Will our crowd bid on the big trip, or just the gift cards?

Community-minded crowds at your galas, breakfasts, and luncheons often gravitate toward familiar items like gift cards and local restaurant packages. That trend can make you nervous about listing a trip to Italy or a Kentucky Derby weekend, because the room might not bid. Yet for children’s charities and youth advocacy groups, the opposite is true: major sporting events, private villas, and regional experiences consistently pull the highest bids, because it only takes two interested tables to start a bidding war.

With Giveback XP, you browse over 140 experiences, reserve what you like for free, and receive marketing materials. You pay nothing upfront. You only pay for an experience if it sells, keep 100% over the cost, and can sell experiences multiple times if the bidding gets hot. You are not too late: items can be added the same day as your event. Recommended starting bid is just 15-20% above cost, so there is profit from the first bid.

This week, pick three experiences from the catalog that fit your crowd, like a Kentucky Derby package, a villa in Greece, or a regional sports event. Reserve them at no cost. At your event, present them with the provided one-page display sheets. If they don’t sell, you owe nothing. Giveback XP handles the travel booking for winners, and donors have up to two years to travel for non-event experiences.

When the auction closes, you’ll see that those headline trips generated the loudest cheers and highest bids, while your smaller items still moved. Your board and community will feel the energy of a live bidding war, and you’ll have added profit without a single extra donation ask.