How public media stations get auction items donated

For letter structure and follow-up, see how to get silent auction donations and the donation request letter template.

Internal first

1. Engineering, production and the archive

Studio tours, control room visits, station IDs, edit suite sessions, archive requests. All of it colleague conversations, and the archive needs a rights check rather than a donation.

2. On-air talent, through their manager

Route it through the programme director rather than approaching hosts directly. It answers the workload question with the person who owns it and means nobody is declining a request from a colleague on the fundraising side.

3. The general manager, for naming and compliance items

Anything involving on-air acknowledgement, naming a studio or a programme slot, or an underwriter relationship.

Then trade rather than ask

4. Arts and cultural partners

Orchestras, theatres, museums and festivals the station covers will trade tickets and access readily, because the station's audience is their audience. Reciprocal arrangements cost neither side anything.

Keep the trade clean of anything that could look like coverage in exchange for goods, which is the editorial line.

5. Existing underwriters

Already in a relationship and comfortable with the station. Ask as a separate, clearly-labelled charitable donation: underwriter packages.

6. Members with something to give

A public media member file skews toward professionals, business owners and people with holiday homes. Ask the list directly with named examples — it is the same move a museum makes with its membership and stations rarely make it.

7. The wider community

Restaurants, hotels, experiences. Last.

What to offer

The item listing, a mention in the e-newsletter and on social channels, recognition at any event, and a receipt from the licensee named accurately. On-air acknowledgement only where the wording has been cleared in advance — do not offer it in a solicitation and hope.

Timing

• Twelve weeks — internal access items agreed; archive rights checked; sponsorship wording drafted and cleared
• Ten weeks — arts and cultural partners, for reciprocal trades
• Eight weeks — underwriters, as separate charitable asks
• Six weeks — the member file, with named examples
• Four weeks — community gap-filling
• Two weeks — catalogue closed; on-air promotional copy cleared

Work back from a date that is not inside the drive, and confirm the development staff running it are not the same people running the drive that quarter.

General information, not legal or compliance advice for your station. Underwriting and acknowledgement rules are a licence matter and the details are fact-specific — your general manager, your licensee and communications counsel decide how any of this applies.

Committee structure: committee and volunteer roles.