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Maximize donations at your benefit auction

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Provide an Flawless Guest Experience at Your Gala

When you focus on your guests’ enjoyment, your guests will reward you. This may be obvious, but is too often overlooked in the planning of benefit auctions. Some gala committees do a great job thinking about the party, theme, food, decorations, program, service and the event mission. Those are all important. But what will pay the biggest […]

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Don Sayles, master portrait artist

TravelPledge Welcomes Classic Portrait Source by Sayles!

You may already be familiar with TravelPledge’s extensive selection of vacations, cruises, lessons and golf packages. Meet our latest addition: Classic Portrait Source by Sayles. Classic Portrait Source by Sayles is a premier provider of custom oil painting portraits. They are proud to have created hundreds of fine portraits for families. TravelPledge is excited to feature this […]

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Silent Auctions: How to Sell Small Gift Certificates Without Cannibalizing Your Big Items

Your silent auction committee likely obtained great vacations, unique memorabilia, and bucket list experiences for your live or silent auction. Your committee likely also procured an array of small gift certificates from local businesses: cleaning, dance lessons, chiropractic service, haircuts and styles, tanning sessions, massages, whitening, self-defense classes and many more services. What should you do with […]

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5 Steps to Land Generous Sponsors for Your Fundraiser (Step-by-Step Guide)

Wouldn’t you love to tell donors that every dollar raised at your fundraising event will go directly to fund your school, church, or charity? This means having every dollar spent on the event covered by a sponsorship or in-kind donation. This is possible, regardless of the size of your organization or gala. Many of your supporters can’t […]

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Bidding at Auction

How to Get Donated Items for Your Silent Auction (Without Cold Calling)!

Your mother warned you, “Never talk to strangers!” But to get donated silent auction items, that is what you are asked to do. Anyone who has tried cold calling for auction items, however, knows that it rarely works. Why? You are asking a total stranger for something of value, to be given to someone they don’t know, […]

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Bidding at Auction

Live Auctions: How Should You Sequence Your Items?

Once you finished procuring items for your benefit auction, it’s time to put together your auction program. Once you’ve decided on which items to include in your live auction, putting your live auction items in the correct order can make a huge difference in your total revenue. Here are some tried and true tips: 1. Lead Off […]

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Golf Outings: Build Your Leadership Committee (So You’re Not Stuck Doing Everything)

Your golf outing committee makes your tournament go. The people in this committee will handle planning, marketing, sponsorships, operations and more. In other words, if you want a profitable golf tournament, you need to have the perfect crew. In this post, we show you how to choose your committee members, assign them roles, and keep them motivated. […]

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raffle tickets

24 Awesome Prize Ideas for Your Silent Auction or Raffle

Raffles are a great way to raise money for your school, church, or charity. Participants feel good about their contribution and love the opportunity to win a big prize. You need to find raffle items that both excite your audience and generate a large net donation. Raffles can have multiple winners at different price levels so you’ll […]

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raffle tickets

Raffle Rules for Keeping Your Prize Drawing Legal

Raffles are a great way to raise money for your nonprofit. Selling the chance of winning a big prize pulls people into your donor base who may not otherwise be able to afford auction items. Due to raffles’ proximity to gambling, however, state governments enforce several raffle rules and regulations to prevent abuse. While we don’t provide […]

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Benefit Auction Library

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We'll email your link to the Benefit Auction Library and send weekly fundraising tips.

  • "How to" guides on auctions, golf events & virtual galas
  • Bid sheets templates & much more for administering your auction
  • Brainstorming lists your committee will love