football mom wrote: Looking for help, advice, ideas, for silent auction donations in the Chicagoland area or Northern Indiana. Trying hard to get trips or "experiences" in Chicago. Any ideas will be greatly appreciate!

Google "Chicago experience donation request"

Guest1156 wrote: We are located in Georgia and would like a list of companies in/near Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah.

I am located in Chattanooga and would be happy to exchange lists with you, especially around Atlanta. Found little in Athens and nothing in Savannah.

AmberC wrote: It can be done in a two month time frame MillieD. It will just take some knocking on doors. I've had various results. Some places will hand you a donation on the spot. Some will take months before they give you a yes or no. Local places usually need the shortest lead time. There are a lot on online requests you can put in that don't take much time to do but the response time is longer. I'd say 70% of my yes responses have come in the last month prior to the event. Good luck to you.

I just started easing just over two months before the silent auction. Will finish up outside the local area next week, then focus locally.

swpto wrote: This is what I sent to all of my online requests (Etsy, contact me forms etc...):

The Southwest Elementary PTO in Howell, MI is in the process of planning their annual Silent Auction and Basket Raffle, which will be held Friday, May 20, 2016 at our Family Fun Fest. This celebration is for our 506 students and their families.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from this year’s basket raffles and silent auction items will go to our Playground Fund. Our playground is in desperate need of an update. With your support we will be able to make the upgrades this summer.

This year we are highlighting Michigan based products, people and businesses and were hoping you would like to be involved.

We will be acknowledging our generous donors publicly in our newsletter that reaches over 400 families. We will also display any promotional materials that you provide.

I can mail/email more information if you are interested in being involved.

Thank you for your consideration,
K
Southwest PTO Co-President
Southwest PTO 501(c)(3)#

This is terrific! Obviously, I am affiliated with the local autism center and not a school. This is something that can be tweaked easily.

Thanks for the letter!

Kaylyn wrote: Awesome list! Where did you find all your local businesses?

Google "<Local City> donation request". Also networking helps. Might want to consider using LinkedIn.

Anonymous wrote: Any suggestions for KY?

Not checking KY this year. You might want to look at UK/UL tix donations for football/basketball. The caves are big throughout KY. What about Louisville Slugger/Kentucky Derby Tours? I'd google "Louisville donation request", "Lexington donation request", "Kentucky donation request", "Kentucky caves request", etc. What about "Kentucky bluegrass festival request"?

It's all about being inventive and creative, when searching. This is the first time I have put together a silent auction, and I find that creativity and research help.

Scott