BeCause

Why Travel?

February 13, 2014
There are any number of items that can attract donations at charity auctions. Local restaurants can contribute meals or gift certificates, gyms can offer personal training sessions, and spas can put together day-long getaways. Each of those entries have their places at a well-run fundraiser. But when it comes to a centerpiece item, something that makes the eyes of donors light up and their imaginations race, there may be nothing better than a well-curated, once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity.

Why add a travel package to your auction? Here are a few simple reasons:

Joy by Association: Vacations have been proven to reduce stress, improve the quality and quantity of sleep and prevent burnout. But maybe as important is a vacation’s effect on family relationships. Some of the best memories, those that last a lifetime, come from taking off to an exotic locale with the spouse and kids. Waking up in a Parisian hotel room overlooking the Eiffel Tower, walking through ancient Rome, scuba diving in Bali … those are some of the once-in-a-lifetime moments that kids will remember and cherish forever.

Many of your donors are overworked, and push themselves to be successful and take care of their families. A luxury travel experience can be just the stress reliever that a busy executive needs, and that donor will always associate the good feelings of that trip, those life-long memories, with the non-profit that helped make it possible.

Big Ticket Items Mean Big Money: In order to get higher bids, one must ask for more money. It’s not a difficult assertion to follow logically, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of playing “small ball” when setting up a charity auction. An organization may be worried about asking for too much, especially at a gala auction where attendees have already paid a significant amount to attend the event.

It’s important to remember, though: These people are at the event to support the non-profit. They want to help. They are an organization’s biggest backers, and offering them a chance to contribute in a larger manner—especially when it comes with the trip-of-a-lifetime as a “bonus”—is enticing.

Hassle-Free, Risk-Free Consignment Selling: Like an exotic trip or a fantasy experience, there’s no risk when selling a package put together by a trusted charity consignment auction travel company. You don’t pay for the trip until you collect payment from the donor. If it doesn’t sell, there’s no harm. It’s a way to quickly add an item to the auction menu and adding that “WOW” factor without risk or having to ask for a donation.

In addition, with careful procurement, consignment travel options can complement other items. Have a French dinner gift certificate to auction? Pair with a trip to Paris! Autographed sports memorabilia? How about a trip to see any regular season sporting event in the country? Also, consignment travel can help support other auction items, allowing a non-profit to accept a wider range of gifts to sell. If a friend of the organization has a timeshare week to donate, for instance, a consignment package can “complete” the donation with airfare to and activities at the destination. There’s no limit to the creativity when there’s no risk to the selection.

What’s your reason for enticing donors with travel?