You already know donors take vacations. Why not present them with the opportunity to purchase their next trip at your event while supporting your organization?
The key is, if you want patrons to bid on trips, they have to be exceptional!
Today we put it all together and discuss how to make trips work for you at your next fundraising event. Too good to be true? You be the judge…
If you use Winspire trips and Experiences in your live and/or silent auction, here’s what you don’t have to worry about:
- Spending time trying to get trips donated
- Creating displays for the silent auction and descriptions for the auctioneer
- Coordinating travel arrangements for Winning Bidders
Instead, you can focus your energy and resources on other details of planning your event.
Picking the Right Trips and Experiences
Spend some time gathering information about your patrons before you select the trips and experiences you want to offer as part of your live or silent auction. Ask board members and key donors where they have traveled in the past few years and where they would like to go in the future.
What destinations and experiences are on their bucket lists? A gourmet food experience in Italy? Watching the golf pros perform at the PGA Championships? Boutique Shopping in Paris?
Consider the demographics of your guests – age and income are important factors. A younger crowd might enjoy Costa Rica (great surfing!) and the American Music Awards.
For a “more mature” crowd, perhaps winery tours in Napa or Sonoma, a Foley Food & Wine Society tasting in Santa Barbara or a journey to Paris and Prague would be a good fit.
An obvious consideration is your Nonprofit itself. If it’s a school, then family trips (Disney World, Kennedy Space Center, Washington D.C.) could be of interest to the crowd. If your organization supports wildlife conservancy, consider an African Safari or San Diego Zoo.
Read: How Many Auction Items Should I Put in my Fundraising Event?Learn how to balance the number of live vs. silent auction items you include in your event. Read More →
And then there’s the tried-and-true crowd pleasers: New York City, California Wine Country, Hawaii, and San Francisco top that list. You will find people at almost any event who will raise their hands for trips like these.
The best strategy is to include a mix of packages so that there’s truly something for everyone. And while it is important to keep the demographics of your attendees in mind, remember people will sometimes buy a trip for someone else (For example, Grandma might purchase an Exotic Supercar Driving Experience for her favorite grandson!).
Getting People to Bid
Offer trips and experiences that will “wow” people at your event. Set the minimum bid lower rather than higher to encourage bidding. When selling experiential travel packages, hire a professional benefit auctioneer who knows how to work the crowd to inspire friendly bidding wars.
One of the biggest advantages to using consignment trips is you can sell the same trip to multiple bidders (it does not mean they have to travel together). An adept charity auctioneer will know when to stop the bidding at a certain point and get all of the engaged bidders to purchase the trip. A good auctioneer can make all the difference in how much money you can raise.
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Making Consignment Trips and Experiences Work
Publicize the trips before the event to plant the seed so your guests can start thinking about buying their next vacation at your event. That way, people can adjust their expectations in advance rather than being surprised by the high quality trips and experiences in your live and/or silent auction.
It’s not uncommon to see trips start to be a big hit at your event the following year; the first year they will be impressed but may not be prepared to purchase a trip. But the buzz you create this year by offering Winspire trips at your upcoming fundraising event will have a lingering effect.
People will start to anticipate – and expect – high quality trips and experiences as part of your auction. You will be more in tune with what went over well with your crowd the previous year and offer more of the same. You can even survey your patrons throughout the year about their vacation preferences and include some of those in the mix at your next event.
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Partnering with the Right Consignment Company
When you use Winspire’s consignment trips, you will have an experienced Fundraising Specialist to assist you throughout the process. And when your event is over, you’re done! With a Winspire booking and concierge service included with all of our Experiences, we take care of everything the Winning Bidder needs following your event. When they are ready to redeem their trip, Winning Bidders simply follow the steps outlined on their Booking Voucher and our team of travel professionals will take it from there, handling reservations and booking the Experience down to every last detail.
Whether or not it sounds too good to be true is a matter of opinion. The fact however is that you can raise significant funds for your organization by tapping into your donors’ vacation budgets. Offering trips and Experiences through Winspire is a no-risk, hassle free fundraising tool that will increase event revenue and add a “wow” factor to your occasion.
Use Winspire Experiences
in your next charity auction!
Browse over 200 unique Experiences and add your favorites to mySuitcase, where you can compare, collaborate and then reserve for your fundraiser.
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About Sharon Ruback
Having been a member of the Winspire team since its inception, Sharon works with hospitality and travel partners to expand and enhance Winspire’s portfolio of experiences.
A self-proclaimed armchair traveler, she focuses on developing trips and experiences that will bring a “wow” factor to charity fundraising events. The better the experiences she puts together, the more money Nonprofits can raise. With 200+ packages — and more in the works — the possibilities are endless! You can also find Sharon on Google+.
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