130,500 causes · $320M raised · 4.7 since 2009
Cultural experience items
A genuine asset, and one that goes wrong in three specific ways.
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Community members frequently want to contribute rather than only receive, and what they can offer — food, craft, music, language, hospitality — is genuinely distinctive and sells well.
It is also the part of a refugee services auction most likely to go wrong, in three specific ways: people are not paid, people are identified, or the framing turns them into an exhibit.
Pay people
The first and most important rule. Somebody cooking a dinner for twelve, teaching a craft or catering an event is working, and a person rebuilding a household's finances should not be donating labour to the organization assisting them.
- Pay a fair rate and treat the item as a purchase the organization is reselling
- Where somebody insists on donating, make sure it is genuinely their choice and not something they feel is expected
- Never let participation appear connected to service access, priority or standing — say so explicitly
- Where a caterer or maker is building a business, this is a customer and a reference, which is worth more to them than a thank-you
The business point is the one to build on. Several of the people who might cater an event are trying to start a food business, and an organization that pays them, promotes them and introduces them to a room of potential customers is doing something more useful than fundraising.
Consent and safety come before the item
Everything on the hub page applies here, and more sharply because these items put a person in front of the public.
- A protection review before anybody's participation is public
- The person decides whether they are named, photographed or identified by country
- Consider whether attending an event carries risk for them
- No item that reveals a client's status, arrival or circumstances
- And a real ability to withdraw, up to and including on the day
Do not make people an exhibit
The framing problem, and it is easy to fall into with good intentions.
- An item is a chef, a teacher, a musician — not "an authentic cultural experience"
- Name the cuisine, the craft, the music accurately and specifically rather than by region or continent
- Avoid "exotic", "traditional", "tribal" and similar framing
- Describe skill and craft, not hardship — a chef's twenty years of cooking, not their journey
- The person is a professional offering something good, not a story with a meal attached
The test: would this description be acceptable to the person if they read it aloud to their own family? A great deal of well-meaning charity copy fails it.
Items that work
- A dinner cooked by a chef, in the winner's home or at a venue
- A cooking class in a specific cuisine
- Catering for a party or a workplace event
- A craft workshop — textiles, calligraphy, ceramics, embroidery
- Language lessons
- A music performance for an event
- Goods made by community members, bought at a fair price and resold
- A market or food fair stall, where several people sell their own work and keep the proceeds
The market stall is worth considering as an alternative to auction lots entirely: people sell their own goods, keep the money, and the organization takes nothing — while the auction runs alongside on donated items. It is frequently the better structure.
Community advisory, not organizational assumption
Which foods, crafts, music and practices are appropriate to offer publicly is not the organization's judgement to make.
Ask community members, plural, and expect disagreement — a community is not a single voice and the first person asked does not speak for everybody. Where there is doubt, do not proceed.
Practical points
- Food business licensing, kitchen requirements and insurance apply to a catered item like any other
- Transport and childcare may be genuine barriers to somebody delivering an item — cover them
- Interpretation may be needed for the arrangement and on the day
- Agree dates well ahead, because people working multiple jobs need notice
And let people say no invisibly
A request from the organization that assists somebody carries weight the organization may not intend. Ask through somebody who is not their case worker, make declining easy and unrecorded, and never ask twice.
General information, not legal or protection advice for your organization. Client confidentiality where immigration status, asylum claims or family abroad are involved is a safety matter with legal dimensions — your legal and protection staff decide how any of this applies, and they should read anything public before it is published.
Frequently asked questions
Should community members be paid?
Yes, at a fair rate, with the item treated as a purchase the organization is reselling. Somebody cooking a dinner or teaching a craft is working, and a person rebuilding a household's finances should not be donating labour to the organization assisting them.
How should the item be described?
As a chef, a teacher or a musician — not "an authentic cultural experience". Name the cuisine or craft specifically, describe skill rather than hardship, and avoid "exotic" and "traditional". The test is whether the person could read it aloud to their family.
Is there a better structure than auction lots?
Frequently a market or food fair stall, where people sell their own goods and keep the proceeds while the auction runs alongside on donated items.
Who decides what is appropriate to offer?
Community members, plural — a community is not a single voice and the first person asked does not speak for everybody. Where there is doubt, do not proceed.
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Free for up to 20 items · Unlimited bidders · No credit card required