How do we get auction items when the same local businesses are asked every year?

Disease research organizations run galas, luncheons, and community walks and runs. Each event solicits the same restaurants, salons, and shops for auction items. When your benefit dinner comes around, those businesses have already been approached by multiple committees. The supply of donated items runs thin, but your donors still expect a compelling auction. Consignment fills the catalog without a single donation ask.

Instead of another gift certificate, consignment travel packages bring in bucket-list experiences, Formula 1, the Kentucky Derby, the US Open, Napa, Italy, that your donors bid on. You pay nothing upfront, only for what sells. Keep 100 percent over the cost, and sell the same package more than once if bidding stays hot. Most packages sell 30 to 50 percent above cost, and winning bids above fair market value are generally tax deductible. Items can be added even on event day.

This week, choose a few experiences that fit your gala. Contact Giveback XP to reserve them at no cost. You receive a one-page display PDF with photos and details for each, plus a marketing email to help you promote them. List them in your auction; you pay only for what sells, keep everything above cost, and can sell the same package multiple times. Winners book travel directly through the team, with up to two years to travel on most experiences. Stop asking local businesses for auction items; save that relationship for sponsorships.

Your auction catalog now offers trips to the Kentucky Derby or Italian wine country, not another stack of local gift certificates. Donors bid well above cost, your organization keeps every dollar past the reserve, and winners book directly with a travel team. You keep your local business contacts fresh for sponsorship asks, and the room leaves excited.