Cancer support silent auction item ideas that actually sell

For the general list that works for any organization, see our 100+ silent auction item ideas. A walk audience bids on a narrower set, and a few categories need thinking about before they go in the catalogue.

Experiences with no comparable price

• A week at a supporter's holiday home or cabin
• A chef cooking dinner at the winner's house
• A day on a boat, a fishing trip, a guided hike
• A skilled trade day — a plumber, an electrician, a gardener, donated
• Photography: a family session, or portraits at the event itself
• A weekend at a partner hotel, donated rather than discounted

These carry the competitive bidding because there is no retail price to check. A catalogue can be mostly local certificates as long as it has a few of these.

Event-linked items

• The lead position at the start of the walk, or the ribbon cutting
• A team's name or logo on the event banner
• A reserved parking space at the venue
• The survivor lap dedication, where your organization has one and it is appropriate
• A team tent upgrade, or premium placement at the finish
• Naming the route, a rest stop, or a mile marker

These cost the organization nothing and they belong to the event you are already running. Check each with the event committee before listing — some of them touch moments in the programme that are not yours to sell.

What the medical and wellness community donates

• Massage, physiotherapy or acupuncture sessions
• A gym or studio membership, or a block of classes
• Nutrition consultations
• Salon and barber services
• Practices and clinics sponsoring an item rather than donating one

This community has a reason to help that a general business does not, and it is rarely approached by the events it turns up to. See getting items donated.

Local goods, which fill the catalogue

• Restaurant certificates, in volume and bundled into baskets
• Retail gift cards, as filler rather than headline items
• Handmade work from supporters — a quilt, a bench, a cake, a painting
• Team-colour merchandise for the event

What to be careful with

Some of the people reading your catalogue are in treatment now, and some are bereaved. Four categories are worth a conversation before they are listed rather than after:

• Items assuming physical capability — a skydive, a race entry, a strenuous trek. Not banned, but list them alongside things that make no such assumption
• Wig, scarf, skincare and comfort items — welcomed by some supporters, unwelcome to others seeing them in a public catalogue. Ask a few people who would know
• Anything using a patient's image or story — only with that person's specific agreement to that use. See the consent page below
• Memorial items — a dedication, a plaque, a named marker. These can be the most meaningful thing in the catalogue and they need the family's agreement first, always

And on language generally: describe items plainly. Battle and fighting metaphors are common in this space and they do not land the same way on everyone reading.

The consent method: telling stories with consent.