Appeals (Donations)

Add an Appeal Item (Direct Donation)

How to create an appeal item in Handbid. Appeal items will represent the direct donation amounts you offer in your auction/event.

Many auction managers like to offer a paddle raise, Fund-A-Need, or appeal at their event.  This is the practice of asking bidders to donate money to the organization.  This can be done by:

  • Publicly: Asking people to raise their bidder number if they are willing to donate money to the organization. This is often done by a Live Auctioneer or an Emcee.  Bid recorders write down the donation levels and corresponding bidder numbers. This information is then entered into the Handbid system and donations are added to bidders invoices.  Here is a printout to help organize your appeal.  
  • Privately: By entering specific dollar levels in Handbid and allowing people to make a donation. Once the donation is made, it will automatically be added to their invoice. 

Here are things to consider before adding a paddle raise/appeal item: 

  • What donation levels do I want to ask for?  We recommend you come up with several different donation levels bidders can choose from.  
  • How do you want to name these items?  If you have a specific need you are trying to fund within your organization you can label your donation levels based on what the donation amount will fund. For example, if you are raising money for a new playground you could label your items $100 - Swing, $250 - Slide, etc. If this does not apply to your organization you can specify the donation amount in the name ($100 Donation)
  • What category should these items be in?  You can place these items in any category you want; however, we recommend you create a category specifically for your appeal items.  You can name this category based on the need you are funding or just call it "PADDLE RAISE" or "DONATION".

In the Handbid system, Paddle Raise/Appeal items are APPEAL items.  The item name will be your donation level and the BUY IT NOW price will be your donation amount.  View Adding a ForSale Item item for specific information on how to add these items to your auction.  

Here is an example of a 'PADDLE RAISE/DONATION ITEM.'  If you select "appeal" in the item type, these items will be tracked in your auction statistics as donations. 

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