Setting Up GC Auctions

Applies to: GC Events with GC Auctions enabled

Roles: Events administrators with the Manage Registrations permission

Location: Events > [Your event] > Auction > Settings

Time to complete: ~10 minutes

Outcome: Your auction's shared settings are configured, and your silent auction is scheduled.

Summary: The Auction settings page controls the settings shared by your silent auction, live auction, and paddle raise. That includes your goal, paddle numbers, how and when winners are notified, and how payment is collected.

This article covers

• The General settings: goal and starting paddle number
• Choosing how winners are notified
• Checkout reminders and auto-charge
• Where silent auction and paddle raise settings live
• When settings lock

Prerequisites

• Auctions is turned on for your event.
• To use Paddle Raise, you'll need an Online Giving form with pledging turned on.

Step 1: Open Auction settings

1. In the event sidebar, select Auction > Settings.
2. The Auction settings page is organized into cards: General, Silent auction, and Paddle Raise.

Step 2: Set your goal

In the General card, enter a Goal in whole dollars. This is your fundraising target for the whole auction: silent, live, and paddle raise combined. You can change it at any time.

Right now, the auction goal is for your team's own tracking. It isn't shown to bidders.

Note: Each paddle raise appeal has its own separate goal, and that one does appear on your projected paddle raise slide.

Step 3: Set the starting paddle number

Under Paddle numbers, enter the Starting paddle number. The default is 100, and the allowed range is 1–9,999. Each bidder is assigned a paddle number when they register, and numbers are handed out in sequence starting from this value.

Important: This setting locks as soon as the first paddle number is assigned. Decide on your numbering before you open bidder registration.

[Screenshot: Starting paddle number field]

Step 4: Choose how winners are notified

Under Notifying winners, choose one:

• Hold for admin review before notifying winners (Recommended, and the default): When bidding ends, nothing is invoiced or emailed. You review results in Closeouts, then select Confirm & Notify when you're ready.
• Notify donors immediately when bidding ends: Winners are invoiced and emailed automatically when the auction closes.

We strongly recommend holding for admin review. It gives you a chance to handle items that didn't meet their reserve, fix paddle numbers entered incorrectly during the paddle raise, and catch duplicates before anyone gets an email.

Note: If your auction includes any live auction items, Hold for admin review is required and can't be turned off. Live results are recorded by hand on the night, so they always go through review.

Step 5: Set up payment collection

Under Collecting payment, choose what happens after winners are notified. Each step is optional.

• Send checkout reminder: Sends one reminder email to anyone who still has an unpaid balance. Set how many minutes after notification to send it (default: 60 minutes).
• Auto-charge: Charges the card on file for anything still unpaid after a set delay. The default is 24 hours after notification, and you can set the delay in hours or days. If you set it to 0, the card is charged immediately at close, and the winner gets a receipt instead of a "complete your checkout" email.

The page includes Example configurations to help you choose. The default works well for most galas: a reminder at 60 minutes, auto-charge at 24 hours, and a pay link in the email.

Tip: A reminder set to 0 minutes won't send. If you want a reminder, enter a delay of at least one minute.

Step 6: Configure silent auction and paddle raise

The remaining cards on this page are covered in their own articles:

• Silent auction (dates, preview, anti-sniping, and max bids): see Running a Silent Auction.
• Paddle Raise (turning it on and choosing a pledge form): see Setting Up a Paddle Raise.

Live auction doesn't have its own settings card.

Step 7: Save or schedule

Select Save changes. If the silent auction is enabled and your auction is still a draft, the button reads Schedule auction instead. Scheduling moves the auction out of draft so it opens automatically at the times you set.

When settings lock

Emails GC Auctions sends to bidders

Keywords: auction settings, goal, paddle number, starting paddle number, hold for admin review, notify winners, checkout reminder, auto-charge, payment collection, schedule auction