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Your favorites for silent auctions???


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Hi All,

long time no "see" :biggrin:, been busy with 4-H and school, but I thought the hive would have good ideas for our county fundraiser.

What would you like to see in a silent auction? DS15 is going to start asking local businesses for donations for auction items.

So far ideas are: pizza places, grocery stores, oil change places, car wash, bakeries, spa, maybe pet stores??? I am guessing a lot of places will donate gift certificates. Any other suggestions??

Only no-no items would be lottery or gambling or alcohol related items.

Thanks!!

 

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Some things I've seen:

Shops: Coffee, tea, gift, candy, yarn or other crafts, books (new or used)

restaurants: different price points including fast casual (I've also seen several different restaurant cards combined into one auction item)

Consultant type things: pampered chef, essential oils, Tupperware, 31 etc

Tickets: movies, theater, sporting events

I've seen rounds of golf fetch a good amount.

I think, when possible, it makes for a nice display when there's an item along with a gift card.  Our local yarn shop always donates some yarn and a gift card, for example.

Edited by happi duck
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At a very successful yearly silent auction (as a major fundraiser for a fine arts group) I've seen many of the above, plus music lessons, musical instruments, framed artwork, haircuts from fancy salons, car detailing, quilts, and tickets to live theater performances.  

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Tickets to sporting and theater events, especially boxed or season and reserved seats. If in So. CAl, or perhaps N.Y area, VIP passes to studio audience, or filming of popular shows.  A long, long time ago, I won a bid for a cameo ( well, actually 5 seconds of screen time) on Cagney& Lacey.  They treated me like a regular cast member, and gave me my own dressing room.   , 

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7 hours ago, happi duck said:

 

I think, when possible, it makes for a nice display when there's an item along with a gift card.  Our local yarn shop always donates some yarn and a gift card, for example.

Yes to the above.  People bid more when it's not just for a piece of paper, even if the other items don't add much value.  Packages always seem to go higher at the event my mom hosts.  That may mean combining a few gift certificates to make a great "Night on the Town" basket, putting the movie tickets in with a few inexpensive boxes of theater candy, a bottle of wine or sparkling grape juice with the hotel gift certificate, the oil change gift certificate in with a few car care items like interior wipes etc.  Hers is for a school so they also do things where you can bid on naming the drive for a year (they do purchase a sign, so there is a cost involved in this) and each class makes a craft that is donated - sometimes a quilt sometimes a painted ceramic cookie tray.  Those types of things always go for ridiculous prices

ETA: Also yes to the consumables!  Instead of a $20 gift certificate to the grocery store ask if they'll donate ingredients for a themed dinner, like pasta with higher end sauces etc.  Those are often bid to a higher amount than their actual worth.  

Edited by ksr5377
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If you ask for tickets to local sports teams, sometimes they will send a t-shirt or ball if you ask. It makes a nice visual and will help draw attention to it. 

Sometimes I will combine different but similar themed items. ie if you get a dog bed or toys donated combine it with a gift cert for a pet store.  Look for companies that are based in your area. There are tons of small home based businesses that you may not think about that will donate items instead of gift certs. A good place to look for them is at the website for local farmers markets/craft fairs/Saturday markets etc.  I make sure the donated item gets as much 'advertising' as the gift cert to make sure both companies are represented fairly.

I had luck asking Pawn shops to donate an "estate jewelry item". 

If you have any local bands, they will often donate a CD and tshirt.

Local authors will often donate a signed copy of a book.

When I helped with an action, instead of donating an item myself, I used to help add items to other packages to make them more marketable. LOL As parents we were expected to donate an item worth $50, so instead of that I added whatever was needed to make a better visual to the tables. 

 

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