Choir silent auction item ideas that actually sell

For the general list, see our 100+ silent auction item ideas. A choir's distinctive category is the singing itself, which needs a licensing check and is otherwise the best thing in the catalogue.

The choir performing

• A singing telegram — a quartet at somebody's office, birthday or doorstep. The reliable winner
• Carols at a house at Christmas, which sells out every year anywhere it is offered
• A small ensemble at a private party or a dinner
• Singing at a wedding, a memorial or an anniversary
• The choir performing a requested piece at a concert, where the director agrees
• A private recital in somebody's home

The singing telegram is the item to build and the one choirs are most shy about. It is funny, memorable, costs four singers twenty minutes, and people bid on it far past what they would pay for a gift certificate.

Music and the choir's own

• A commission of a new short work, dedicated to the winner
• A dedicated piece in a concert programme
• Naming a concert, or the season
• A programme advertisement
• Singing lessons or vocal coaching from a member or the director
• A rehearsal visit, or conducting the choir in one piece at a rehearsal
• The director's own time — a masterclass, a workshop for another choir

Conducting the choir at a rehearsal is a surprisingly strong lot. It is harmless, it is genuinely fun, and the singers enjoy it — but agree it with the director first, and keep it to a rehearsal rather than a concert.

From the singers

A choir's membership contains professionals, tradespeople, cooks, gardeners and hosts across an unusually wide range. Ask what everybody does rather than for goods, and the catalogue writes itself.

Ordinary lots

Restaurants, retail, experiences, home services. A concert audience skews local and somewhat older, and dinner-and-a-show packages, garden items and travel do well.

What the licence rules out

• Selling a recording of copyrighted repertoire without establishing mechanical and synchronisation rights
• Streaming or posting a performance without checking, which is where takedowns come from
• Selling a custom arrangement of a copyrighted work without the rights holder's permission
• Assuming an old work is free — an edition or arrangement can be in copyright when the underlying work is not
• Sheet music from the choir's library, which is generally licensed to the choir rather than owned outright

The library point catches choirs out. Music bought for the ensemble is frequently hire material or licensed copies, and clearing out the cupboard into an auction is not the group's to do.

And check the performance items too

A quartet singing copyrighted repertoire at a private party is a performance, and whether it needs a licence depends on the setting. Public domain and original work sidestep the question entirely — which is a good reason to build the singing telegram repertoire from carols and folk songs.

General information, not legal advice for your choir. Performance, recording, streaming and arrangement rights are specific and are decided by the rights holders and your own licences, not by custom — check before recording or selling anything.