Thank you to the attendees of the Fall into Fundraising Seminar! They each shared some great fundraising ideas with us, and I have attempted to encapsulate them here for you!
Creative ideas for your next Live Auction:
Live Auction Dinner Package: 12 committee members or board members provide one gourmet dinner for the winner monthly.
Additional Idea is Dessert for a Year. This has worked very well for school auctions. A group or individual agrees to provide a gourmet dessert of choice to the winner once a month for a year. This is a great donation and for a local bakery as well.
Fall Tour: An all expense paid tour through Vermont or New England in the fall to see the leaves turn and stay at a Bed and Breakfast in first class accommodations.
Tuscany Trip: A trip through Italy with a tour guide focusing on the foods and architecture in Tuscany
Chef Dinner: Have a group of local chefs who would prepare dinner at your home and sell as a live auction item
Rare Experiences:The best selling live auction items are experiences that you cannot buy such as a ride in a fighter jet or a dinner in a famous person’s home or an exclusive vacation get away in a private home, a serenade by a performer at a concert, directing the symphony, getting a backstage look at a show, etc. Ask your board if they have any connections or know how to obtain any of these experiences, and you are sure to have a profitable live auction!
Fund the Mission or Call for Cash: Ask for cash donations from our crowd during your gala event. Everyone who donates that night receives a glow necklace or a blinky light. No one wants to be left out, so more people donate to get their necklace too. Your fund a mission will be most effective if you ask for a specific need to be funded, such as lunch for a month for 30 children or chemo support for a week. Each of these may cost $2000 so ask for this specific amount for this specific need.
Showcase your auction items online prior to the event so bidders can get an idea of what they want to bid on ahead of time. You can also mail or email a listing of auction items to your attendees the week before your event. Additional idea: Send a proxy bidder form to your list of supporters along with the list of auction items. If they are interested in bidding on an item, they can send you the form and you can bid on their behalf at your event. In addition, if you use an electronic bidding system such as Auction & Event Solutions, you can give them the web address for your auction and a bidder number and they can bid on the auction items themselves.