Did you know there are 9.5 million Millennial households in the United States? Typically defined as the generation born between the early 1980s to mid 1990s, the average Millennial is planning to take 3 trips over the next year.

Did you know... Baby Boomers spend a whopping $157 billion on travel each year? If people ages 50 to 70 are a target demographic for your nonprofit, it's smart to know where and why they're traveling. What's on their bucket lists? What kinds of trips and activities are they planning in 2019 and beyond? We put together an infographic with must-read statistics on baby boomer travel trends, plus tips to include top destinations in your fundraising efforts. 

Do your donors like to travel? Surveys suggest they do: More than 80 percent of winning bidders report setting aside $5,000 annually for travel, while 53 percent set aside $10,000 or more! As donors in 2019 look to collect lifelong memories instead of clutter, non-tangible auction items continue to grow in popularity. These include experiences like trips, tours, entertainment tickets and exclusive access.

At Winspire, we are constantly developing new auction packages and strategies that empower charitable organizations to raise more for their causes. To that end, we are excited to introduce a new way to offer the best possible no-risk travel packages at your fundraising auction: the Winspire Price Match Guarantee!

You may already know every Winspire Experience is designed to raise the most money possible for nonprofits - after all, we constantly create and update packages based on where donors are traveling now. And because we work with a wide variety of trusted industry partners, we have access to preferred pricing that sends more donor dollars to your cause. What you might not know: In addition to raising money at fundraising events, two Winspire Experiences give back directly to charities.

Today, we are excited to introduce the Winspire Hotel Giveback: an opportunity for you and your donors to travel to some of the most in-demand destinations worldwide, all while supporting your organization. For a limited time, donors can book discounted luxury hotels through Winspire at www.winspireme.com/giveback. Each booking costs significantly less than advertised prices on Expedia or Hotwire. Best of all, 30% of every booking goes to the charity of the traveler's choice.

We have previously discussed the revenue windfall that selling multiples in your live auction can bring. It's no surprise that exclusive, unique live auction packages often generate interest from more than one bidder. If you can successfully capture the second and third-high bidder (or more!) on certain items, you'll quickly raise tens of thousands of dollars more for your cause.

Last month, Northern California's picturesque wine country was hard hit with wildfires. We are happy to say all of our partners are open for business. With fires 100 percent contained, wineries, restaurants and hotels are eager for your winning bidders to return.

Successful silent auctions depend on your ability to procure exciting, high quality items - and few items generate as much buzz as incredible vacations. Today we are excited to unveil our brand-new line of Luxury Properties for 2018-2019 designed specifically for the silent auction tables.

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? 

In last week's post, "How many items should be included in a live auction?", we concluded that most events use 7 to 12 items. More important than the quantity, however, is the quality. These 7 to 12 items need to be premium, big-ticket packages worth the high bids you seek. What if you run into trouble filling the live auction with high-caliber donations?