Auctions are a great way for nonprofits to get the funds they need to carry out growth efforts. Auctions don't just give people interested in providing nonprofits an outlet to donate, they also offer contributors unique products that can set the organization apart from its competition. With online auctions, nonprofits also have another need for the donation processing tools they are using to help manage all of the funds that are coming into the organization.

A recent article for The Nonprofit Times revealed that some nonprofits earn a majority of their revenue through sales, and adding an online auction to their site could only increase the amount of money collected by the organizations each year.

Jeffery Friedman, executive director of the The Retreat, a women's shelter in New York, told the news source about the great success that his nonprofit has seen since implementing an online store. In fact, he said by putting exclusive items on the Web, their online stores have accounted for about 16 percent of their budget, giving the organization a lot more capital to work with.

"When people see a unique item, it will pique their interest and make them say, 'Maybe we should come back to this website because we don't know what we'll find,'" Friedman told NPT.

Nonprofits aren't the only entities that can raise money for a cause. Many people are getting rid of items they no longer use and selling them on eBay. The American multinational internet consumer-to-consumer corporation gives people a discount on pricing if they are donating their money to nonprofits, and will provide step-by-steps guides to nonprofits building online stores.