Silent auctions aren't really done here in our neck of the woods (northern NJ) so I'm not sure about that one. I should think fliers home and posters around town with pertinent info would be the way to go for starters.
For our Tricky Tray (Chinese Auction), we presold tickets and "value packs" in a couple of fiers to the parents that we sent home via backpack express. We also mentioned it on our website and placed an ad in the local papers (check for discounts--we got one because we're a nonprofit). We made up some posters on legal sized paper in color (home printer) then copied them at Staples and hung them anywhere they would let us.
In northern NJ a lot of people check a website called Tricky Tray.com regularly. It's listing of all Tricky Trays in the state--these types of fundraisers are not limited to just the school parents--there are actually people here who follow these things! I would say a fair number at ours that were spending money were from a few towns away.
What kinds of things do y'all do to promote your silent auctions and raffles. We're planning on having both. They haven't had a silent auction in a while, so the parents won't be looking for it. My thought was that if the parents don't show up with money intending to bid on something it doesn't do any good to have the items for auction. Does that make sense? Can't wait to read your suggestions.
