My company works with many school auctions. Most do not offer proxy bidding. There are many pros, cons, and best practices ... but for simplicity, here are the most controversial issues with regards to the subject.

If you are going to allow it, it’s best to advertise it widely. You’ll want to ensure that everyone knows proxy bidding is available and how the process will work.

That sounds reasonable, right?

The funny thing is, your advertising of the policy might adversely affect your attendance. Some will avoid buying a ticket to the auction and just submit a proxy bid. (This is especially true if your ticket is considered pricey.) Yikes!

So with that as the backdrop, here are three points you can hash over with your committee:

1. It hardly seems fair to let someone potentially buy *the most* coveted auction item when they don’t even bother to attend. (Some people will have legitimate reasons for missing; others won’t.)

2. If you’re like a lot of my clients, you’re trying to avoid creating a chasm between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Many schools don’t want their auction to be an “elitist” activity. Yet if they allow proxy bidding, some parents (usually the “have nots”) will see it as a way to avoid attending the event. The proxy bidding inadvertently fosters the creation of an elitist activity.

3. Tied to this chasm issue .... School auctions are usually as much about community building as they are about fundraising. Many Auction Chairs tell me they want their event to be inclusive. Because of this, tickets have traditionally been priced low. The bonus is that more people attend. Why do schools opt for this trade-off? The rationale is that the overarching financial goal of the auction is to open the door to larger donations later. (One of my school clients talks about this concept here: www.redappleauctions.com/about-us/client...auctions-open-doors/) In short, the school loves the money the auction raises, but they recognize that if that auction builds a strong community, that newly created energy will pave the way for the bigger donations later.

Hope this provides some context for your discussion.

Yes, we did proxy bidding last year. Our Foundation president handled them. Basically, we assigned each person a bid number as if they were present, and she bid for that person until the item passed their maximum bid amount. We did not use the proxy bidder as our minimum bid. You also need to make sure the person handling the proxy bid is not interested in the same item. Things could get sticky that way. Our proxy bidder forms required credit card information before a bid could be made on their behalf. I hope that helps!

Does anyone do Proxy Bidding at their Auction? If so, how do you handle it? Do you physically have one person who is responsible for placing each proxy bid or do you use them more as a minimum bid? Do you require a credit card number or payment in advance? Any advice is most appreciated.