This is our first year attempting to do an auction. We have secured a local bar and a couple of bands to play. WE are charging a cover, which will go towards our team total.
but the issue now is auction items.
We have people who are donating services (the bad is donating a gig, house cleaning services, an accountant etc)
But I would love to have physical items there for bid as well. Does anyone have any ideas on items to try to get? Which kind of companies to contact and which types of items do well in auctions?
I really hope this is successful, We might be able to make it an annual event.
We do a live auction and a silent auction at our event. I ask every team to donate at least a couple of things to be auctioned off. I encourage gift baskets, like the previous posted said.
We also accept gently used items. Last year we had one family donate a gently used foosball table; another family donated a gently used set of patio furniture. We have had trees and planters donated from the local nursery. We end up with a hodge-podge of items so the big job is deciding what goes in the live auction, silent auction or raffle.
A great raffle item is money, or the potential to win money. I have seen this done a few ways. One auction had lottery tickets attached to a board (maybe 25 different scratch offs but I guess you could use regular lotto) and that was very popular. The same auction had a small tree (a table top christmas-y type tree) that had 5 dollar bills attached to the branches. I was told that it was put together by the cheerleaders- the coach supplied the tree and each girl was responsible for earning $5. Again, it was a very popular item.
At a neighboring RFL, a team had a beautiful ornamental tree with lottery tickets tied to its branches. This was done as a stand alone raffle and the tickets were $5. Looked like they made oodles of money on that one!
You can really go wild with theme baskets- a movie basket (dvds or tickets with popcorn and candy), summer fun (dollar store goodies like bubbles, frisbees, nerf balls, beach toys etc), holiday themes (Valentines day, St Paddys day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas) and Patriotic themed baskets with red, white and blue items along with BBQing utensils.
You can't go wrong with focusing on your target audience (bar-going music lovers?) and seeking out goods/services that would be enjoyed. How about breakfast for the morning after? Wine/liquor are always a hit. Guitar lessons? Cab fare? Dinner? Hair and nail salons are typically very generous and my local florist will usually give a certificate.
Keep in mind that some stores may donate gift cards that are better spent. For instance, my supermarket will donate a gift card (which can be great all by itself) but in their seasonal aisle they'll have clearance items that I can purchase to make a few baskets, or I can fill out theme baskets such as Italian dinner, or a Baking Basket. A bottle of wine is lonely all by itself but paired with some crackers, glasses and a certificate from the florist it sounds likea a great date night basket!
And don't forget the 50/50. At the golf tournament we ran last year this brought in as much as the auction. Best of luck!!
I have sent letters and also gone up to local businesses and asked for donations for a basket raffle. Some of the smaller restaurants or mom and pop type stores don't mind giving out gift certificates or gift cards. We raised almost $3,000 last year with a basket raffle. We are thinking to expand to asking the local Rotary Club and Kiwanis to help as well. Good luck!
Golf pro shops to donate a bag or clubs, find a store to donate a bicycle or maybe a local artist could donate a piece of artwork. Find people who have business like jewelers and maybe they would donate a piece of jewelry or popular book series from a book store. Maybe a local person makes nice furniture pieces and would donate something. There is no limit to what you could ask for. One of our teams put together a whole bunch of themed baskets like a gift card basket or sports basket with football stuff and baseball stuff and tickets if you can get some.
Joined: 2007-05-15