Performing arts silent auction item ideas that actually sell

For the general list, see our 100+ silent auction item ideas. An ensemble's catalogue works on access to the work, and the strongest items need a contracts conversation before a fundraising one.

Access to the work

• A seat in the hall at a dress rehearsal or a working rehearsal
• Sitting inside the orchestra during a rehearsal — reliably wanted, and free
• Watching from the wings, or from the conductor's side
• A page-turn for the pianist at a concert
• The score of a performed work, marked and signed by the conductor
• Naming a chair, a stand or a season's principal position
• A pre-concert talk given privately to a group

Sitting inside the orchestra is the item to notice. It costs nothing, it requires only the players' agreement and a chair, and there is no other way to buy it.

Artists, asked through management

• A lesson or coaching session with a principal player
• A masterclass for a school or a youth ensemble
• A house concert — a quartet or a soloist in the winner's home
• Dinner with the conductor or the artistic director
• A guest artist meet-and-greet, where the contract permits it

These are the strongest items in the catalogue and none of them is the board's to offer. The ask goes through whoever handles contracts: guest artist packages.

What the trade and the audience give

• An instrument setup, rehair or servicing from a local technician
• Sheet music, a music stand, a metronome, accessories
• Studio recording time, or a produced recording of an amateur's playing
• Tickets to another organization's season, swapped reciprocally
• A weekend at a board member's house, a professional service, a case of wine

The reciprocal ticket swap is worth doing. Another ensemble, a theater and a museum in the same town each donating to the others' auctions costs nobody anything and gives all three catalogues something their own audience wants.

What a hired venue rules out

• Anything cutting across an exclusive catering or merchandise arrangement
• Backstage access the venue controls rather than you
• Use of the hall for a private event, unless it is yours to offer
• Signage or displays the hire agreement does not permit

And two of your own: nothing that treats a paid artist's time as the organization's to give, and nothing implying a place, a part or a chair in the ensemble.