I received this email from Jessica. She wrote: "I follow your blog and I recently had an idea I wanted your thoughts on. We always do a Silent Auction at our Benefit Event and sometimes get bids of $100 on a $20 gift card. So my thought was to create bid sheets for items that our non-profit needs. For example, we could have one that says Pizza Night for Youth – $50, or sponsor a Foster Child's Birthday – $25. Have you seen anything like this before? Do you have any suggestions?" The short ... Read On >
Revenue Generators
Grape expectations: Selling premium wine as a revenue generator
Wine is a commonly included item at many fundraising auctions. It's used to bring in money via games such as wine pulls and ring toss games. It's sold as complete packages in silent auction and live auction lots. Bottles are often added to other packages to enhance them. Select wine tastings can be offered to sponsors as a benefit. And -- the focus of this article -- wine upgrades can also be sold outright as a money-making activity. Selling better wine to be served at one's ... Read On >
Kendra Scott: An easy jewelry donation for many nonprofits
If a Kendra Scott jewelry store is in your area, call the community / charity relations contact in your local store. For the last two years, my clients have received generous donations from the retailer via its "Kendra Gives Back" program. Frankly, I haven't seen this kind of generosity since Keurig hit the market several years ago. Do you remember that? Not so long ago, every auction I worked had at least one Keurig coffee system in its silent auction. It was often accompanied by a ... Read On >
Auction sign-up parties for men: Spirit Tasting Party
Auction sign up parties can be for a specific group of people (as this one is targeted men) or not. This party could just as easily be for us females, but it was aimed at the guys. Participants got to join the owner of a local Spirits company as he led a participatory 'tour' through a flight of his company's products and cocktails. He discussed the milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, filtration, and aging process for vodka, gin, whiskey, and bourbon. Gourmet appetizers were included (to ... Read On >
VIDEO: Q&A on selling branded merchandise in school auctions
Though this concept is a nice idea for any nonprofit auction, branded merchandise is - hands down - a better fit for schools as it ties into school spirit. It's a great idea for those school auctions wanting to raise few hundred to a few thousand dollars more. Suggestions on what to sell and how the activities are managed are detailed in the video. Watch the video below. P.S. For more help with school auctions, enjoy a free subscription to Benefit Auction Ideas. ... Read On >