Let`s Talk About Items

LET’S TALK ABOUT ITEMS
Including a list of item ideas from our latest research
Auction Catalog Inspiration
Acquiring great items is an art and a challenge. We thought it would help get your creative juices going
if we shared some inspiring examples of items that have sold on BiddingForGood, including items that
brought in surprisingly large amounts of money or bids. And, we want to share some crowdsourced
ideas that we gathered from a recent survey of BiddingForGood customers and other fundraisers.
Everyone is working hard to create a great catalog
In January 2014, we received 600 responses to a short survey.
Here’s a little of what we found:
• 90% of fundraisers ask for donations in person and 70% find in-person
requests to be the most effective
• 90% of fundraisers are using email to solicit for items now vs. 74% using
traditional mail and 71% soliciting over the phone
• 85% ask supporters to donate items or services
Every organization we surveyed uses multiple channels to solicit items. We
think you’ll appreciate the list of 31 great homegrown item ideas that we’ve
pulled from the research to share with you
It’s all about the parking
Everyone loves prestige parking! It works for schools, corporations, museums,
and theaters. Look for opportunities to offer it in your auction, including soliciting
parking garages and lots in your community to donate some free parking.
• A parking space at a California school sold for over $20,000
• A one year pass at a downtown parking garage brought in over 100 bids
• Name the school’s carpool lane sold for $10,000
• A year of parking at a local sports center garnered 145 bids!
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Eco-friendly = auction friendly
But what about a green gift basket for baby or a local, organic,
gourmet gift basket? Bidders can do double the good by
helping your cause and the planet.
• 2012 Toyota Prius= $25,000
• Mercedes Benz Smart Car = $17,500
• 2015 Toyota Prius Two= $20,500
Celebrities sell, and get the bidding going
Not every cause can pull in a Hollywood celebrity, but every community does
have its own heroes and celebrities. The principal of your school? The director
of the museum, the CEO of your company? The coach, the mentor? Lunch,
breakfast, or a fun outing with your community’s shining citizens is a great way
to raise more money and engage your bidders.
• Harrison Ford experience(lunch and plane ride) = $70,000
• Private dinner with international superstar, Yoshiko, in Tokyo or LA = $37,000
• Mario Batali dinner cooking lesson and wine tasting = $65,000
• General Hospital set visit with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) = 300 bids
It’s game time
Big sports events or celebs are great, but what about VIP seating at your local
teams’ games? Whether it’s T-ball, football, hockey, or soccer. Whether it’s a
high school, college, or local minor league team, they all have fans.
• Packers vs. Vikings game tickets got 125 bids
• VIP Dallas Mavericks Experience raised $12,901
• A meet and greet with Nolan Ryan combines sports with celebrity and brought in $9,400
• Tickets to the Masters Tournament 2013 went for $9,700
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Quirky and unique experiences sell!
• Navy Seals Motorcycle sold for over $25,000
• Game Shooting vacation in England sold for over $8,000
• 10 VIP seats for a high school graduation sold for $10,000
• Seven nights at a luxurious camp in Tanzania (sold for half price, that’s some kind of bargain) = $28,500
Items that delight us
Fanciful, fun, and a bit random. What’s in your attic? Who is the local portrait
photographer?
• William Wegman photo session sold for over $10,000
• Classic lunch box collection sold for $10,000
• Antique tea set sold for $
20,000
• Front row seats to the school musical brought in 73 bids. For some, this is priceless!
Here are some crowdsourced ideas you can easily replicate
Service with a smile
Ride along
15 minutes of fame
A month of...
Dinner parties
Just plain fun
• Home inspection
• Handyman for a day
• Playhouse built in your backyard
• Complete spring cleaning – even the windows!
• Complete yard cleanup
• Walk-on role in a play
• Extra in a movie
• Band director for a day
• Symphony conductor for one performance
• Winning bidder gets a street named after them
• Christmas party for 50
• Themed parties (example: Downton Abbey)
• Dinner with the principal, CEO, park director, conductor, fireman, artistic director, principal
• Dinner for 2,4,8, etc. – cooked/served in your home
• With the police chief or on a fire truck
• Spend the day with a research professor
• Spend the day on Capitol Hill with a congressman
• Track wildlife for a day with the park biologist
• Spend the day with a master brewer
• Homemade dinner delivered once a week
• Fresh eggs for 6 months from a local farm
• Cookie of the month
• Beer of the month for a year
• Flowers twice a month for six months
• Drive the zamboni
• Blueberry picking party
• Pick the real diamond out of the bowl of cubic zirconia (CZ) diamonds! $50/pick
For more information schedule a call, or contact a salesperson directly at 866-621-0330.
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