Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Sample Receipt Letter


If your charity is looking for new ways to raise cash, you may be interested in holding auctions where members of the community can bid on goods and services that are donated by interested parties. Non-profit organizations can raise their profile by offering items for auction that people actually want to bid on. As such, it’s important to remember to acknowledge the person or organization that has donated items for your charity to auction off.

Expressing Thanks

Saying “thank you” goes a long way toward forging relationships between your charity and the organizations that donate goods and services to promote your cause. You will want to study a sample receipt letter to see what you should be writing to the people offer donations to you.

After all, your charity is presumably in it for the long haul, and you will likely want to hold a charity auction at least once per year, if not once per season. Depending on the financial goals of your organization, you may need to solicit valuable items and services to auction off, so you can raise the appropriate level of funding.

By studying a sample receipt letter, you can see that you need to thank the donor for his or her time, effort and material support. You’ll need to include information about what the donor provided and state when it is scheduled to be auctioned. It’s also important to include information about the location and the venue if it is an auction taking place in a building, or the website if it is an online auction.

When you thank the donor, remember to include contact information so he or she can quickly reach you with any questions or concerns.

Tax Deductible

When you write a receipt letter, it’s prudent to remind the donor about the tax advantages of helping out your charity. While not every donor organization is primarily interested in benefiting with its tax-deductible donations, it is still a factor to consider.

Besides getting name recognition to acknowledge the support being offered, the donor will be able to lessen its tax liability by making donations to your organization, and it is only fitting that you confirm your non-profit status.

After you study a sample receipt letter to help you write your own letter on behalf of your charitable organization, you will be prepared to put in your own words the gratitude that you want to express, and your hope that the donor will continue to find your charity worth supporting in the future.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Free Charity Auction Software


Auctions are a great way for charities to raise funds to support their ongoing activities and to finance the purchase of goods and services for their clients. An auction is also a great way to energize the community and encourage people to learn more about the charity and the good works it performs.

People who might otherwise not be so interested in donating money to a charity may find themselves enticed into making a contribution when they stand to gain something in the auction.

If your organization is preparing to run an auction, you will want to get some free charity auction software. Even if you are a computer novice, you can quickly learn how to use auction software to help your organization.


Features of Charity Software

Once you obtain free charity auction software, you will be able to easily set it up and begin raising money.

Typically auction software enables you to set up pre-bidding before the main event, which is particularly helpful in attracting people to your charity and to drum up excitement and interest in the items or services being auctioned.

You can use the software to register bidders ahead of time, to help you get an idea of how many participants there will be. The software will also let you set up sponsors for the event. For example, if your organization wants to auction off a weekend at a local resort, different resorts in your area can sign up with the software.

Use the software to enter pictures and descriptions of all the items being offered, so people can use their computers to see what they can bid on. Likewise, the software lets you keep track of donors, register their credit cards and generate invoices for them to pay after the auction has concluded.


Raise More Money

Charity auction software is ideal for helping your organization raise more funds for your vital projects. For example, by using the software’s integrated social media functions, you can advertise and promote the auction to your organization’s online friends, which will help spread the word and bring in more funds.

Software for charity auctions usually has an event countdown timer, which gives people a sense of urgency to make their bids. What’s more, you can use the built-in goal thermometer to keep track of how much money has come in and to show people just how much more they need to spend to meet your organization’s needs.