How Do You Get Items to Auction/raffle for Non Profit

Our mothers of twins club does a holiday raffle and I have had luck with sporting events, restaurants, shows and attractions. Please e-mail me if you want more specifics.

I have done this a few times. It's not easy in this economy. Here are some thoughts: Ask people in your organization to each donate one item for raffle. It doesn't have to be big. Maybe one family can donate gift cards for several oil changes. Or maybe a restaurant gift certificate. See if any families own their own businesses and if they would have an item to donate. After that, then you really have to go knock on doors and see if you can get anything. Sometimes you can get an American Girl Doll or tickets to a sporting event. For those you have to write letters well in advance of the event, and include your tax exempt letter. I know the Bulls donated to us at one time. You'll need to make some calls or google the team to find out who to send the letter to. Often restaurants will be willing to give a gift certificate -- but it is getting toward the end of the year and some places have already donated their maximum amount for the year. So consider that when asking. I have gotten small items from Target and K-Mart in the past. You really have to walk in those places and talk to a manager. That helps. Letters don't work so well for those kinds of places because they can be put aside and forgotten. Maybe you can have someone from your organization agree to make a dinner and raffle that off. One year we did that. One of the teachers offered to have two families over for dinner and people really got into bidding on that. We also had people in our school who owned business have the business donate grand prizes such as a weekend getaway at a local resort. The business could use it as a write-off and so it was a win-win situation. Also, be prepared to hear "no" quite often. A lot of places just can't contribute right now because the economy is so bad. They just can't afford to keep giving. Good luck! Feel free to send me a message with any questions.
Bobbi

I actually just got done helping gather items for a fundraiser and had very good luck even with it being my first time around. I simply called businesses that had products or services that I thought people would like. Keep in mind the crowd you're working with. I was helping a police officer's family so several items I got were hits and others like a spa gift certificate were not. Whatever the case, we helped raise over $40K so it can be done.

First try any company you have a relationship with and also approach people to ask for personal items they may be willing to part with. I wrote up an email and sent it to every single person I knew, personal and professional. From that I got 2 Bears tickets, a weeks stay at a person's Mexico home, a personal training session with a mixed martial art instructor, a $500 skincare set, $600 worth of stuff from Nordstrom, 2 nights stay at a hotel, several gift cards to restaurants and even a laser teeth whitening session. The key is to follow-up though. I sent the initial email but then followed-up 2 days later with a phone call simply saying I doing just that and then within a week of the event I sent 1 last email. All of the other donations I got were because I called and asked. People were way more generous than I thought they'd be so you may be surprised at what you'll get from just asking.

Get creative. Think of things people really get excited about. We had everything at this event from an air hockey table to a juke box to baskets of kids toys. Think of people you know in different lines of work and go to them. Maybe they can't offer something but maybe they know someone who can. Something else I know if is asking for items you can sell on consignment. For example, a furrier will offer you a fur coat that retails at $3K but they want only $1K for it so you get the coat and open the bidding at $1K. The initial $1K goes back to the furrier and anything else it makes it yours. But again, consider your crowd. This one would never have worked with my group but it may with yours. Best wishes to you!!!

I called around to local business and asked for donations. The local movie theater is usually good for four free tickets, Dominos offered 5 free medium pizzas and the Aurora SciTech Museum offered four passes. If these prizes are not big enough maybe they can be used as incentives to obtain bigger prizes. You will need a letter with you organization name, non-profit ID number, and intention for the raffle.

I would be happy to help you out, because I have been in your shows before and I have a product people love. I would be happy to offer a $25 gift certificate to lia sophia jewelry. I can mail you a catalog and make a nice gift certificate for you. Just email me your info and good luck! ____@____.com
www.liasophia.com/staceys