Let's give a couple of examples here that i think make this pretty clear:
1. A parent owns a vacation condo that he or she rents out. She donates a summer week to the auction. That parent is likely giving up $1000 or more of revenue.
2. A restaurant donates a $100 gift card that a parents "wins" for $82.
Which one of those parents contributed more to your auction? I think donors of to-be-auctioned goods are typically considered the "givers" in the auction world. Bidders and buyers are essential, too, for sure.
The bigger point here is the danger in getting into all kinds of measurements of this kind of stuff. Better to appreciate and celebrate everyone who pitches in what they can.
I'm not sure how what your fundraising commitments are or how you run your auction but it would seem to me that without donations you wouldn't have an auction to begin with and that the purchaser actually receives something of benefit for the money they are spending so I would consider the donor the one to count it toward their rundraising commitment. Of course you hopefully have donations coming from outside of your group members and then I would say the person procuring it would count that toward their commitment.
So who counts a donation for their fundraising fulfillment?
Does the donating party get to count their donation towards their fundraising commitment?
Or does the purchaser of the auction item get to count the money they paid towards their fundraising commitment?
Is there another option or suggestion? The majority of the board felt that the purchaser gets the credit...that a donation is exactly that ... a "donation".
