The Auctions module lets you run live, silent, and timed auctions through Forge — with bidder registration, mobile bidding, proxy bids, buy-now pricing, and fund-a-need giving — all backed by the bt_fundraising__ Salesforce package.
Auctions is a beta feature built on the bt_fundraising__ managed package. The live bidding engine is a separate service (blackthornio/Auctions) that Forge proxies; behavior may change before general availability.
Auctions is registry-locked for every tenant today. The /beta page shows an "I'm interested" signup instead of a live toggle. Contact your Blackthorn Customer Success rep about pilot access.
What it does
- Three auction formats: Live (auctioneer-driven with real-time bid display), Silent (items bid over a time window), Timed (countdown per item, fully online)
- Bidder registration: attendees register to bid and receive a bidder number
- Mobile bidding: bidders use a mobile-optimized page to place and track bids in real time
- Proxy bidding: bidders set a maximum bid; the system auto-bids on their behalf
- Buy-now pricing: allow immediate purchase at a fixed price
- Fund-a-need (raise-the-paddle): live solicitation with instant giving during the live event
- Item catalog: photos, descriptions, fair market value, minimum bid, and bid increment per item
- Auction appeals: solicitations tied to specific items or campaigns
- Real-time bid leaderboard for display screens
- Checkout and payment processing at auction close
- Bidder portal (Forge route) for winners to view items won and payment status
🖼️ In the Forge app: The auction item catalog for a gala event showing bid status, current high bid, and buy-now pricing.
How to enable
- Ensure the bt_fundraising__ managed package is installed in your Salesforce org.
- Go to /beta and register interest in Auctions — the feature is currently locked, so this records an "I'm interested" request rather than turning on a live toggle. Ask Customer Success about pilot access.
- Once unlocked for your org, navigate to Auctions in the Forge sidebar.
- Click New Auction and choose your format: Live, Silent, or Timed.
- Add auction items. For each item set a name, description, photo, starting bid, bid increment, and (optionally) a buy-now price.
- Configure bidder registration: choose whether all event attendees auto-register as bidders or if explicit opt-in is required.
- Publish the auction. Bidders access it through the bidder portal URL or the event page.
- For live auctions, open the Auctioneer Console on event day to control item progression and call bids.
- Close the auction when bidding ends. Forge sends winner notifications and opens the checkout flow.
- Review the post-auction financial summary in Forge and confirm transactions against Salesforce records.
🖼️ In the Forge app: The Auctioneer Console for a live auction showing the current item, current bid, bidder number, and bid history.
Auction formats compared
| Format | Bid window | Auctioneer needed? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live | Real-time during event | Yes — uses Auctioneer Console | Gala dinners, fundraising events with live audience |
| Silent | Fixed time window (e.g. 6pm–9pm) | No | Cocktail hours, concurrent with live program |
| Timed | Countdown per item, online-only | No | Online-only auctions, pre-event fundraising |
Salesforce data model
| Forge | Salesforce Object | Salesforce Field |
|---|---|---|
| Auction | bt_fundraising__Auction__c | Type (Live/Silent/Timed), status, event lookup |
| Auction item | bt_fundraising__Auction_Item__c | Name, starting bid, bid increment, buy-now price, FMV |
| Bid | bt_fundraising__Bid__c | Bidder, item, amount, timestamp, proxy max |
| Auction registration | bt_fundraising__Auction_Registration__c | Bidder number, attendee lookup, payment status |
| Auction pledge | bt_fundraising__Auction_Pledge__c | Fund-a-need pledge amount, payment status |
| Auction transaction | bt_fundraising__Auction_Transaction__c | Item won, winning bid, checkout status |
| Auction appeal | bt_fundraising__Auction_Appeal__c | Solicitation text, linked items, goal amount |
| Raffle | bt_fundraising__Raffle__c | Ticket price, prize description, draw date |
| Raffle entry | bt_fundraising__Raffle_Entry__c | Attendee, number of tickets, payment |
:::(Note) (Live bidding engine)
The real-time bid display for live and timed auctions is powered by a separate WebSocket service (blackthornio/Auctions). Forge acts as a thin proxy through planner-ui/server/live-auction-proxy.ts and the useLiveAuctionSocket hook. All Salesforce writes (bid records, transactions) go through Forge's managed CRUD executor.
:::
Bidder names, contact details, and payment information are stored only in Salesforce (Contact and Auction_Registration__c records). The live bidding engine stores only bidder numbers and bid amounts — never personal data.
Current limitations
- The auctioneer console is optimized for desktop browsers; mobile auctioneer control is in development.
- Raffle module is available in the data model but the Forge UI for raffle management is in early beta.
- The standalone bidder mobile webapp (Angular-based) is in development; the current bidder experience is a Forge Next.js route.
- Automatic NPSP/NPC opportunity sync for auction wins is provided through the Giving Data Models feature (must be enabled separately).
- Live auction streaming (video integration) is not included — Forge manages bidding only.
- Auction item images are stored in Salesforce Files, not in Forge's Postgres layer.