work for different phases of your promotion, so check out our Silent Auction Promotion Timeline first. Our timeline helps you create a content schedule through 5 different promotion phases.

(And don't skip Tip #4 on leveraging friend referrals. It's one of the most effective but underutilized strategies in auction promotion.)

Charity Auction Marketing Tip #1: Be Human, Not Corporate

It’s your donors’ genuine, human side that draws them to your cause. Donors resonate less with corporate announcements and more with content from real people who care!

To humanize your auction promotion:

• Use your real voice. Avoid generic event announcements or generic graphics. Instead, show your real excitement and your genuine care for the community.
• Show human faces. Research shows that donors respond best to seeing real human faces connected to your cause. Photos and video of your team, volunteers, or beneficiaries boost trust and connection.
• Highlight real people. Donors don't bid to help "The Organization,” they’re giving to specific people with specific problems in the community. So center your messaging around your cause.

Here are some examples of how to sound human (and how to not sound corporate) during different phases of your fundraising event promotion:

Example 1:

• What NOT to Say: “Help the New Cure Initiative raise funds at our charity auction. Proceeds go to MS research, treatment programs, and pharmaceutical solutions for MS.”
• What to Say: “We hope you can join us at our charity auction next month! We’re funding research for better treatment and hopefully a cure for the hundreds of thousands of people who have multiple sclerosis and are suffering from this condition every day.”

Example 2:

• What NOT to Say: “Our charity auction is coming soon! Featured item: Collector’s baseball card, autographed by Bryce Harper. Estimated value: $300.”
• What to Say: “We just received a rare collector’s item for our auction fundraiser: a 2019 baseball card signed by Bryce Harper! Thank you for the donation, Andrés Perez! This is currently valued at $300 and it’s in perfect condition.”

Charity Auction Marketing Tip #2: Integrate Storytelling

Storytelling is one of the most powerful nonprofit marketing strategies. More than 70% of donors said they’re more likely to donate to a nonprofit that effectively uses storytelling.

Storytelling for auction promotion works at three levels:

1. Behind-the-Scenes Narratives: Your team’s process of setting up your auction or utilizing auction funds.
2. Item Narratives: The stories behind each item (ask donors to tell their item’s story when they donate!) You may not know it, but your items may have a fascinating untold story connected to your cause! Or if you have items already related to your cause, put a spotlight on that!
3. Impact Narratives: The stories about your cause and how your auction will make a difference.

Throughout your promotion timeline, tell the different stories of your auction and your organization:

Example 1:

• What NOT to Say: "Save the date for our annual auction: September 5th!”
• What to Say: "Recently, one of our students Dylan got his first A in English class! He received some tutoring during our program and his teacher says it has made a huge difference for him to get his ideas on paper. We’d love to keep helping kids like Dylan who need some extra help, so we’re fundraising on September 5th through our annual auction fundraiser. Come say hi and join us for some fun while helping kids in the community!"

Example 2:

• What NOT to Say: “Bid on our handmade quilts donated by local artists!”
• What to Say: "We just received a new item for our annual auction fundraiser. Maria Farrell donated this handmade quilt after her daughter graduated from our program and got accepted into college. Congratulations Chelsea Farrell! Maria let us know that every patch represents a kid that graduated from our afterschool program with her daughter."

Charity Auction Marketing Tip #3: Be Specific with Your Call to Action

General awareness of your event helps, but it won’t drive bids or donations on its own. If you want donors to act, every piece of auction promotion content needs a purposeful call to action.

BUT, not every call to action should be a direct ask to donate or bid at your auction.

A directed call to action can include:

• When & where your auction takes place
• How donors can join your auction
• How supporters can make your auction a success (Can they donate items, volunteer, or spread the word?)
• Who or what donations are supporting
• How much time is left for bidding

Also consider personalizing your CTAs through email tools. Personalized call-to-actions perform 202% better than basic CTAs. You can personalize your CTAs by sending volunteering opportunities to previous volunteers, sending auction sponsorship requests to major donors, or personalizing based on location—like inviting local donors to attend in-person, while inviting donors from out of town to join your auction online.

Anything that is specific will help you drive up attendance numbers. Here’s the difference between vague, generic calls to action and ones that inspire donations:

Example 1:

• What NOT to Say: “Please come to our auction!”
• What to Say: “Click the link in our bio and pre-register to save your payment info for easy bidding.”

Example 2:

• What NOT to Say: "Our auction is live! Come bid at our auction."
• What to Say: "We’re only 50% of the way to our $25,000 goal! Our auction is live until Sunday at 8pm and we’d appreciate every bid and donation. Every dollar helps us fund our next shelter in Portland."

Example 3:

• What NOT to Say: “Auction closing soon!”
• What to Say:  “Our $3,000 all-inclusive Cancún trip for two is only going for $1,200 at our silent auction right now. Bids are coming in fast during the final hours so get your last bids in!"

Charity Auction Marketing Tip #4: Ask Donors to Share with Friends

Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways of getting more attendees at your event.

For any fundraising event or campaign, 58% of donors say they learned about the opportunity from a friend, family member, or colleague. That’s more than half of your donors at any fundraising event. 

People trust recommendations from people they know. And if someone they know is going to your charity auction, they are much more likely to join than if they received an event announcement directly from your organization.

So to utilize the power of friend referrals during event promotion, don’t forget to ask your supporters to invite their friends to join or to share your posts with their networks.

Example 1:

• What NOT to Say: “Our event is free to the public, so come join us for our charity auction!”
• What to Say: “Our event is free to the public. Join us to help stop hunger in Seattle, and bring your friends and family—everyone is welcome!”

Example 2:

• What NOT to Say: “Like and share this post!”
• What to Say: “Please share this post with your friends. The more love we get from the community, the more we can do to help feed our neighbors.”

People listen to recommendations from their friends, and they also listen to recommendations from their favorite influencers. Learn how to partner with influencers to promote your cause and your fundraising events.

Your Messaging Checklist

Before publishing any posts or sending any emails, run through this checklist to make sure your content will inspire supporters:

✔ Does this sound like a real human, not a press release?

✔ Is there at least one specific detail (name, number, item, impact)?

✔ Does it connect to our mission, not just promote items?

✔ Is there a clear, single call to action?

✔ Would this stop ME mid-scroll if I saw it?

✔ Have I shown emotion or excitement, not just conveyed facts?

✔ Have I proofread for typos and awkward phrasing?

Launch Your Auction Today

You’ve set expectations high for your charity auction with your marketing campaign, now let’s make sure your organization can deliver.

CharityAuctions offers professionally designed and intuitive fundraising pages for easy charity auctions and fundraising events. Explore our software completely free, and only pay when your auction earns. 

Check out The Complete Guide to Charity Auction Promotion for more tips on fundraising event promotion and auction marketing.

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly, TEDx speaker and CEO of CharityAuctions.com, helps nonprofits raise millions through auctions and AI. He hosts The Million Dollar Nonprofit podcast and inspires leaders to live their legacy, not just leave it.