For Courtney looking for bakeries to do cookies, check your local bakeries, even at your grocery stores. Sometimes all you need to do is ask. Or maybe you can look up caterers in your community and ask there too.
One more question. If the person who decided to pay full price puts that bid in and then someone else comes in and bids over and above that price - whose name goes in to get the extra gift?
I know! It seems that everyone is trying to find that deal. We always make an announcement to let people know why they are at the fundraiser.
We use items that parents want that won't cost much for our "dare to pay full price" program. For instance, we auction off a parking lot space, then put a second one into the "DTPFP" drawing. We auction off 6 front row seats to the early childhood and grades 1-8 spring programs, and put 4 additional front row seats for each program into the DTPFP drawing. Last year we also used some gift cards that we had purchased through our Scrip program - Chuck E Cheese and Home Depot, if I remember right. We also received 9 coffeemakers for the auction, so we pulled one for the DTPFP program. We drew names from the ones who were eligible for the additional prizes and then put the appropriate prizes with the additional winners. For instance, the family who had already purchased front row seats to a program got the parking space, the family with early education age children got the seats or Chuck E Cheese gift card, etc.
Out of the 150 auction items we had, almost half came in at full price or over! We started the program because I was upset that our bidders stopped bidding if the price got over 50 - 60% of value. I think they forgot in the hunt for the deal that this was a fundraiser for their children's school. I was at my wits' end for ways to break that pattern and wondered if the bidding would go up if there was a potential incentive attached. Since it worked so well, we'll be doing this again.
Laura -- On your "dare to pay full price", what types of items do you set aside for the people who pay full price? Also -- how many items? Do you put their names into a drawing?
That is a wonderful idea, and one that I would like to implement at our event in June.
Thanks! Does anyone know if theres a cookie and/or cake place that will donate? We're having an event for pancreatic cancer so purple ribbon cookies would be nice! I don't know where to ask!
