About "trading" donations-- I work for a nonprofit and last year, I took a couple of the larger donations that didn't sell and I gave them to my son's school for their gala silent auction with an arrangement to split 50/50. I was able to make an additional $750 and the money benefited both organizations. I had no guilt whatsoever about sharing the money instead of wasting the donation but i agree that selling it to another charity would be wrong.
Last year I did it all and was so wiped out! But I kept all my information to help with this year, so I was able to hit the ground running.
This year I did all the online donation requests and our treasurer hit the road to do the local requests.
I know the local pickups can take a 1/2 day at a time just picking everything up through town. She coordinates as many pick-ups as she can in one day so she's not always driving around.
My online requests probably took at least 50-60 hours, probably more. I had the same basic information that I was filling out on every website, but some applications are VERY detailed.
We're still getting some great responses with bigger items this week and I think it's amazing what will come in to the very end. I've also learned that many places won't tell you that they're donating, they just send the donation in. So I'm always checking our PTO box to see what goodies were sent in. There's something new in there at least twice a week.
We also have a spreadsheet of accepted donations. It holds the company that donated, amount, description and if they donated last year, if so - what was donated. It helps us keep track of what we'll be able to offer at our auction as well as have a list to use next year for our auction gathering.
I'm sure there's more ways to organize, but it's my 2nd year as PTO president, so I'm still learning as I go!
Thanks for the info on American Girl. Plus, your list is fantastic! Thanks for posting. I think lots of groups with smaller schools will be really inspired! Did you have a few people working on getting donations? Do you have a sense of how much time you put in? It is such a great list -- bet your event will be really successful!
Our event is in 4 weeks! We're a smaller school in Indiana, so we aren't able to get a lot of the big city places to donate since we're about 45 or so from Indy, but I'm thrilled with what we've received so far! It's also amazing the places that just send in a donation too without hearing back "Yes" before we receive the package.
Here's a list of what we've received so far:
FUN FOR THE PARENTS CATEGORY
* Howl at the Moon - Happy Hour package for up to 100 guests
* 2 dinner & performance passes - Derby Dinner Playhouse ($82 value)
* 4 passes - Thurs @ 6 p.m. or Sat @ 8 p.m. - ComedySportz Chicago
* 6 any night passes - ComedySportz Indy
* Cooper's Hawk Winery - tasting for 4 with gourmet chocolate truffle
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FAMILY FUN CATEGORY
* 4 Disney Park Hopper Passes ($516 value)
* Pass for 8 to African Safari Wildlife Park - Port Clinton, OH ($160 value)
* Indianapolis Zoo Family or Grandparent Membership ($136 value)
* 4 tickets to Indianapolis Symphony (Pops or Classical Series concert)
* 2 tickets to Center of Performing Arts - World Stage or Classical show
* 4 VIP passes to Fair Oaks Farms ($100 value)
* 4 general admission tickets - The Field Museum (Chicago)
* 4 general admission tickets - LegoLand (Chicago)
* 4 general admission tickets - Adler Planetarium (Chicago)
* 4 general admission tickets - Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)
* Admission pass for four to Muncie Children's Museum
* 2 admission tickets to Indiana Cavern's in Corydon, IN
* 2 passes to AMC ($21 value)
* 1 adult and child admission to The Children's Museum in Indianapolis
* (2) 1-hr jump passes, mini football & rubber bracelets- SkyZone (Fishers)
* 2 adult and 2 child passes to Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
* 2 tickets to the Crystal Palace and Dripstone Trail - Marengo Cave
* Half-day canoe trip for two - Cave Country Canoes
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MISCELLANEOUS GIFT CERTIFICATES
* $100 gift certificate - Portrait Innovations
* $50 gift certificate to Tiny Prints
* $50 voucher with Amtrak
* $60 gift certificate with free shipping to Otterbox
* $10 gift card to Alco
* $20 gift certificate from Planet Mind
* 25 rentals from Redbox
* $25 gift card to Half Price Books
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RESTAURANT CATEGORY
* 2 - $25 gift cards to Mellow Mushroom
* 4 - $10 gift cards to Half Moon
* $25 gift card to City Barbeque
* $25 gift card to Bagger Dave's
* 2 - Free two topping pizzas at Bruno's in West Lafayette
* 10 - free yogurts at Yo Joy ($4 value each)
* 10 - free spaghetti dinners to Fazoli's
* 50 - free children's meals from Chili's
* 5 VIP cards at McAlister's for sandwich, salad or spud, drink & cookie
* 4 - $5 gift certificates to Blondie's Cookies
* One 3-foot giant sub from Subway
* 8 - free meals from IHOP
* 2 - value baskets from Culver's
* Dinner for Two at Texas Roadhouse ($30 value)
* Dinner for Two at Cracker Barrel
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SPORTS CATEGORY
* Fathead - Indianapolis Colts logo ($90 value)
* 4 Reserved Seat for April or May 2015 to Indianapolis Indians game
* 2 lower level sideline seats - Fort Wayne Mad Ants
* 2 tickets ($19.50/ea) during the Chicago Wolves hockey regular season
* Autographed picture of UC head football coach, Tommy Tuberville
* Autographed picture of Purdue University basketball coach, Matt Painter
* Autographed picture of IU basketball coach, Tom Crean
* 4 tickets to Ball State University home football game
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CAR CATEGORY
* $25 gift card to Ricker's
* $50 gift card to Casey's
* $50 gift certificate with 5 gallon bucket to NAPA in Tipton
* 2 - $10 gift cards to Auto Zone
* 2 - $10 gift cards to CJ's car wash
* 3 - alignments from Burnett's Auto
* 2 - oil changes from Button
* 5 - oil changes from Tipton Ford
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MISCELLANEOUS BASKETS & ITEMS
* American Girl Doll, Caroline ($110 value)
* Step 2 - 2-in-1 Toy Box and Art Lid ($60 value)
* Scentsy basket
* Pampered Chef basket
* Origami Owl basket
* Thirty - One basket
* Tastefully Simple basket
* Avon basket
* Gift basket from Bob Evan's
* 5 - Foresta Bunny Jewelry Storage boxes from Umbra
Rose and left210
We've received the American Girl doll twice. Each time we've had to submit as close to the end of the submission window (6 weeks I think) and we've been selected. Make sure to attach the 501c3 determination letter or you won't get approved. Or I should say we've attached both times and had no issues with approval. We use it for an elementary school silent auction with proceeds to kids field trips, so I'm not sure if that had a factor in it too.
