How to get silent auction prizes donated.

A £500 lot supplied on consignment might return the charity £100–£150 after the supplier’s invoice. The same £500 lot, donated, returns £500.

So an afternoon spent securing donations is not admin. It is the highest-value fundraising work anyone on your committee will do that month, and it is routinely handed to whoever has least to do.

Who actually says yes

Your own supporters, first and always. The people already in your database own holiday homes, run businesses, sit on boards and have season tickets. They have said yes to you before. Start here and you may not need to go further.

Businesses with a personal connection to the cause. The owner whose father had the illness. The firm whose staff voted you charity of the year. Connection converts far better than a cold approach to a big brand.

Local independents rather than national chains. A local restaurant can decide in a minute. A chain routes you to a form, a committee and a six-week wait.

Suppliers you already pay. Your printer, your caterer, your accountant, the venue. They have a commercial relationship with you and a reason to keep it warm.

Sports clubs. Signed shirts and memorabilia cost a club very little and are much easier to get than most charities assume, especially outside the top flight, and especially if you ask early in the season.

How to ask so they say yes

Ask a person, not an organisation. A named individual with authority. “info@” is where requests go to die.

Be specific. “Anything you could donate?” invites a no. “Would you consider donating a dinner for two, to be auctioned at our gala on 14 November?” invites a decision.

Say what it buys. “A lot like this typically raises around £300, which funds a week of respite care for one family.” You are not asking for a thing. You are asking them to fund a specific outcome.

Tell them exactly what they get back. Their name on the bid sheet, in the programme, on the screen, and in the thank-you afterwards. Say it up front and in writing.

Make it effortless. One short email, a single-page form, a clear deadline, and you collect. Every additional step loses donors.

Ask early. Sourcing is the slowest part of any auction. Three months out is comfortable. Three weeks out is why charities end up buying lots in.

The thank-you is next year’s ask

Whoever donates this year is your warmest prospect next year, but only if the follow-up happens.

Tell them what their lot raised, in pounds, and what that money did. “Your weekend cottage raised £420, which paid for a month of our helpline.” That is the email that produces a donation again next year without you having to ask twice.

And if you still cannot fill the room?

Run fewer lots.

Twenty good lots outperform forty mediocre ones, every time, because the bidding concentrates instead of scattering. An auction that looks a little sparse and sells well banks more than a groaning table that sells at opening bids.