Want to help out, but not sure where to start? We’ve collected an assortment of popular auction items to get your wheels turning, but feel free to think further outside the box and give something bigger, better, or more unique! We are thrilled to accept anything and everything that will help our work continue.
Travel Package Basket – Throw in a pair of travel tickets, certificates for accommodations, sightseeing or local attraction tickets! With a year of limited travel options these experiential baskets are sure to be in great demand!
Sport Ticket Basket – Make “Opening Day” an even bigger event by combining sporting event tickets, parking passes, pre-game meal and fan merchandise in your themed sports basket. Or group tickets to all the major sports teams in your market, baseball, football, basketball, hockey and soccer! Create a super fan experience!
Membership Basket – Museums, Zoos, Bike Share Programs, Meal Service Plans, Gyms, Art Club or Art Classes…
Staycation Basket – Provide an amazing no travel option for those not quite ready to travel yet by packaging a premium or boutique local hotel stay, fine dining gift certificates and local event tickets… doesn’t have to be super expensive to provide an amazing experience!
Spa Basket – Who doesn’t love a Spa Day? Gift certificates for spa treatments, massages, meditation sessions for singles or couples. Provide an “at home” spa experience with fancy bath oils, bath salts, luffas and at-home facial kits.
Movie Night Basket – DVD’s of popular movies, Coupon for Netflix or other streaming services, a bottle of wine (or two), make-at home gourmet popcorn, gift certificate for pizza delivery and of course don’t forget the movie theater candies like licorice and Milk-Duds!
Date Night Basket – Nice bottle of wine or craft liquor, selection of gourmet snacks and cheese, candles, gift certificates for restaurants, massages, private couples classes or lessons… maybe even a private cooking class?
Local Goods Sampler – Support local businesses by grouping items such as food, coffee, beer or wine, ceramics, candles and gift certificates from local artisans.
Beach Party Basket – Who wouldn’t love a relaxing day at the beach? Towels, sunglasses, sunscreen, an umbrella, snacks, paperback books or even wireless earbuds plus a gift card for audiobooks or music!
Backyard Camping Basket – Gather camping goods like a tent, lanterns, a backyard fire ring, and graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows for smores!
Lotto Ticket Basket – Purchase an assortment of scratch-off lottery tickets that span a range of values.
Rainy Day Basket – Board games, movies and snacks. Think Twister, Jenga, Monopoly, Sorry, Dominoes and newer card games.
Gardening Basket – Gloves, pots, seeds, succulents, and other tools. Gift certificates to home improvement or gardening centers.
Spoiled Pup Basket – Bones, treats, balls, toys, beds or carriers for the dog lovers in the crowd!
Sing it out Basket – The ever-popular karaoke machine, microphone stand and stage lights!
Auto Detailing Basket – Glass cleaner, car wax, air fresheners and gift cards to your local car detailer or car wash chain.
Wine or Booze Basket – Compile a themed basket of wines from a specific wine region or varietal wine types, sparkling wine themed basket for special occasions, dessert wines or put together a whiskey tasting basket or fun and unique liquors the possibilities are endless! Add glasses, specialty wine bottle openers, wine stoppers, wine glass name tags. Specialty cheeses, chocolate pairings complete the experience!
Vendor or Business Partner Product/Service Item – Donate your company’s equipment or services as an auction item to gain additional exposure for your company and further support our worthy cause.
Signed memorabilia – Signed footballs, helmets, baseballs, jerseys. Signed movie posters, guitars, celebrity photos and first edition books are all great ideas.
Event Tickets & Concerts – Parks & Recreation Department hosted music festivals, premium performers at 4th of July Events, traveling Broadway shows
Art & Wine Festivals – two of our favorite things all in one place!
Artwork – Artwork is another surefire online silent auction item.
Travel Packages – Luxury vacations and unique travel packages make excellent big-ticket items for online auctions.
Celebrity Meetups – Athletes, actors, musicians, authors and local leaders willing to participate in a sponsored meal or a round of golf have high fundraising potential.
Pro Golf Lesson – Solicit time from a local professional golfer or coach to spend a morning or afternoon with the winning bidder on the range or course.
Golf Experiences – Show off the premier golf courses in your area by securing complimentary foursomes to auction off, perhaps even bundling several courses in the area or by the same golf course designer!
Box Seats & Backstage Passes – Share your city’s box or suite or your corporate seats for concerts, theatre events, sporting events if you have a sports stadium! Let’s package a VIP experience!
Tech Toys – A fancy new laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart speakers, earbuds, earphones, video game console or even a smart appliance could be a surefire crowd-pleaser for our online virtual audience!
Online Classes – A whole new industry has sprung up around online classes and education, ranging from academic pursuits to hobbies of all kinds. Subscriptions to services like “The Great Courses Plus” and “Masterclass” offer classes spanning a wide range of topics, from history to cooking to yoga to painting.
Top of the line Kitchen Appliances – Cooking at home has increased in many of our lives recently… top-of-the-line kitchen appliances like stand mixers, immersion blenders, Dutch ovens, herb garden kits are desired by home chefs more now than ever…perhaps package with an online cooking class!
Hot Air Balloon Ride – A leisurely ride in a hot air balloon can be a memorable and exciting experience to offer families or small groups of friends.
Family Photoshoot – Reach out to a local photography studio or freelance photographer to solicit their services for a private family photoshoot.
Inflatable Party in the Park or at Home – We all work with inflatable vendors for our special events and can surely coordinate a party package for a donor family to have access to a supercharged inflatable party experience at their home or in an approved park site.
Donor Trees and/or Benches – Auction off an opportunity to have trees planted or benches memorialized in honor of a loved one through your local park donor program.
Bar Crawls & Winery Tours – Experiential activities like “peddle bike bar tours” or pub crawls and winery tours and tastings for a group of friends are always a big hit. All of our metropolitan areas have them in fun areas of town and many of us are very happy to travel to the Texas Hill Country to experience wine tastings and winery tours while enjoying live music and beautiful environments!
Holiday Decorating – Many of our donors probably groan at the thought of putting up their outdoor Christmas decorations and lights. How many of us have business relationships with professional holiday display vendors that would be willing to donate a residential decoration for a good cause?
VHS to digital / DVD Conversion – Let’s save those family memories and iconic childhood vacation videos by having them transferred professionally to more modern formats.
City Tours – Texas is home to many unique and historic cities and towns. A personalized city tour planned and led by local civic leaders to share what makes your city unique and feature historic aspects of your community. Bundle a walking tour with local restaurant reservations, museums and attractions.
Theme Park Tickets – Package theme park tickets for a whole family perhaps with donated hotel accommodations nearby.
High end Grill or Smoker Package – For the grill enthusiasts participating in our online auction, gather an assortment of top-of-the-line outdoor grilling or smoker equipment.
Bundle of Gift Cards – Gift cards to national chain businesses help maximize the attractiveness of this package. Create a theme or mix & match to provide diversity of benefits.
Meal Delivery Kit Subscription – Who doesn’t appreciate the convenience of having meals delivered to our home for a period of time?
Fishing and/or Hunting Trips – Got a boat or a deer lease? Host a fishing or hunting outing for a group! Create new friendships or business relationships by sponsoring an outdoor adventure!
Fan Basket – We have numerous die-hard sports fans in Texas. Create a basket of awesome sports-themed items and official merchandise of a local football, basketball, or soccer team. Pro and/or college. Add sports memorabilia, bobbleheads, trading cards, posters to make your basket an even bigger ticket item!
Contact Jim Browne at [email protected] for more information or