For nearly 20 years, CharityAuctionsToday has helped nonprofits and charities to raise more with less, expand their reach, and host successful events year after year. We strive to serve nonprofits and charitable causes that have limited resources and manpower. The clubs, service organizations, churches, schools, and small nonprofits. CharityAuctionsToday makes it possible to reach fundraising goals with fewer hands at the helm, with less budget, and with little to no technological savvy.
We work to continuously improve our platform, ensuring not only that it’s easy to use, but that it offers the fundraising tools that will provide the most value for the organizations we serve. Most importantly, we have people dedicated to helping nonprofits reach their goals.
Don’t Just Use an Auction Tool — Choose a Trusted Partner
Our features, pricing transparency, and nonprofit focus aren’t just selling points — they’re built to support your mission. Launch your auction today and discover the difference.
Start Your Auction with UsThere are a lot of fundraising auction platforms out there: what sets us apart?
Our Auction Success Team
Having access to a great tool and knowing how to use it are two different things: that’s why our Auction Success Managers are available to help you make the most of your event. From determining which plan will suit your needs to helping you maximize your profits, your Auction Success Manager is assigned to you from the very start and can help you every step of the way.
Your Auction Success Manager will answer any questions you or your bidders have throughout the duration of your event, and they can help you customize your event page with the features you need to succeed. Our team is dedicated to helping every organization and individual who uses our site to achieve their fundraising goals.
Designed for Ease
Our customers consistently comment on how easy our platform is to use and we couldn’t be prouder. Our goal is for you to be able to set up your event in a matter of minutes, whether it’s an auction, raffle, event page for ticket purchases, or all three at once. Shipping options, editable start and end times, invoices: all are intuitive. And if you do have questions, your Auction Success Manager can help, or you can explore our Help Center to find the answers you’re looking for.
Flexible Auction Features
Our platform makes it simple to host any type of auction, even ones that aren’t really online. If you’re hosting an in-person auction and want to accept bids in person, you can still use our platform to store your catalog. But you’ll likely get even more success with a hybrid or fully digital auction.
The point is you have options that work with a variety of events. Your silent auction can take place in the background of a party or faire, or you can accept bids both online and offline in real time. It’s easy to add a Donate button to your auction page, as well as a leaderboard, to show everyone how close you are to your goal.
Use features like popcorn bidding to keep guests from sniping popular items at the last minute. Set different start and end times for different items and set custom bid increments. If you aren’t sure we have a feature you need, ask us: the answer might surprise you.
“Our experience – which was our first ever online auction experience, was well beyond our expectations. The program was easy to use and the features allowed me the chance to have a few people entering submissions for me when my time was needed elsewhere.” - Kim Flamm
Auction Promotion Tools and Templates
We understand that fundraising is not easy, particularly for SMB nonprofits, churches, or clubs, which might have employees or volunteers who are new to the organization, new to fundraising, or new to fundraising online. That’s why we strive to be your partner in all your fundraising endeavors, not just setting up the auction or raffle itself.
Our Auction Marketing Playbook can help you promote your event with best practices on scheduling your communications and using every channel available to you to spread the word. Our library of downloadable templates can help you craft your own messages: to ask for monetary donations, in-kind donations, or to say thank you to donors. Use our fundraising calendar template to create a custom vision of your year’s efforts and explore example item descriptions and event checklists to make sure you’ve dotted your Is and crossed your Ts. CharityAuctionsToday provides the templates, samples, and resources you need to succeed.
Comprehensive Resources
Not only do we have the advice you need on crafting and promoting your auction, we also have the information you need on fundraising in general. Creating and running a nonprofit, or not-for-profit, can be daunting. We have the road maps to help put you on the path to running an efficient organization that supports your cause.
Our blog can help you navigate different types of fundraising events, getting sponsors, and asking for donations, while our podcast gives you insight into how other SMB nonprofits are achieving their goals. And our comprehensive Help Center ensures that you and your bidders can find answers to questions about our platform quickly and easily.
Access to Key Partners
When you host an event with us you have the opportunity to take advantage of our partnerships. One example is our consignment auction provider. Their incredible travel packages can be added to any auction at no additional cost. Trips to tropical locations, getaways with dinner and a Broadway show, golf resorts, and more. These consignment auction items, or risk-free items, add to the excitement and competition of your auction: and more bids means more money for your cause.
Opportunities to Increase Your Visibility
We love to highlight the amazing work our customers do. From becoming guests on our podcast to getting shoutouts on our social media channels, your causes, initiatives, and cool auction items are what we love to highlight and celebrate. Widen your organization’s reach with a fundraising partner that can spread your name further and showcase your incredible accomplishments.
Customizable Messaging
Your account comes preloaded with text message and email templates, but you can decide whether to use all or just some of that text. This is true of our Flex as well as our Prepaid plans. Although unlimited texting is only available with Prepaid, you can purchase packages of text credits affordably, all with the messaging you’ve decided reflects your mission best.
Streamlined Checkout
We know a quick and simple checkout process is the best way to leave guests happy and willing to come back for more. You can choose to make guests pre-register a credit card when they register for your event, or not. Your invoices are customizable and automatic, while also giving you the option to manually re-send them to those who haven’t paid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QltWNjfB3NY
Our Origins
In 2007, Tom Kelly founded CharityAuctionsToday after seeing how difficult it was to navigate the online fundraising tools of the time. In helping his mother to raise funds for a cause she cared about, Tom encountered steep commission fees and a lack of user control in the tools of the time. So he created CharityAuctionsToday, to put the power of digital fundraising into anyone’s hands.
That’s nearly 20 years of constantly refining our tools, features, and resources in order to help SMB nonprofits and not-for-profits reach their goals. Since its launch CharityAuctionsToday has hosted over 250,000 auctions and helped organizations raise over $500,000,000.
We’re Just Getting Started
20 years is just the beginning for us. Our team is dedicated to helping every nonprofit become a million-dollar organization. Your passion for your cause is our passion. Today, as always, our mission is to help you reach your fundraising goals with fewer hands at the helm, lower costs, and without any help from IT (or your grandkids).
Schedule a demo of our platform, or, if you want to get started, start building your auction today.
We can help you overcome fundraising challenges and increase your profits, so more can go to your mission.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CharityAuctionsToday and who is it built for?
CharityAuctionsToday is fundraising software for nonprofits, schools, teams, and clubs to run silent/live auctions, online auctions, and donation drives—plus ticketing, mobile bidding, and quick checkout—all in one place.
How fast can we launch an auction or fundraiser on the platform?
You can set up a branded page, add items or donation levels, and begin accepting registrations in a short session. Many groups go live the same day after a quick test and content review.
Do bidders need to download an app to participate?
No app is required. Guests can scan a QR code or tap a link to register and bid in their mobile browser, which reduces friction at check-in and increases participation.
How does mobile bidding work and how are outbid alerts handled?
Bidders browse items, star favorites, and place bids from their phones. Outbid notifications and countdown prompts nudge them back to increase their bid before closing.
Does CharityAuctionsToday support ticketing and event registration?
Yes. You can sell tickets, capture guest details, and link attendees to bidder profiles so check-in and bidding are seamless on event night.
Can we run a Fund-a-Need or paddle raise alongside the auction?
Yes—set donation levels with impact statements, display live progress, and accept gifts from phones or a staffed checkout to keep momentum high.
Is there a big board or leaderboard display for the room or livestream?
You can present rotating screens that highlight hot items, recent bids, and donation progress, helping guests follow the action and bid again.
How does checkout work and what payment methods are supported?
Guests can store a card during registration and self-checkout on their phone at close. Popular cards and digital wallets are supported to keep lines short and receipts instant.
How are fees handled, and can donors choose to cover them?
Plans and processing fees vary by setup. A “cover fees” option can be enabled so supporters may offset costs at checkout if they choose.
How do payouts and post-event reconciliation work for our finance team?
Payouts are deposited to your connected account, and you can export donor, purchase, and FMV data for quick reconciliation and acknowledgments.
Who owns our donor data, and can we integrate with other tools we use?
Your organization retains ownership of your data. You can export records and connect to other systems through available integrations or CSV workflows.
What security and privacy protections are available for admins and donors?
Role-based permissions, multi-factor authentication for admins, and encrypted payment processing help safeguard access and transactions. Follow your organization’s policies and applicable laws. (General information.)
Can we assign volunteer roles for check-in, item management, and pickup?
Yes—grant scoped permissions so helpers can check in guests, edit catalog items, or manage pickups without giving them access to sensitive settings.
How does the platform help highlight sponsors and underwriters?
Add sponsor logos and acknowledgments to event pages, emails, and big-board slides, and group sponsored items in a featured catalog section for visibility.
How are shipping and item pickup handled for winners after the event?
Include pickup times, location, and any shipping costs or restrictions on item pages. Winners receive these details in their receipt to streamline fulfillment.
What reporting is available to track performance and impact quickly?
Dashboards and exports summarize total raised, items sold, bids per item, donor participation, and Fund-a-Need results—making board updates and thank-you outreach easy.
What kind of onboarding resources and support are available to our team?
You’ll find walkthroughs, checklists, and responsive help to set up pages, import items, and rehearse event night workflows with confidence.
Is the bidder experience accessible and friendly for diverse audiences?
Pages are designed mobile-first with clear buttons and readable text. You can add concise descriptions, alt text, and translated content to make participation easier. (General information.)
Does CharityAuctionsToday support hybrid or remote participation across time zones?
Yes—open online bidding early, share links widely, and use staggered closing waves or extended bidding so remote supporters can engage fairly from anywhere.
Can we migrate items, donors, or past data from another platform or spreadsheets?
Yes—import templates and mapping help you bring catalog items and contacts into a new event. You can also export your results after the fundraiser for long-term records.
How are FMV and receipts handled for donors and buyers? (General information)
You can list fair market value on item pages and include it on receipts so supporters understand purchases versus potential charitable portions. Confirm local and tax requirements for your organization.
In a sentence, why choose CharityAuctionsToday for our next fundraiser?
It’s a fast, mobile-first way to run auctions and donation drives—with clear bidder flows, flexible event tools, and the reporting you need to raise more with less stress.
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