Banquets & Award Dinners for Catholic & Christian Schools

Your advancement office runs a gala every year. You need auction items that families and alumni will bid on, but you don't want to ask the same donors again. You also need a partner who understands that your committee turns over each year and that trust matters more here than anywhere else.

Your best sellers are experience packages families can picture themselves in. A weekend trip, a sports package, a dinner out. These work because your bidders are parents, grandparents, alumni, and parishioners. They buy what they want to use, not what they feel they should support. One school sold the same golf package five times in a single night. Selling an item to multiple winning bidders is normal practice here, not a rare event.

Your room is different from a corporate fundraiser. The principal or pastor is often there. The audience already knows each other. Word travels fast between schools in a diocese. So the items you bring in have to feel right for this community. No risk of an item that might embarrass the school. The process has to hand off cleanly to next year's chairs, who are volunteers and likely new to the role.

You only pay for an experience if it sells, keep 100% over the cost, and can sell experiences multiple times if the bidding gets hot. You are not too late: items can be added the same day as your event. There is no upfront cost for the auction items themselves. The total cost to you is zero unless something sells, and then you make money on it. The exact amount you raise depends on what you choose and how your auctioneer runs the room.

You pick the experiences you want. Giveback XP sends you certificates and display materials. Your committee reviews them and adds them to the lineup. If a donated item falls through last minute, you can swap in a travel package the day of the event. After the gala, you report which items sold and to whom. You pay only for what sold. Next year's committee gets a clean start with a clear record of what worked.

After the event, your school keeps the profit. Families go on trips they bid on. Your development office has a new source of auction items that does not depend on the same local businesses every year. Next year's parent volunteers can pick up right where you left off.

Common questions about banquets & award dinners for Catholic & Christian schools