The best school fundraising idea isn’t the cookie dough or the wrapping paper. It’s not a volleyball tourney against the faculty down the street. Hosting a silent auction is the best school fundraising idea, and I’m excited to share with you the WHAT and the HOW!

Now, notice I didn’t say it’s the easiest elementary school fundraiser. No sir! There is nothing easy about a silent auction, but it is worth it and it’s FUN! So, put on your thinking cap and open your mind to something new. You know those books you need for small group? What about the playground equipment or new curriculum you’d love to purchase for your school? I have your answer.

An auction can offer something for everyone.

Don’t try and do all that I share right away. Find a piece and start there…build up slowly year after year. What I am sharing below has taken 10-15 years to build to this point…and we are still refining it each year of this school fundraiser.

First things first, start early & gather donations.

Our silent auction is in mid-to-late February each year. It runs parallel to our annual Chili Cook Off (which is similar to a carnival atmosphere). We start collecting donations in late September and no later than October. It will take many of the donations a month or two before you go get them or receive them via mail. Throw a couple holidays in between and BAM….one day it’s October and the next it’s February!

ACTION STEPS for the BEST school fundraising idea EVER:

• Check out my freebie at the end of this post! A list of donation ideas, a sample donation letter to send or take out to the community, as well as an itemized list for each item. I’ve also included a sample spreadsheet in GOOGLE to document your calls, emails, visits and who to expect a donation from. This will come in handy later on when you may need to call and check on the status of the donation.
• Start with local businesses. Get online and GOOGLE “auction donations (insert area here)” We are in the north Texas area and so I Google “auction donations north Texas.”
• Go in person to local businesses and restaurants. Even in our tech-crazed world, there is still something about going and meeting with someone face-to-face. Drop off your donation letter! (School fundraising ideas 101!)
• Google other local auctions and see what they offer! It’s a great place to get ideas and also see what locals will donate for your school fundraiser.

When these donations start rolling in, have a specified person that collects and holds onto all of the goods. As you get closer to your auction, you can start putting together baskets or auction packages. You or someone on your auction team will probably need to go back through the spreadsheet to contact those you haven’t heard from since sending the initial request for donation.

Besides business donations, here are some other ideas for your school fundraiser…

Don’t limit your auction to just the items from what you’ve collected from businesses. Oh, no! There is much more that can be added to your auction, and the ideas below can be very profitable! Think about trying:

• Teacher Experiences – Our teachers all auction off “Teacher Time.” Ideas for this could be a frozen yogurt date with a teacher or a trip to Top Golf. My team auctioned off breakfast with our team at iHop and an after school GLO party this year! You could do a craft time with students after school, or one of our teams hosted a swim party at one of the teacher’s houses.

You don’t have to spend money on a teacher experience! Kids want to spend TIME with you. Be creative! My principal auctioned off a bedtime story! Seriously! She comes to your house and reads you a story before bed! Genius…talk about unique school fundraiser!

• Utilize your local city! Our mayor, who we adore, auctions off Mayor for the Day, our fire department donates a ride to school in a fire engine and our police department does the same for a police car. When you ask, it is amazing what people will do for schools! It makes my heart happy!
• Teacher for 1/2 Day! Students get to “be us” for half a day. We all bring our staff shirts and students get a special lanyard to wear. Students start off the day with donuts and a staff meeting with our principals and then spend time assisting us and “teaching” for half of a day.

School Marquee and ART!

• Do you have a school marquee? What about wishing students a happy birthday from the marquee? Divide each month in half so there are 2 winners per month that are featured on the birthday marquee.
• Class Baskets! If you have an active PTA/PTO, each classroom (this is run by room parent) puts together a basket. Many times one parent of the classroom has something that can be the main item and then you look for fillers for other pieces to make it an awesome basket. We have baskets valued from $75-$500. Make sure to grab the freebie at the end of this post that is full of silent auction basket ideas!
• Grade Level ART! Our fantastic art teacher has each grade level (each student) shares in on a designed canvas. These pieces are honestly priceless and our parents love them so much!

How to actually hold a silent auction:

I can’t recommend enough using an online platform. We have always used https://www.32auctions.com/.  While there is a basic fee, we have always recouped the fee in our earnings each year. Our PTA helps us out with the minimal fee. The site is easy to use and if you use it year after year it has awesome features that will allow you to do things like copy an auction item from one year to the next…BIG time saver! List everything out and add an image for each auction item. Remember, most people will be looking at this website on their mobile device. Pictures always help! Our auction usually runs 3-4 days.

Like I mentioned earlier, our auction runs parallel to the annual school carnival. During the carnival we have everything set up in our library for people to come in and see it all. We usually also have some computers out so people who want to can log on and bid. Many will also bid from the comfort of their smart phone.

Once your auction ends, it is time to schedule pick up. We make sure to set aside two nights (usually the week after the auction) to stay at school late so that parents can pick up their items after work.

Last piece of advice…

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to pick a couple of areas and start there! Do not try to incorporate all of my advice for your school fundraising ideas in your first year. A silent auction can definitely bring in the funds that you need, but it is a process. Hang in there and do what you can. What questions do you have? I’d love to help answer any questions you have about holding an online silent auction!

FREEBIES below…

I have created some forms and documents that will help you get started. Click below for a copy of my forms to get you started!

Auction Ideas & Resources


Auction Customizable Donation Letter


Auction Item – Itemized Sheet


Auction Donation
Spreadsheet

Did you like the freebies up above? If so, check out another one of my freebies for next time you’re grading and see that your student only completed half of what was assigned…