I just got a message on Build A Bear site that they have reached there donations for the year and are reevaluating the program

We are soliciting donations for our annual Spring Dinner & Auction event. Last year we received free nights from Redbox; this year we were denied. This is the response we received. As we are a Catholic school and fall under the UCCB we will never qualify again. I hope this isn't a new trend.

Thank you for contacting us regarding the declination of your in-kind request. Unfortunately, while your organization does have 501(c)(3) status, it does not satisfy the second requirement listed on our request form, which is:
Educational institutions, food banks, shelters and other programs administered by faith-based organizations have a 501(c)3 designation separate from their religious institution.
We regret that we cannot fulfill your in-kind gift request, but wish you much success with your fundraising event,
-Outerwall Inc.

Coupons have created many problems in my previous auctions. I don't use them either.

Fundraiser Mom -- regarding my blog, you can do a search on my name and perhaps the word "blog" and you'll find it.

Hi Suzie,

It's always painful to answer questions like this in a listserve, which is geared towards short easy answers and generalizes all auctions. So that stated, I'll say that I'm not a fan of offering these types of gift cards (AKA coupons).

As has been shared, there are some national companies - Alex and Ani, Green Mountain, Cabot Cheese, for instance -- that generously offer actual products; they are wonderful! But a good number of the companies shared on this list will send gift cards that not going to generate the kind of money we need. I'll even go so far as to say that when some groups put these into their auction, they will actually hurt their revenue potential. Now some will say, "Who cares if we raised only $10 from it. It was FREE." Well, not really. There is no free lunch. It always costs, whether or not someone understands how is another matter.

Anyway, if I was required to use these in an auction, here are some guidelines I'd share with my clients.

1. If it's truly a junk coupon and you know it, don't use it. Just because you get donations doesn't mean you need to use them.

2. If it's decent and the products are nice, use the coupons -- but no more than one on the silent auction table. Auctions are based on scarcity. If you have the same item three times on the table, you're only tripling the amount of work you have to do (display ... bid sheet ... marketing ... checkout processing...etc) but not tripling your income. No one is going to outbid a bidder on THIS item if they can buy the identical one for less on THAT bid sheet right next to it. Use one. Uno. Eins. Une. Scarcity. Work with me people.

2. Selling them in a gift box for a low price could be used to distribute one or two, as they'd be "hidden" by the box. But don't fill every box with these. Keep in mind that if buyers get items they can't use, they'll be more hesitant to buy those boxes next year. You've just shot yourself in the foot on that activity. At one of my Parish auctions, a teacher was upset after she paid $25 and won the 2 night stay in Reno (the Reno package shared on this list). "What?! I can't use THIS?!" she said, and promptly asked the volunteer for her donation back. Oftentimes the people buying those boxes are those who are more budget conscious but want to contribute and do something "fun." If we stuff the boxes with items that even we know to be lame, we're sort of disenfranchising that part of our supporter base.

3. Got an online auction component with a larger audience? Try it there.

4. Can you get more of them? "We LOVE this donation," you write, "so much so, that we want to get you more exposure, Mr. Company. How about you sending us 40 of these cards and we put one in every VIP gift bag." It won't make you money as a donation sale, but it can support VIP ticket sales, if you've structured that program well.

5. How about thank-you gifts for the volunteers? Instead of raising money, raise good will. "All volunteers throw your name in the bowl," you say, "we've got 15 coupons to draw winners."

6. Add them into another package. E.G. A $50 gift card from Canvas on Demand gets packaged with several photo frames in a basket. Mention it as the last item on the list of items in the bag. No need to get buyers excited over nothing.

Thanks, Sherry. Our event is always in March and it's always raffle baskets. Biggest issue would be finding a donor to donate snow plow services!! Do you have a regular blog..what's the site/address?

Re; coupons for $'s off - I think many of these are exactly the same as a gift certificate to a restaurant where you know you will spend more than the gift certificate. I suggest trying a variety of approaches.....buy it now (at reduced cost), combine in baskets with similar prizes, use a few as special door prizes.....