What auction items work at a police or fire fundraiser?
If you volunteer with a Police & Fire Foundation planning a banquet or award dinner, experiences like Bourbon Trail weekends, big games, and golf excursions fit the room and the crowd.
You’re an officer or firefighter, not an event planner. Your foundation runs a community banquet backed by local businesses, often for a memorial fund or family support mission. You need live auction items that a hometown crowd will bid on, without spending weeks hunting them down.
A police or fire banquet crowd bids differently than a gala. They respond to what they’d do on a day off: Bourbon Trail tours, major league games, golf trips, and fishing excursions. These are real experiences that fit the room. In a shorter banquet program, you don’t need a dozen items. One or two strong travel packages can anchor the live auction.
You reserve travel experiences at no upfront cost. If a package sells, you pay its cost and keep everything above it—that’s your foundation’s profit. Starting bids are set 15–20% over cost, so you earn from the first bid. You only pay if it sells, and you can sell the same experience more than once if the room pushes the bidding. Unsold items cost you nothing.
Browse over 140 experiences. Pick Bourbon Trail weekends, pro sports tickets, golf getaways, or fishing trips. Giveback XP gives you a one-page PDF display for each, ready to print. Reserve what you like free of charge. You can add packages the morning of your banquet. After the event, send winner details and the Travel Team handles everything. You are not too late: items go in right up to the start time.
Your banquet ends with a live auction that moves the needle on a big equipment need. The room responds because the trips feel personal. Your foundation didn’t risk a dime, and you didn’t have to learn event planning to pull it off.
Other questions about banquets & award dinners for police & fire foundations
fire department fundraiser for new equipment
A serious auction night changes the math: one or two headline trips plus a full silent table, no upfront cost, and the foundation keeps everything above reserve. Big goals need big line items, not more pancakes.
live auction or silent auction for big item
Put the headline trip in the live auction where an auctioneer can work two bidders against each other, and remember it can sell to both. The silent tables are for volume: about one item per 7 guests.
Ready to talk?
Ask Giveback XP about banquets & award dinners for police & fire foundations.