Have all these places really given you donations? Would you share a copy of the letter you wrote? Thanks so much for your help. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I recommend Dream Dinners. They have local franchises nationwide. They participate in the e-Scrip program as well as offer individual programs ranging from $20 donated for every session booked by a parent at your school or 20% of each session booked. Average session cost ranges from $100 - $250 and they do a 4-week fundraiser.

And best of all, it saves you time in the kitchen and provides you with delicious family meals to enjoy.

Oh, and by the way...I'm a single-dad, strapped for time and yes I do all the cooking and this is a life-saver for me. Better than take out and fast food.

www.dreamdinners.com and you're sure to find a location pretty much anywhere.

30 minutes on air with a local DJ
Winning bidder gets to co-host the afternoon radio show and pick his/her own songs.

Pre-Slumber Party Makeover
Four girls get their hair, makeup, and nails done before their slumber party

Breakfast with Firefighters
The local firefighters are cooking breakfast for the winner and giving him a tour of the firestation.

I thought these were good ideas, but they didn't get huge bids. Maybe they'll work better with your auctions.

We did really well with birthday party packages.

I'll try not to repeat:
Walgreens
Red Robin
Walmart (a parent is an employee)
Applebee's
Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Chiefs
St. Louis Cardinals
Dallas Cowboys
Dillons/Kroger
Frito Lay (they have a plant here though)

We get donations from sales reps for companies like AtHome America, Home Interiors, Mary Kay, Premier Jewelry, etc. Some local authors donated autographed books in the past, we got a list of names from Barnes and Noble. Some local banks donated savings bonds or just promotional items. We have a small group and only one parent works on donations, so we only seem to get help from groups that don't require a lot of work. We also live in a smaller city with lots of schools in town and the surrounding areas that bombard them for donations. My best tip is to figure out where your parents work and ask them to help you seek donations from local or national businesses, because sometimes you just need a foot in the door.

Eric Carle
Oriental Trading Company

Here is my tips

Get creative, don't have your auction this year look like last year, look for more personal items rather than national GC, some are ok, but they are usully small and take just as much processing andend up having to be packaged becaut they never bring full value. look for cool ideas like vacation homes, look for air miles, look for fun way to sell items, bowling CG, ice time, local hotel pool, paired with a homade birthday cake and pizza can be a ton of fun for a pre made birthday party, trips out to movies or lunch with a favorite teacher can be fun for any grade...
MAKE YOUR DESCRIPTIONS FUN!

sell sell sell! Let people know the wonderful thigs they could do with their item. i try never to use the words gift certificate in a description and I never put a dollar amount in a description

My other tip is to hunt and peck with web searching and see what other schools have going there are a ton schools and companes using online websites, it may not be what your school is doing, but you can certainly get some idea of things that would work for your school!