Auction Fundraising Ideas For Themes & Seasons

Coming up with the right auction fundraising ideas can often account for a major part of an auction's success.

Being creative and thinking out of the box will help make your auction stand out from the rest of the crowd. It will help you entice more bidders, increase bids, and essentially increase profits!

One such way of doing this is by using 'themes', like holidays or yearly seasons, for your auction fundraisers.

Decide on the theme that you will use and plan your auction around it.

Auction Fundraising Ideas: What about a Valentines themed Auction! Check out more brilliant ideas... (Photo by Kai Schreiber / Flickr)

Then, solicit auction items that have relevance to your theme, like Valentines gifts for a Valentines auction.

If you are running an online charity auction through DoJiggy, decorate your auction site with appropriate colours and images...

The same will apply to a live auction! Make your auction appealing and inviting according to its theme!

With the right decorations and a relevant item catalogue, you would have now created a themed Fundraising Auction!

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Let's have a look at some different Themed Auction Fundraising Ideas...

Themed & Seasonal Auction Fundraising Ideas:

Valentine's Day:

This is a great theme for an auction at the beginning of the year.

It's the perfect thing for couples or romantics to buy their partners a gift, and to support a great cause at the same time!

They will essentially be 'giving twice'!

Some Auctions Item Ideas will be:

Chocolates and Sweets.
Jewelry.
Romantic Dinner vouchers.
Romantic weekend getaways at resorts and B & B’s.
Body Treatment and Spa gift cards.
Valentine Teddy Bears.

Mother And Fathers Day:

Once again this theme will be very much gift orientated! Think carefully about what people would like to get for their parents and partners.

Practical stuff like tools etc. will usually be the call of the day for fathers or even sports tickets or memorabilia...

While the mothers items will be more towards individual pampering stuff and jewelry etc.

Christmas/Festive Season Themes:

This is one of the best themed auction fundraising ideas! People are in their most giving mood around this time of the year...

Auction Fundraising Ideas and Themes. Like a Christmas theme... (Photo by Ralf Peter Reimann / Flickr)

It's the perfect opportunity to get people to buy their gifts through your auction, with the knowledge that they will be raising funds for a good cause as well!

Some Auctions Item Ideas will be:

Toys, Tools, Books, Jewelry and other common and popular gifts.
Decorations and Christmas lights.
Getaways at resorts and B & B’s.
Gift Baskets
Entertainment gifts like wine, snack baskets/packages, or chocolates.

Gadgets & Gizmos:

This is one super cool Auction Theme!

List up on the cool, clever and useful gadgets and gizmos that will have your bidders screaming for.

Some Item Ideas would be:

Kitchen Gadgets like the Retro Hot Dog Toaster.
Camping Gadgets.
Gizmos for men.
For Ladies!
Decorative Home Gadgets like the Fish Tank Coffee Table.
Camera Gadgets.
Guitar Gadgets.
The Portable Barbeque and other Cooking Gizmos...
And the list goes on and on!!!!

Spring & Summer Seasons:

A 'Return to Summer' is a great themed auction fundraising idea. People get really excited about summer, so you should jump on to the band wagon and use that excitement in your auction.

Load up on all things summery, hot and eventful in your auction catalogue!

Some Auctions Item Ideas will be:

Sports and outdoor events tickets!
Summer clothing / Beach wear / Beach tools like goggles and flippers ect. / Fishing equipment.
Sports equipment.
Barbeque/braai equipment and other bbq/braai accessories like cooler-boxes etc.

Autumn & Winter Seasons:

On the contrast to summer, it's time to prepare everyone for the cold...

Some Auctions Item Ideas will be:

Winter clothing / jackets and other apparel etc.
Winter sports tickets, sports apparel, and equipment.
In door board games and toys.
Hot weather country vacation tickets.

Back To School:

The 'Back To School' season is a commercial shopping boost time, as kids and parents prepare for the new school year. So use this mad rush for your auction theme.

If people can get what they need from your auction instead of the shops, then all the better for them.

So stock your item catalog with products that will be selling madly in the stores, like...

School equipment and accessories... Backpacks, pencil cases and of course pencils/pens... etc.
Apparel like School clothing / sports clothing / and after school clothing.
Sporting equipment, free coaching lessons, and sports tickets.
Other accessories like iPods, music vouchers and laptops.

Ending Off:

Seasons and public holidays are not the only themed auction fundraising ideas you could use. You can also be very specific about your themes...

Like having a 'Sports Auction', a 'Music Auction', or a 'Celebrity Autographs And Items Auction'. These specific themes can also be very popular and profitable!

Remember that they key is to be as creative as possible. Make your auction stand out from the crowd. Use the right auction fundraising ideas to make it appealing and exciting!