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From October 15th through November 30th, your challenge is to find a picture of me enjoying one of the travel experiences on the Mission First Fundraising website. Explore packages in domestic and international travel, sporting events, all-inclusive, and more. You may find me strolling through a mysterious alley or a grand mansion! If you find me, click my picture to register to WIN 10% off a travel experience of your choice to use at your next fundraising event! Hope to see you soon. Good luck!
Contestants MUST be affiliated with a non-profit organization and participate in the organization’s fundraising efforts. One entry per email address will be permitted.
The winner will be picked in a random drawing. Our lucky winner will be notified via email. This email will be sent by a Mission First team member from winner_notifications@missionfirstfundraising.org & will include instructions on how to redeem your prize. Please make sure to keep an eye out for an email from us when the contest comes to an end! Additionally, we will be sharing this on our December newsletter, as well as Facebook and LinkedIn. The organization our winner is associated with will be tagged in these social posts. This is a great way to introduce your mission to new audiences!
The travel experience is to be used in one of your fundraising events within 12 months of the winner notification date. Mission First Fundraising will need to be notified of the trip you have chosen no later than 60 days before your event date. All terms and conditions for the travel experience you choose will remain the same. These terms can be found at the bottom of each trip details page. The winner will receive 10% off the ‘cost to non-profit’ price and utilize the Mission First Fundraising event portfolio to redeem their winnings. 10% is not to exceed $1,000 value.
Set sail for a Mediterranean adventure with a 5-night getaway to your choice of Greece’s most iconic islands—Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, and more. Stay in luxurious 4- or 5-star resorts, wake up to daily Mediterranean breakfasts, and use your $500 gift card toward unforgettable experiences like local dining, island-hopping, or cultural tours. Perfect for couples or friends, and a wonderful gift for travel-loving duos seeking a blend of elegance, history, and romance. Whether you’re soaking in cliffside sunsets in Santorini or wandering the charming alleyways of Mykonos, this is your chance to live your Greek island dream.
Escape to tropical paradise with a 5-night all-inclusive vacation for two in your choice of Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, or Costa Rica. Whether you’re craving the cultural charm of cobblestone streets, the energy of oceanfront nightlife, or the serenity of rainforests and beaches, this flexible getaway delivers the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure. Ideal for couples, honeymooners, or friends seeking a sun-soaked escape, this package includes stays at 4- or 5-star resorts with all meals and drinks covered—just show up and enjoy. Whether you’re zip-lining through Costa Rica, strolling Puerto Vallarta’s iconic Malecón, or catching a sunset cruise in Cabo, your perfect vacation is waiting.
Say “Hola” to adventure and “Aloha” to paradise with this 7-night getaway for four! Choose your dream destination—whether it’s a beachy escape to Hawaii, a cultural retreat in Spain, tropical thrills in Cancun, or peaceful bliss in Bali. With flexible travel options across Oahu, Kauai, the Big Island, Costa del Sol, Cancun, or Bali, this package is all about crafting your perfect escape. Ideal for families, adventure-seeking couples, or friends looking to explore the world together. Whether you’re surfing in Maui, ziplining in Mexico, or watching sunsets in Spain, this experience was made to create memories that last a lifetime.
Soak up the sun with a 5-night all-inclusive stay for two in your choice of Punta Cana or Cancun—two of the Caribbean’s most iconic beach destinations. Enjoy 5-star accommodations with unlimited meals, drinks, and island vibes at top-rated resorts like Iberostar, Dreams Dominicus, Grand Palladium, and more. Perfect for couples or friends craving a worry-free tropical escape. Whether you’re lounging by turquoise waves, exploring nearby cenotes or Mayan ruins, or simply savoring the laid-back luxury of the Caribbean, this getaway is your ticket to five nights of total paradise.
Unlock the magic with Golden Ticket III—a 7-night getaway for six to one of four unforgettable destinations! Whether you’re chasing thrills at theme parks in Orlando, hitting the slopes in Steamboat Springs, hiking the lush trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains, or exploring the lakeside beauty of Lake Tahoe, this package is your golden pass to adventure. Perfect for families, multigenerational getaways, or friend groups looking for options that suit every style. From roller coasters to ski lifts, castle tours to nature trails, Golden Ticket III gives you the power to choose your own dream vacation.
What is a vacation station? Typically it is a collection of attractive, well priced travel experiences held in the Silent Auction section with a “Buy it Now” price attached. What makes this appealing is there is variation which offers mass appeal, great pricing which means less of a net gain for the Nonprofit however there is a higher chance of selling multiple of the same trip. When attendees and supporters attend your event, there will be a budget they have to give to nonprofits they are passionate about and a second budget they have for vacations. In this scenario, they are looking to support your mission, and now they have a second understanding that you are providing them with great opportunities to travel. This is a great passive way to appeal to your donor base and they will remember this year after year.
Can I sell multiple on the same trip?
YES! A benefit of a consigned travel experience in your auction is that, in most cases, you have the ability to sell the same trip to multiple donors. Because consigned travel has significant availability on dates to travel, it is appealing to more people. Additionally, this is a great way to engage a larger number of your donors who would like to support you in this way. In a typical auction item, there is 1 winner, the bids keep going until there is one left with the highest bid and let’s say that the sale of the item netted the nonprofit $2,000. If there was a travel experience that had an agreed upon sale price with the nonprofit and the auctioneer that netted the nonprofit $1,000, and there were 11 people willing to purchase the trip at that price, the nonprofit nets $11,000. Additionally, you have brought a level of excitement and engagement to 11 supporters instead of just one.
Understanding your donor base is essential to your mission's vitality and success. Fundraising is a necessary element for a nonprofit. Your supporters help to move your mission forward, raising awareness in your community and financially providing the fuel that powers your nonprofit to accomplish your mission.
For your fundraising event, it’s important to know what resonates with your people. This starts with the theme, the venue, the time of year, will you have entertainment, what items will you choose for your fundraising auctions?
You may have a well funded support base and offer a weekend getaway at the local hotel with a dinner gift card. Nice as it may be to get away, it might underwhelm your donors. More often we see the other side of this as the choice is made to bring some high priced items that maybe only 1 person in the room might feel comfortable bidding on. They look great, however most of your supporters will be left out of that element of the fundraising element.
It is great to look at past history, what was of interest, what was the price point of items sold in your auctions. It may be prudent to add one item that is a little over your highest priced item of last year, especially if it is a dynamic experience that your crowd really desires.
If your nonprofit is newer, talk to your supporters to find out what they might be interested in, relationships are everything and asking them their opinions helps them to feel heard and become more engaged with your mission.
There is a balance of travel and experiences available to you and your supporters, be thoughtful of these choices as it not only helps to fund your next year’s budget but it also keeps people interested and engaged year after year.
Best Practice - we encourage your winning donors to lock in a date as soon as they are able. We will have some winners, who may put off the booking process until weeks before they would like to travel only to find that the most popular time of the year is completely booked. We procure some very attractive travel experiences, some have a great deal of availability, while others are very specialized with limited availability. Even though it may be a year or two away, put it on the calendar and plan early to get your dates.
How many items should be in a live auction?
This is a great question, the short answer is 6 to 8 items, however this is better evaluated over a consult. You will find schools may typically have more items in their live auctions that other nonprofits, however it is really determined by asking a couple of questions. What is your event program, how many people are we expecting, how many items do we have that are donated and what is our goal for fundraising for the evening? The longer answer is it depends, it may only be a few to over 20, it’s worth a conversation to ensure that you aren’t cutting your funding too short or exhausting your crowd with too many items.
How many items should be in a silent auction?
This is also a great question and the trends are changing. The number of events with many tables full of items wrapped in cellophane seem to be diminishing or the number of items are decreasing at the minimum.
With the introduction of the online bidding platforms, it has made it easier for nonprofits to post items online for the silent auction without the tables of presentation.
We have also had an uptick in the “Vacation Station.” It’s not a new concept, however it has proven to be very successful element of the silent auction. We elaborated in a question explaining the Vacation Station above, It is a great way to offer a wide array of vacation experiences with “Buy it Now” prices appealing to those who would like to support your mission in a different way.
Best Practice - Statistically, we have found, the sooner winners are communicated with, after the event is over, the better their experience is and the less chance of people changing their minds over what they purchased at the event.
We accomplish this with your help. When you have your account with Mission First Fundraising and your fundraising items are in your Event Portfolio, the last step is to click the button at the bottom “My Event is Over.” This will allow you to adjust the price and the number of travel experiences sold and enter the First Name, Last Name, Email Address and Phone number for your winners.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Submit Final Numbers” and your winner information is sent to Mission First Fundraising where we reach out to your winners within 24 hours to let them know what the next steps are and if they have any questions, to contact us in regard to their travel experiences that they have won. During this time, we are looking to receive payment from you, only for the trips that were sold and we then communicate with the travel concierge for their trip and facilitate communication between them so they can get started planning their vacation.
As we look to procure high quality travel experiences, blackout dates or not available dates are an important variable. It is not a great idea to offer great trips with very restrictive travel dates.
We have some travel experiences that have no blackout dates, however the majority will have the holiday blackout travel dates of the week of Christmas and the week of the New Year. We only have a couple of travel experiences that are fantastic trips but have months that are not available to travel. When offering these great experiences, we have to be very clear about any blackout dates. A benefit of consignment travel is, as a whole, blackout dates are very limited.
Can I upgrade or add people to my trip?
Often there are opportunities for upgrades or adjustments for your travel experience. You may have additional guest or children you would like to have with you on your trip. There may be upgrades for a different level of luxury. When talking with the travel concierge, they will be able to provide great information on what options you have.
Depending on the travel experiences, there may be daily fees from the hotel or resort. It is customary in travel however not all accommodations have fees.
“. If you click it, it goes to my page with contest details and “Tripper Tips” to help you to effectively use the Mission First Fundraising website and maximize your fundraising at your event.