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Fundraising Tuesday: Top 5 Charity Auction Items That Your Supporters Will Love

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A guest post by Jason Champion of Winspire

If you’ve ever planned an auction for your nonprofit, you know that the process involves many decisions, from choosing its format to selecting marketing channels to spread the word. But the most important choices you’ll need to make before the event concern the prizes up for grabs.

It’s essential to keep upfront costs relatively low to maximize your event’s return on investment (ROI). However, you also need to seek out high-quality, unique auction items that will catch your supporters’ attention!

In this guide, we’ll discuss the top five charity auction items to add to your catalog for maximum supporter appeal and fundraising potential. These include:

  1. Travel Packages
  2. Gift Baskets
  3. Event Tickets
  4. Signed Celebrity Memorabilia
  5. Fine Food and Beverages

Keep in mind that you’ll need to procure a different number and collection of items depending on what type of auction you host. Winspire’s charity auction items guide suggests offering 12-15 high-value prizes at live auctions, all of which need to be high-value to ensure a positive event ROI. Meanwhile, silent auctions can include 100 items or more at a variety of price points to engage as many supporters as possible. That being said, let’s dive in!

1. Travel Packages

Travel-related items tend to sell well at nonprofit auctions due to their uniqueness and broad appeal. Consider including a mix of travel items to match different participants’ interests, such as:

  • Complete vacation packages for a few distinct locations. For example, you could feature one tropical resort getaway, one international sightseeing trip, and one tour of famous national parks.
  • Flexible airline and/or hotel reservations where the winning bidder can choose their own vacation. Make sure to specify any restrictions on this prize’s use (destinations, travel dates, spending limits, etc.).
  • Road trip supply bundles that include items like a trunk organizer, car emergency kit, cooler, snacks, sunglasses, car games, and gift cards for a popular gas station chain to appeal to local travelers.

While requesting in-kind donations of auction items reduces upfront event costs, travel-based prizes are rarely donated. Fortunately, there are dedicated providers of consignment auction travel packages that your nonprofit can partner with to procure these items conveniently and at the best prices.

2. Gift Baskets

Gift baskets are a silent auction staple! However, you can also include baskets in live auctions if you pair them with a vacation or other experience that brings them up to the proper quality standard.

Here are some tips to make your gift baskets stand out:

  • Design each basket around a theme. One of the easiest ways to acquire a themed basket is to ask one of your nonprofit’s corporate sponsors to donate samples of their products and services. For example, a beauty supply store could provide a gift basket of popular makeup and skincare products along with a certificate for an in-store tutorial.
  • Consider the basket’s appearance. When assembling your baskets, place the most visually appealing items front and center, and make each basket look full to increase its perceived value.
  • Give each basket a catchy and creative title. Put yourself in your supporters’ shoes when coming up with titles—for instance, if you were attending your auction, would you be more inclined to bid on the “Cooking Supplies Basket” or the “Home Chef Starter Kit”?

On the bid sheet for each basket, list all of the items inside so participants can understand its value at a glance. This list can also be helpful to your team to ensure you price the basket correctly.

3. Event Tickets

Some of your auction participants will likely come looking for highly sought-after tickets to events like concerts, musicals, and athletic events. Besides avoiding the hassle of ticketing websites, these supporters will appreciate spending less money on a better event experience.

To provide a better event experience and drive up bids, consider bundling the following elements into one auction item:

  • Two to four tickets for the best seats in the house
  • A piece of event merchandise for each attendee
  • A voucher for food and beverages at the venue
  • A photo opportunity with one of the performers or athletes after the event

The easiest way to solicit these auction items is to contact the event venue or organizer directly. Many venues offer nonprofit discounts on tickets, but you may need to negotiate with them to secure the entire bundle.

4. Signed Celebrity Memorabilia

While some supporters may enjoy an experience based around their favorite performers or athletes, others might prefer a keepsake signed by a celebrity. Although popular, these auction items can be challenging when it comes to validity and pricing. Always double-check that signed memorabilia is legitimate, and compare several estimates before finalizing the price.

Additionally, NXUnite’s nonprofit event planning guide emphasizes the importance of tailoring events to your target audience, which is especially true when choosing signed memorabilia. For example, an older audience might want to bid on a guitar signed by one of the Beatles, while younger supporters may get more excited about one signed by Taylor Swift.

5. Fine Food and Beverages

Good food and drinks bring people together, and they’re great prizes for auction participants who don’t want to add “clutter” to their lives. Your food and beverage auction items could include:

  • An experience such as dining out or attending a cooking class
  • Tangible items like a gourmet coffee sampler or box of fine chocolates
  • Both of the above—for instance, a tour of a vineyard that comes with bottles of wine to take home

For any auction items involving alcohol, verify that the winning bidder is age 21 or older. This ensures that your nonprofit can avoid liability and that the winner can fully enjoy their prize.
If you aren’t sure which auction items your supporters will enjoy most, communicate with them! Send out a survey to your target audience, and invite loyal volunteers to join your auction item procurement team so you can get a firsthand perspective on their interests and narrow your search accordingly.

Jason Champion head shotJason Champion is the Vice President of Business Development at Winspire, a global provider of luxury experiences for charity auctions and fundraisers. He is responsible for the next-stage corporate brand vision as the company’s branding leader, driving performance via product and service innovation, strategic brand planning and positioning, multiplatform content marketing, and communications, creative, digital campaigns, customer success, and business development.

4 Strategies for Successful Nonprofit Grant Management

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A guest post by Jon Osterburg of Jitasa

Grants are a significant source of funding for nonprofits, comprising nearly a quarter of total nonprofit revenue. They fuel vital programs and services, which is why you need an organized approach to grant management.

By properly allocating grant funds, your nonprofit will make the most of this funding. This provides additional flexibility to use your other funds where needed, like for donor communications or delivering services in the community. Let’s explore four strategies you can use for effective grant management.

  1. Standardize grant management processes.

Many nonprofits earn multiple grants throughout each year. Therefore, these organizations have many grants to manage at once, each of which has its own purpose.

Simplify the process by developing guidelines for grant management tasks and expectations. Your guidelines should include each step of the process from beginning to end.

To help, Jitasa explains grant management as a cycle that follows these steps:

The nonprofit grant management cycle, which is detailed in the text below

  1. Identify grant opportunities
  2. Apply for grants
  3. Track your grant’s progress
  4. Record grant funding
  5. Report back to the grantmaker

Using this grant lifecycle as a guide, your instructions will outline each step necessary to apply for, accept, and use grants. This way, every team member can streamline the process and increase efficiency.

2. Comply with grant rules.

When using a grant, you must follow financial management requirements, such as reporting the funding on your nonprofit’s Form 990. But you must also comply with the grantmaker’s rules.

Review the unique terms, conditions, and reporting requirements for each grant before using any of the funding. These requirements may include:

  • Budget restrictions: Most grantors restrict funding to specific uses. For example, one grant could be for a specific program while another has to be used for your current capital campaign.
  • Project timelines: Many grants require nonprofits to meet a deadline for fulfilling the funding’s purpose. For example, your grant terms may set an end-of-year deadline for launching a new program. In this case, your nonprofit might have to send monthly progress reports to the grantor.
  • Monitoring: Grantors may want to oversee your project and assess your usage of their funding. This may include monitoring your progress through site visits or recurring meetings.

These requirements are also important for reporting purposes, such as creating financial statements. Nonprofits must differentiate between unconditional, contingent, and reimbursable grants in these reports. You’ll need to be familiar with the nature of the grant before creating statements.

Another common requirement is acknowledging the grant’s source in your marketing materials. This may include showcasing grant-funded programs on your nonprofit’s website or in your email newsletter. You must be transparent about grant usage with both the grantor and your stakeholders.

3. Track grant usage.

Your nonprofit likely already tracks its financial performance for budgeting purposes. In the same way, you should track grant usage to make informed decisions about fund allocation. This empowers your team to keep grant-funded programs on track to achieve their goals.

Choose relevant metrics to track, such as:

  • Cost-per-outcome: Gauge the grant’s effectiveness by calculating the cost of achieving an outcome, such as getting someone to sign up for the designated program. To measure this, divide grant expenditures by the number of outcomes achieved.
  • Grant utilization rate: Compare the percentage of the grant used to the total amount awarded. This will show how far you were able to stretch the funding.
  • Programmatic output: Track the results of grant-funded programs. This may include the number of individuals served, services provided, or activities completed.

According to NPOInfo’s data collection guide, these metrics will also help you improve a project’s return on investment (ROI). With an overview of your grant usage in comparison to your goals, you can adjust your strategy to make a bigger impact. Then, you can measure your progress and demonstrate your impact to stakeholders.

4. Work with a financial professional.

Grants are just one of your many, diversified revenue streams. You probably also raise funds from individual donations, corporate philanthropy, earned income, and investments. Then, you must apply this revenue to various expenses in a way that powers your nonprofit’s activities.

Working with a financial professional can ensure you make the most of not just grants, but all of your nonprofit’s resources. To start working with a nonprofit accountant who can manage your grants and other financial needs, follow these steps:

  1. Determine your financial goals and needs.
  2. Establish an outsourcing budget.
  3. Research top nonprofit accountants.
  4. Schedule consultations to meet with your top choices.
  5. Narrow down your list and select an accountant.

A professional accountant can also help you develop future financial goals. As a result, your nonprofit can restart the grant cycle by knowing which grants to apply for and how you’ll use them.

Jon Osterburg has spent the last nine years helping more than 100 nonprofits around the world with their finances as a leader at Jitasa, an accounting firm that offers bookkeeping and accounting services to not for profit organizations.

 

How to Recruit Nonprofit Employees Effectively

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A guest post by Jennifer Loftus, Astron Solutions

If your nonprofit is facing recruitment challenges, you’re not alone. According to the 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey, three of four nonprofits reported job vacancies. Filling open positions quickly is critical so your organization can continue providing services and working toward its mission effectively.

However, you shouldn’t just hire the first candidate who walks in the door. Recruiting employees for your nonprofit’s team requires a strategic approach to attract candidates who are passionate about your organization’s mission and committed to making a difference.

Your organization’s internal culture and infrastructure are integral to your success. Therefore, you must recruit motivated employees who can quickly ease into your workflow while offering diverse perspectives to improve your strategies and optimize your results. This is especially important if your nonprofit is gearing up to launch a major initiative, such as a capital campaign.

Use these best practices to recruit talented individuals to your organization’s team.

Clearly define the role and responsibilities

Finding the right candidates for your nonprofit’s open positions requires communicating clearly through every step of the hiring process.

Start by clearly defining the role’s responsibilities, qualifications, and expectations. Astron Solutions recommends crafting a compelling job description with these key elements:

  • A job title that accurately reflects the nature of the position
  • A summary of the position that outlines core duties and responsibilities
  • Relevant logistics, such as expected hours of work, format (remote, in-person, or hybrid), typical schedule, and the location of the position
  • Organization overview, including your nonprofit’s history, mission, goals, and culture
  • A detailed list of specific duties, including daily tasks
  • The qualifications you’re looking for, like education, experience, certifications, and skills
  • Relationships and information about where the position falls in your organization’s hierarchy (include who the role reports to, for example)
  • A salary range for the position, particularly where required by law
  • Benefits, such as paid time off, healthcare benefits, and retirement plans
  • Additional statements as needed, such as an equal opportunity policy statement, at-will employment statement, or a statement about providing reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities

The more specific and descriptive you are, the easier it will be to attract talented recruits whose interests, skills, and experience align with your needs.

Your nonprofit’s mission statement is a particularly powerful recruiting tool. Highlight the meaningful work that employees will be contributing to and the difference they can make in the community.

This helps attract candidates who are aligned with your organization’s purpose and passionate about its cause.

Avoid job description “red flags”

Today’s job seekers have become increasingly discerning, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic altered expectations surrounding remote work and work-life balance. Recruits are more attuned to potential “red flags” to look for in job descriptions. We recommend avoiding the following cliche or “red flag” descriptors in your job postings:

  • Providing an extremely wide salary range. This could make the requirements you’re looking for seem ambiguous or arbitrary. For example, the responsibilities of a $40,000 per year role can vary widely from a $100,000 per year role.
  • Using urgency language like “fast-paced environment.” This signals to potential employees that an organization may not respect work-life boundaries or may expect unreasonable working hours.
  • Describing your workplace as a “family.” This familiar, casual language also tends to be a red flag for job seekers, as they often interpret this to mean a workplace has loose boundaries between personal and professional lives.

About half of all nonprofit professionals are experiencing high levels of burnout. Job seekers are looking for positions that won’t ask them to sacrifice a healthy life balance to work for a charitable cause. Ensure your job postings acknowledge that reality by avoiding these common red flags.

Use multiple recruitment channels

Cast a wide net by utilizing multiple recruitment channels to reach potential candidates. This may include posting job openings on:

  • Your nonprofit’s website
  • Job boards and newsletters, including nonprofit-specific boards
  • Social media platforms like LinkedIn
  • University and college job sites, newsletters, or text chains

Seek ways to make your hiring process more inclusive and recruit candidates from a variety of backgrounds. Diversify your job search to include job fairs, networking events, and newsletters targeted at connecting underrepresented groups with job opportunities. For example, work with a university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) office to share open roles on their newsletter or job board.

Engage current staff and supporters

Engaging with your existing nonprofit community can help you reach candidates who are already passionate about your cause. Tap into your network of staff, volunteers, donors, and supporters for referrals and recommendations. Ask these individuals to think about people in their lives who would be interested in your open positions and well-suited to the roles.

Provide materials or talking points to your network to help them promote your open positions. For example, make sure they have a link to your job posting on your website or LinkedIn. Also, encourage them to share about their experience at your organization to help determine whether the role would be a good fit.

Encourage current employees to share job openings with their networks and consider offering referral bonuses as incentives. Double the Donation also recommends spotlighting employees who go above and beyond in the recruitment process using recognition tools like eCards or loyalty awards. Use these tools to show employees your gratitude for helping to create a successful hiring process.

Offer competitive benefits and compensation

72% of respondents to the 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey said salary competition affects their ability to recruit and retain employees, followed by budget constraints and insufficient funds.

While financial constraints mean that nonprofits may not always be able to offer salaries as high as those in the for-profit sector, you can still seek to make your compensation and benefits packages as competitive as possible.

Communicate your compensation strategy clearly in your job posting, including information about:

  • Direct compensation, such as salary, bonuses, and overtime pay
  • Indirect compensation, including health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid time off
  • Unique benefits, such as flexible work arrangements, professional development opportunities, or a supportive work culture

This holistic approach to compensation is defined as the “total rewards approach,” depicted in this graphic:

Total rewards approach to compensation, including direct and indirect compensation

A total rewards approach is effective for nonprofits that may not be able to compete against for-profit organizations based on salary alone.  Clearly outlining your compensation information gives prospective employees a clear idea of what working at your organization would mean for their financial and professional goals. This allows recruits to determine if your position aligns with their vision for the future.

These tips will help kickstart your employee recruitment efforts, but if you need more support throughout the process, consider working with a nonprofit human resources consultant to help attract top talent. These professionals can offer guidance on your compensation and recruitment strategies based on their experience and industry best practices.

If you decide to work with a consultant, find a firm that has experience working with similar organizations and respects your organization’s culture and vision. The right partner can help manage not only your hiring process but also implement employee retention strategies that keep your nonprofit’s staff happy and energized.

Jennifer Loftus head shotAuthor: Jennifer C. Loftus, MBA, SPHR, PHRca, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, CCP, CBP, GRP

Jennifer C. Loftus is a Founding Partner of and National Director for Astron Solutions, a compensation consulting firm.  Jennifer has 23 years of experience garnered at organizations including the Hay Group, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Eagle Electric Manufacturing Company, and Harcourt General.

Jennifer has held volunteer leadership roles with SHRM, New York City SHRM, and WorldatWork. She serves as a subject matter expert to the SHRM Learning System and as a SHRM instructor.  Jennifer is a sought-after speaker for local & national conferences and media outlets.

Jennifer has an MBA in Human Resource Management with highest honors from Pace University and a BS in Accounting summa cum laude from Rutgers University.  Jennifer holds Adjunct Professor roles with Pace University, Long Island University, and LIM College.

Jennifer received the 2014 Gotham Comedy Foundation’s Lifetime Ambassador of Laughter Award.

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