To maximize your live auction revenue, it's important to cater every item to just the top 5 percent of spenders. One bona fide way to "feed" this top tier of spenders: Offer luxury travel in the auction. Did you know the luxury travel sector is growing almost a third faster than the overall travel industry? 

Have you noticed an increase in online donations lately? As our lives become more and more intertwined with technology (employee microchipping, anyone?), the way we support charity is no exception.

At Winspire, we're passionate about creating unique travel Experiences that turn into lifelong memories for your donors - and many of those wonderful memories start on a plane. Whether you got to the airport at 5 a.m., are pretty much addicted to caffeine, or like me, always end up freezing cold when flying...a hot, fresh cup of coffee is the perfect way to start a vacation.

Did you know 1 in 5 donations occurred via mobile device in 2016? Some 77 percent of all Americans now own a smartphone, while charitable giving expected to reach nearly $400 billion in 2017. Translation: There is roughly $80 billion in mobile donations up for grabs this year!

At Winspire News, we strive to keep our readers informed with up-to-date information on the fundraising world. Perhaps no information is more important than understanding the motivations of your donor base. In today's infographic, we looked at recent Harris Poll survey data from over 2,000 U.S. adults on their nonprofit support and giving habits.

You already know travel is a top seller at charity auctions - after all, who doesn't love a vacation? Travel providers like Winspire make it easy for nonprofits to offer turnkey travel packages in their fundraising events at no risk or upfront cost. With over 140 unique trips in our catalog, it can be tough to know which items best fit your audience - and are most likely to ignite bidding wars.

When it comes to planning an event, what is your biggest challenge? Reducing overhead? Recruiting volunteers? Handling logistics like the venue, catering, entertainment and more? In a study of 500 event planners conducted by TicketPrinting.com, promoting the event was the #1 challenge listed by 44% of respondents. Indeed, even the most engaging program, incredible auction items and moving fund-a-need fall flat with few in attendance. Your promotional strategy directly affects how many show up to give, spend and support. Read on for a quick infographic detailing the most popular and effective ways to promote events in 2017, then get free Winspire resources to assist with every area of your promotion strategy (like a free eBook for strategic email promotion and auction catalog templates).

Did you know charitable giving is at an all-time high? With ever-increasing revenue goals and more need than ever, this may seem hard to believe. But there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about the state of giving as we look to 2017. Take #GivingTuesday 2016, for example. Online fundraising software provider Blackbaud reports a year-over-year growth of 20 percent! Any area of fundraising with double-digit growth, particularly in online and mobile donations, merits a closer look. And while the final numbers from 2016 are still being tallied - with the two most important giving weeks of the year ahead - the momentum and record-breaking trajectory of 2015 successfully set the pace for another groundbreaking year. Check out today's post for an infographic detailing positive trends in charitable giving. (Also note: Limited spots remain for next week's webinar on improving auction timelines. If you haven't saved your spot, click here to register in seconds. Then invite committee members, auction chairs, volunteers, board members and more to sign up for what's sure to be a lively session!)

With Halloween in the rearview mirror and Thanksgiving on deck, the holiday season is upon us - and with it, the warm and fuzzy feelings of family, gratitude and giving back. We recently provided 4 quick tips to raise money on Giving Tuesday, a global day of philanthropy that occurs each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. For most nonprofits, this day kicks off a weeks-long year-end giving campaign.

"How many auction items do you recommend for a fundraising event with X amount of guests?" This is a question we get all the time, and for good reason. Include too many, and the items will fetch fewer, smaller bids. Including too few may drive bids higher, but you've lost out on revenue bidders would have spent on more items. Perhaps there's a better question to ask: How many auction items will we need to meet our fundraising goal? Most nonprofits look at audience size to determine how many items they need in the auction (more on that below), but today we'll use an equally important metric: your fundraising goal. Fact is, the quality of your items can affect the quantity you need to procure. Using a few simple formulas, you can break down any revenue goal—no matter how insurmountable it may seem—into the approximate amount and caliber of items needed. To deduce your event's "magic number" of auction items, check out our handy infographic below.

Have you heard? There is a massive travel budget, or money that people set aside each year for vacations, in North America. According to American Express, well over half of Americans have a travel budget (and we all know that percentage is probably much higher among the guests at a typical charity fundraiser). In fact, a whopping $600 billion is spent on leisure travel each year!