Just got back from spring break yesterday and had boxes from Ganz, Out of the box & American Girl, very happy!

I didn't notice this in as being mentioned but I might have missed it...

We have had success with things like estate planning from a local lawyer, tax services/financial planning from CPA's, etc. Basically the higher end services that people think about but either can't afford or don't think about doing....

We have also, in the past, had an airplane flight over the city and have tried before for a balloon ride... hoping to get that this year.

We are also asking each grade level to put together a basket to be auctioned off. To ensure there are no duplicates we assign the basket idea to the grade level and if the teachers decide to change it they just have to let us know in advance. Some of the basket ideas include the local college sports teams (which are big rivals around here), baking/kitchen, football/golf/sports, car care items, etc. This is the first year so we aren't real sure how it will go over but we shall see!

Also, something I haven wanted to try here but have never been able to talk anyone into is an auction for front row parking spots at the mall or wal-mart or somewhere for Black Friday. (Day after Thanksgiving.) Our auction is always in the fall in conjunction with the carnival and I have seen it done in larger cities with larger non-profits... basically a "set" of parking spots right at the door are marked off. The person has to win a drawing/raffle/auction (or something such as that) to be able to park in the section. The section could be 1 spot, it could be 100 spots, depending on what you can get the store to agree to. Then the morning of black Friday, for a certain time frame, which is included in the marketing so they know, the spot is reserved. They can arrive anytime during that time and be assured of the spot. The catch for most I think is the fact that someone has to be at the spot(s) to ensure the right person gets them... great job for a Dad though who doesn't want to go shopping....

A few weeks ago we got 2 tickets on Southwest Airlines - anywhere they fly no restrictions good for 13 months! I just sent them my donation request letter and I got a call from them saying they would send the tickets out right away. They have a value of $800!!!

Does anyone have any good ideas for free things we can auction off? Every year we auction off the front row at the school program of your choice, a teacher parking spot and the circle drive to be named your kids name. Any other ideas? We do all the lunches with the teacher and principal for the day in our ticket drop so each child gets a chance.

Just got a letter from American Girl, they are sending us "the girl of the year" doll & book. $90 value

Just got my letter back from Gateway-- if you live within 50 miles of one of their stores-- they might help you out--- but we don't, so th4ey said no--
Did get a panera bread card and box of stuffed animals from Ty.
I just sent out some more letters- we'll see what happens

We had 425 people attend our auction in February. We are a public school of 1300 students. Last year we made $36,000 but we had 100 more in attendance. Here is our pricing structure: $10 admission, 3 catagories of tickets from $10-$16 per sheet and a 50/50 raffle. What we have found is that each person will spend, on average, about $65. We have racked our brain but have not found a way to increase that number. Next year they are going to increase prices to offset the cost of the food and increase profits.

If you have some big companies near you, contact them and ask if you can purchase items at their company stores. Unilever, J&J, Nabisco and Loreal will let you do this and you can put together nice baskets for very little cost. Also, if you are a 501(c)3 organization, make that known to your parents and businesses. If parents work for companies that have a grant matching program then they can donate money (usually greater than $25) and fill out a form and their company will match it, thereby doubling their donation.
One last thing to think about... we have about 6 schools in our district that run auctions as fundraisers in the spring. That is alot of competition. It is always better to schedule your auction first in the 'season', rather than last. Ours was in February and we sold out. The next one was 3 weeks later and they didn't sell out and made about $10,000 less.

Good luck and thanks for all you do.