bravesmom,
We've run the balloon ride before and it worked fine for us. The only problem is that the person that won the 1 person balloon ride wanted to make it 2- so we gave her the info to add someone on.
We are trying it again in August and we'll see what happens-- I'll post if it turns out to be a negative experience this time.
I run a non-profit and we did a "test-run" silent auction last year at our fundraising dinner. It did very well, so I was looking for ideas to make it bigger and better this year...this board was a HUGE help. Thank you! Here are a few New Jersey organizations that have contributed to us which I haven't seen on this board. They all can be found online.
Trenton Thunder minor league baseball - gave four tickets
McCarter Theatre, Princeton NJ - gave two tickets
State Theatre, New Brunswick NJ - gave two tickets
Papermill Playhouse, Millburn NJ - gave two tickets
Look local then think out of the box! We asked zoos, Childrens Museums, and hotels! However, we went with the balloon ride I received in the PTO packet and it DOES NOT WORK! They sent us information how to get started and we had TWO people bid on them and they will not return our calls so now we are having to refund their money!
Jschaffer: Glad to hear you have received from Air Trans. I have tried two years in a row now, and have been denied each time. I was going to scratch them off my list as "doesn't donate to schools," but I will keep trying. What's the harm, right?
Everyone else looking for companies: Definitely use the "Ultimate Donation List" thread that a link was posted earlier in this thread. I used it last year and this year and got a bunch of companies I would never have thought of on my own.