Know your Laws & How they Apply to your Next Fundraiser

Know your Laws

Auction Frogs recently attended a fundraiser where venue staff was required to remove beer and wine from silent auction baskets. Unfortunately, the nonprofit hosting the fundraiser didn’t have a license to sell alcohol. And, if you don’t know the laws that may apply to your next fundraiser, you could find yourself in a similar situation. 

While we are certainly not legal counsel, Auction Frogs can provide some general guidance on where to start your research. Read more below about the four most common laws that may apply to your next fundraiser

Sales Tax Laws & Reseller's Permits

Sales tax laws are not black-and-white. While many nonprofits are exempt from paying sales tax, they may not be exempt from collecting it. If your local laws require you to hold a reseller’s permit and to collect sales tax, that likely applies to sales you make at your fundraiser. But, if you sell items infrequently, a temporary seller’s permit may be an option for you. Check with your local Tax Commission to ensure you are in compliance with both local and state law. 

Beer & Wine Sales

If you plan to sell or serve beer or wine at your fundraiser you will likely need to secure a license to sell or serve alcohol, even if the alcohol is donated. All states will have different license requirements and fees, and the approval process may take quite a bit of time. So, be sure to check with your local Alcohol Beverage Control agency for more information well before your license will be needed!

Raffles & Lottery Laws

Does your state require a license to hold raffles? Idaho does. The application process is thorough but typically inexpensive. If a raffle, bingo, or other “game-of-chance” is a planned part of your fundraiser, play it safe. Placing a quick call to your local Lottery Commission can better prepare you and save you thousands of dollars in fines. 

Text Message Restrictions

When sending bulk text messages using Auction Frogs’ platform or some other service, beware that rules apply. First, make sure your messages do not include any words and phrases forbidden by the FCC. Second, be aware that there are regulations regarding the volume of messages sent and limits to the number of characters those messages can contain. Cell phone carriers are obligated to filter and control the content sent to their customers. If a user reports your messages as spam, it could affect the deliverability of all your future messages.

Get Started Today

Our goal is to help your fundraiser run as efficiently as possible. Knowing your laws can save you valuable time and money. So be sure to consult your legal counsel, accountant, and local agencies for best practices and to check any necessary permits off of your list. 

Get in touch today to see how we can help make your next fundraiser a successful one!

Press Release | COVID-19

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PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Kristi Saucerman, CEO & Founder (208) 407-2404  [email protected]

Auction software company launches new Virtual Event solution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

After hundreds of thousands of fundraising events have been cancelled nationwide, Auction Frogs is now offering non-profit organizations a way to raise money virtually www.auctionfrogs.org/virtual-events/

Boise, ID – As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, non-profit organizations all over the country are facing the postponement or cancellation of galas and other events that are critical to their annual fundraising efforts. In response to these cancellations,  Auction Frogs, offers their Online Auction platform as a Virtual Event solution for streaming to their social media audience while promoting the cause, highlighting sponsors and featuring donors and their items to bid on.   

Auction Frogs is proud to announce a new Virtual Event, in conjunction with their online auction, that brings the live event and awareness of the cause to life. By utilizing streaming services and social media channels, they are creating a narrative around the fundraising message and bidding.  The online auction offers bidding on silent and live items with the ability to collect monetary donations throughout a 10 day online auction and offers a virtually hosted live event during the final hour to bring your online auction to a close.

Founded in Boise in 2007 by Kristi Saucerman, Auction Frogs was built as a web based fundraising application to augment physical live events, taking silent auction bidding online to accept bids from larger audiences and for longer bidding time frames. Now that fundraising remotely has become a necessity during this COVID-19 crisis, Saucerman worked with her team to create a Virtual Event using the online auction platform and streaming services and now offers this services from their Event Studio.

Kristi says, “Auction Frogs is no stranger to helping non-profits rethink their fundraising events; we are quite familiar with the benefits of augmenting live events with online auctions but this is slightly different in that we are integrating the virtual streaming technology and harnessing the power of narrative.  We’re applying a live streaming narrative to the close of the online auction which includes the cause, sponsors and donors to the story telling with an emcee. “

In partnership with local videographers at Elsberg Studios, the Auction Frogs new Virtual Event solution includes a live streaming component during the last hour of the online auction. This live stream combines pre-recorded video and audio from sponsors, donors, and supporters of your organization with live coverage with our Emcee or your Auctioneer speaking to your cause and highlighting auction items for your viewers. Using Auction Frogs’ BidWars™ technology, bidding will extend beyond the close time as bids come in and will end when there are no more bids.

Auction Frogs tested their new Virtual Event technology concept with Cory Mikhels, Cory Mikhals Productions, at the end of March.  Auction Frogs was not only able to meet but exceeded the Centennial High School Band’s fundraising goal. Shelly Hiner, a Centennial Band parent, was especially grateful for the Virtual Event. “It’s a hard time for everyone,” Hiner said. “Being able to hold our silent auction in this way and give a shoutout to our kids, our parents, Mrs. Brings, and our donors is really amazing right now. We still get to celebrate a little and we also get to make sure that we have our fundraising in place when we kickoff in the fall. And we get to do it while being remote!”

Auction Frogs is ready to host more Virtual Events and invites non-profits from all over the country to visit their website and sign-up to host their Virtual Event today. 

“We aren’t going to let this pandemic keep our community apart,” said Saucerman. “Together, we can weather this storm, raise funds and keep our non-profits, Auctioneers and Emcees in business.” 

For more information, or to sign-up for your own Virtual Event, visit: www.auctionfrogs.org/virtual-events/