Insights
How fundraising evenings actually work.
The arithmetic, the mechanics, and the decisions that quietly decide your total. Written for a fundraising director with a target and a board. Every piece argues something.
The silent auction series
Run yours in-house, and keep the money
Silent auction ideas that keep the money
21 ideas that cost your charity nothing to source, because a donated lot keeps every pound, and a bought-in lot pays a supplier first.
Read →Silent auction items: what actually sells
How many lots you need, how to spread the price points, and which items reliably attract bids, and which sit at their opening price all night.
Read →Silent auction bid sheet template
The eight things every bid sheet needs, and an honest look at where paper hits its ceiling.
Read →How to get silent auction prizes donated
Who to ask, how to ask so they say yes, and why an afternoon of sourcing is the highest-value fundraising work of the month.
Read →Live auction vs silent auction
What each is actually for, how they work together across an evening, and the thing neither of them can do.
Read →The full guide
How to run a silent auction that keeps the money: the complete pillar guide, from items and starting bids to timing, phones and Gift Aid.
Read the guide →Running the night
Mechanics, money and the UK rules
Gift Aid on charity auctions
Gift Aid rarely applies to a winning bid, because the winner receives goods. The HMRC split that does work, and how to build it into the night.
Read →How to run a live pledge
A tiered pledge lets the whole room give, not just the ten people who won lots. How to structure, script and place it.
Read →Charity auction payments and fees
Whose merchant account the money lands in, who owns the donor data, and what a platform fee really costs on a six-figure evening.
Read →Do you need a raffle licence?
The UK rules on raffles, lotteries and prize draws at charity events, what needs a licence and what does not.
Read →Starting bids and reserve prices
Why a high opening bid is the most common reason a lot gets no bids at all, and how to set prices that climb.
Read →Mobile bidding explained
How mobile bidding works, why outbid alerts move the total, and what changes when guests can bid from their seat.
Read →Sealed-bid auctions
What a sealed-bid auction is, when it beats a silent or live auction, and how to run one without losing the tension.
Read →Silent auction vs raffle
What each does for an evening, how they differ in reach and effort, and why most galas should run both.
Read →How to promote a charity auction
Getting bidders engaged before the doors open, so your silent auction arrives with momentum instead of starting cold.
Read →Running an online charity auction
Timings, lots, promotion, closing mechanics, and taking payment without chasing people for a fortnight.
Read →How much can a charity auction raise?
What UK charity auctions actually raise, what drives the number, and why the mix matters more than the size of the lots.
Read →The whole evening, designed
Four phases and the Giving Curve, where every giving moment sits across the night, and why the pledge always follows the auction.
The Banked Method →Every article
All insights, newest first
Guides, platform comparisons and the UK rules, from Gift Aid and platform fees to auction of promises ideas. Each new piece appears here the day it goes live.
- Beacon CRM: a serious charity CRM, and what a gala still needs
- Can you cancel a charity auction bid? What UK law says
- Switch fundraising platform without losing donor data or Gift Aid
- Card surcharge charity rules: what the UK ban means for an auction
- US fundraising platform GDPR: what a UK charity should check
- Platform tips and the Fundraising Regulator: what a charity should check
- Gift Aid declaration wording: what a guest must be told at your event
- Gift Aid on tickets: what a charity dinner can and cannot claim
- Donor data GDPR: the rules a fundraising night actually tests
- Charity auction chargebacks: why they happen and how to stop them
- Benevity: how a UK charity actually gets paid
- The Pennies charity box: what a charity actually receives
- Give as you Live: how much a charity really raises
- Crowdfunder UK: what a charity keeps, and what the match funds add
- Chuffed fundraising: the fee model a UK charity actually gets
- Give Lively: the platform two philanthropists pay for
- easyfundraising: what a charity actually gets, and when
- KindLink: a free charity CRM, and what it leaves to the night
- Wonderful.org: the platform that really does take nothing
- Charity lottery: how to run a weekly draw in the UK yourself
- Unity Lottery for charities: where each £1 goes, and what you register
- Raffolux for charities: what share of a ticket actually reaches you
- Is Omaze legit? What its own accounts show reaches the charity
- GivePanel for charities: Facebook and JustGiving fundraisers, and the event night
- Virgin Money Giving has closed: where charities moved, and the event alternative
- TotalGiving for charities: the fee-free donation platform, and giving at events
- Raisely for UK charities: pricing, peer-to-peer pages and the event night
- Donr text giving for charities: how it works, the costs, and giving at an event
- Fundraise Up for UK charities: pricing, donation forms and the event gap
- CAF Donate for charities: fees, donation pages and giving at your event
- Gift Aid calculator: what a pledge, a donation or an auction bid is really worth
- PayPal Giving Fund UK: how charities get paid, Gift Aid and the fees
- Localgiving for charities: membership, match funds and giving at your event
- CharityStars charity auctions: how the memorabilia model works, and what the charity keeps
- Swiftaid for charities: how automated Gift Aid works, and Gift Aid at an event
- Raffall review for charities: fees, the rules, and running a raffle on your own platform
- Charity Hive raffles and auctions: what it does, what it costs, and the alternative
- GiveWheel for charity auctions: how it works, what it costs, and a UK alternative
- Stripe for charities: fees, the nonprofit discount and event payments
- Givestar fundraising: how it works and what it costs a charity
- JustGiving vs GoFundMe for charity: fees, Gift Aid and what reaches the cause
- Enthuse charity fundraising: fees, events and the alternatives
- RallyUp for UK charities: raffles, auctions and the fees
- GoodBox contactless donations: cost, features and the event alternative
- OneCause, Auctria, Handbid and GiveSmart: US auction platforms for a UK charity
- Zeffy UK: how the 'free' fundraising platform is paid for
- 32auctions for UK charities: fees, features and a UK alternative
- JustGiving fees: what a charity pays, and what an event loses
- Donorbox for UK charities: fees, features and what it leaves out at an event
- Charity auction: how to plan one that the charity actually keeps
- What is Gift Aid? A plain guide for charity event fundraisers
- Emma Live pricing explained: what a charity really pays
- GalaBid: what it costs a charity, and where the money goes
- A Star Experience and luxury charity auction prizes: doing the arithmetic
- Charity fundraising games that raise real money
- Fundraising auction ideas that work in a real room
- How to choose a silent auction company (and the tactics to watch for)
- Silent auctions for charity: how to run one that actually banks money
- Auction items to avoid: the lots that cost your charity money
- Charity auction items: what sells, and what quietly costs you money
- Silent auction rules that keep the money where it belongs
- Funny auction of promises ideas that still raise real money
- Auction of promises ideas that actually raise money
- How Much Can a Charity Auction Raise?
- How to Run an Online Charity Auction
- How to Promote a Charity Auction
- Silent Auction vs Raffle
- Sealed-Bid Auctions for Charity Events
- Mobile Bidding for Charity Auctions
- Silent Auction Starting Bids and Reserves
- Do You Need a Licence for a Charity Raffle?
- Charity Auction Payments and Fees
- How to Run a Live Pledge (Paddle Raise)
- Gift Aid on Charity Auctions: the UK Rules
- Live Auction vs Silent Auction
- How to Get Silent Auction Prizes Donated
- Silent Auction Bid Sheet Template
- Silent Auction Items: What Actually Sells
- 21 Silent Auction Ideas That Raise Money
Start with the argument
Everything on this site follows from one belief: the generosity is already in the room, and the evening either releases it or wastes it. The manifesto sets out the whole case: the arithmetic of bought-in lots, the Gift Aid rules, and the number nobody publishes.
No obligation, and never a percentage of what you raise
Let’s talk about your number.
A conversation about your event, your room, and what the night should be raising.
Book a discovery call→Or hire Kevin directly as your auctioneer and host at thecharityauctioneer.uk. Book him, and the platform is free.