If you’re trying to throw a successful gift basket auction at school, one thing that is important to realize is that the success of the event will likely depend heavily on the gift baskets themselves. School auctions can be a great way to raise funds for a variety of different programs, especially those that take place after school that might not get a lot of funding in the first place. If you want to make sure that your baskets attract the type of attention you want them to, try to keep these factors in mind.
Ask for help. Make a list of local businesses that you know you can get donations from for the auction baskets. Doing so will help you start thinking of a theme for individual baskets, as you’ll be able to identify patterns of items based on where they’re going to be coming from. You’ll also know who to thank when the auction is all said and done.
Pick a theme when working with each individual basket. You don’t want to put a collection of random items together in a basket, as it isn’t likely to attract too much attention. You could put together a movie basket, for example, and include related items like free passes to the local movie theater, a selection of movie snacks (candy and gourmet popcorn, for example), and even a DVD or Blu-ray copy of a recent Hollywood hit.
Know your audience and tailor your baskets towards those individuals. If you know that your school auction is going to be frequented by parents, for example, you would want baskets filled with items that adults would love. You might want to include a “Night Out” basket and have gift certificates for local restaurants or other types of affairs, for example. If your school auction is going to be frequented by the students themselves, however, you would need to start thinking on a completely different level. A night out at a fancy restaurant likely won’t appeal to students in the same way that it would their parents. Tickets to a local sporting event, however, may do more to pique the interest of younger bidders.
Looks matter. Make sure that the baskets themselves look their best. Once you’ve collected all of the necessary items for the basket, be sure to wrap the basket in some type of clear wrapping paper. You want to wrap it tight enough so that none of the items can fall out (or be taken), but you also want to use the clear material so that people can still see all of the items contained inside. You’ll also want to note the combined value of all the items contained within the baskets as a way of enticing people to bid. People are more likely to bid $50 on a basket if they know that it contains $150 worth of items, for example.
School auction baskets are fun to put together and fun to buy – so don’t worry about making mistakes! Gather inspiration from students themselves and your own interests – and your baskets will garner plenty of attention.
