Charity auction software for an online silent auction.
Yclas works as charity auction software for an online fundraiser: donated lots on your own silent auction website, bids from supporters wherever they are, buy-now on the popular items, and a Pay now email to every winner. It covers the online auction well. It is not a gala-night system, and this page says exactly where it stops.
Free for 15 days · No credit card · Cancel any time after the auction
Fundraising auctions that happen online.
Online-only silent auctions, or the online part of a bigger event, where supporters bid from home over a week.
A school fundraiser on our demo site.
Real screenshots of Gavel & Gate, our demo auction site, which runs a charity category for the made-up Riverside Elementary PTA.
Each donation gets its own page.
Post each item with photos, a description that thanks the donor, a starting price and an end time. Give every lot the same end time so the fundraising auction closes together; anti-sniping may push a lot a few minutes past it if bids come in late. Add a buy-now price to popular lots so a keen supporter can secure one early.
- A charity category or a whole site for the fundraiser.
- Donor names and links in each description, and on a thank-you page.
Supporters bid their maximum and go to bed.
A paper bid sheet needs people at the table. Online, a supporter enters the most they will give and the site raises their bid only as far as needed, while they sleep. If someone outbids them, they get an email with a Bid again button.
- Sign-in needed to bid, so you know who every bidder is.
- Reserve on big-ticket items, so a weekend away is not sold for $20.
Winners get a Pay now link.
When a lot ends, the winner gets an email with a Pay now link to an order at the winning amount, paid into your organisation's own Stripe or PayPal account. You see paid orders in your admin, and can chase the rest. Yclas takes no commission.
- Editable emails: add your thanks and collection details to the winner email.
- Unpaid after 14 days: relist the item or sell it at a fixed price.
Yclas does not issue donation or tax receipts.
What charity auction software needs to do, and what Yclas covers.
Dedicated gala software runs the whole evening. Yclas runs the online auction. Check the list against your event.
| Need | Typical gala software | Yclas |
|---|---|---|
| Online bidding on donated lots | Included | Included |
| Proxy bids, reserve and buy-now | Usually | Included |
| Winners pay online | Included | Included, with a Pay now email |
| All lots closing together | Included | Same end time set on each lot |
| Paper bid sheets and printed catalogue | Often | Not included |
| Mobile check-in and bidder numbers | Often | Not included |
| Text-message alerts | Often | Not included: email only |
| Fund-a-need and donation buttons | Often | Not included |
| Tickets, tables and seating | Often | Not included |
| Donation and tax receipts | Often | Not included |
| A live leaderboard on a screen | Sometimes | Not included |
For a gala evening with check-in, paddles and receipts, use a dedicated event platform. For an online auction on your own site, Yclas is enough.
Ways to raise more.
A few settings that tend to lift the total.
Prices are examples: you set your own, in your currency. Yclas takes no commission on what you earn. All the ways to make money →
Running an online fundraising auction.
- Four weeks beforeCollect donations with photos and a short story for each.
- Two weeks beforeSet up the site, payments and the rules page; post every lot.
- Auction weekOpen bidding for 7 days and share the link with families and supporters.
- Closing nightAll lots end at the same time; winners get their Pay now emails.
- AfterChase unpaid winners, arrange collection, thank donors on the blog.
What is charity auction software?
Software that runs a fundraising auction: donated items, bids, winners and payments. Some also run the event itself. Yclas runs the online auction part.
Can I run a silent auction website with Yclas?
Yes, as an online silent auction: supporters bid on each lot until its end time, with proxy bidding so they do not have to keep checking.
Does Yclas take a cut of the money raised?
No. Winners pay into your own Stripe or PayPal account. Your payment provider charges its usual fees.
Does charity auction software from Yclas handle paper bid sheets or check-in?
No. There are no bid sheets, bidder numbers, mobile check-in, tickets or text alerts. It is an online auction.
Can all lots end at the same time?
Yes, by giving them the same end time. A late bid can extend a single lot by a few minutes, so nobody loses it to a last-second bid.
Does it issue tax receipts?
No. Send receipts from your accounting or donor system after winners pay.
What does it cost for one auction?
Build and test it in the free 15-day trial, then Professional is $99 a month. You can cancel any time after the auction ends.
Related pages.
The parts of Yclas this leans on.
Your online fundraising auction, ready this week.
Post the donated lots, share the link and let supporters bid from home. Free for 15 days, no credit card.
Start our fundraiser
Photo credits
The screenshots show demo sites with made-up sellers. Their photos come from Wikimedia Commons, some cropped or with signs and plates blurred; these ones are under Creative Commons licences:
- Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8 Litre 1961 by DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Caterpillar 330 excavator on a pile of dirt by Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Seth Thomas tambour mantel clock ca. 1930 by Smerdis of Tlön, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Persian Rug Khorrasan 1 by Carpetbeggers, CC BY 2.0
- 3D illustration image of a gavel by Quince Media, CC BY-SA 4.0