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.

Today, we are excited to unveil the latest hotels and newly-slashed prices of the Winspire Hotel Giveback Program: an exclusive opportunity for you and your donors to travel to some of the most in-demand destinations worldwide, all while supporting your organization.

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.

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.

As we kick off 2017, spring fundraising season inches closer and closer. For many event organizers, this can be a stressful time. Check out this recent graphic from USA Today: Indeed, for the fifth year in a row, "Event Coordinators" made the list of the 10 most stressful jobs of 2016 - a trend not likely to change in 2017.

The most important key to success in auction fundraising events is offering desirable items worth the high bids you seek. One that certainly fits the bill: a bucket-list trip to Havana, Cuba. From an easing of travel restrictions to the passing of longtime president Fidel Castro, Cuba has dominated the headlines throughout 2016.

With Giving Tuesday behind us, it's time to close 2016 strong. You know the impact of December giving is huge. In fact, CharityNavigator.org reports 31 percent of all annual donations occur this month! Today we'll look at one simple but commonly overlooked strategy for supercharging year-end revenue: running an online auction.

LifeAct, a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention education, partnered with Winspire to reserve once-in-a-lifetime Experiences for their annual raffle. $32,000 raised from raffle Over 300 tickets sold Proceeds contribute to 1,354 students coming forward to seek help last year Since 1992, LifeAct’s mission has been to prevent suicide by educating young people to recognize the symptoms of depression and seek professional help. They send trained, credentialed instructors into middle and high schools throughout Northeast Ohio to teach their program, Recognizing Teen Depression and Preventing Suicide, at no cost to schools.

Procuring auction travel packages to match your audience's interests and hobbies is a crucial part of creating a successful fundraising event. But what if your audience of donors has a wide range of interests? This can make it a challenge to pick which travel package to include in your live auction.