Refugee services auction item ideas that actually sell

For the general list, see our 100+ silent auction item ideas. The distinctive categories are provision sponsorship and community-offered experiences, and the constraint is that nobody served appears anywhere.

Provision, priced

• A rent deposit and first month for a household
• A term of English classes for one adult
• A bus pass for six months, which is frequently the difference between a job and no job
• A credential evaluation, so a nurse or an engineer can work as one
• Interpreter hours
• A case manager's month
• A welcome kit and household set-up
• School enrolment support and supplies for one family
• Driving lessons and a licence, which unlocks employment in most places

The credential evaluation is the item to feature. The idea that a qualified doctor is driving a taxi because a piece of paperwork costs money is specific, infuriating and cheap to fix, and donors respond to it strongly.

Community-offered experiences

• A dinner cooked by a chef, paid properly
• A cooking class, a craft workshop, language lessons
• Catering for a workplace or a party
• Music for an event
• Goods made by community members, bought and resold

Consent, payment and framing: cultural experience items.

From supporters and partners

• Professional services from volunteers — legal, medical, accounting, translation
• Employer-donated goods, experiences or workplace tours
• University and college lots — courses, lectures, facilities
• Congregation-sourced items and hosted dinners
• Travel and experiences from supporters

Ordinary lots

Restaurants, retail, services, family experiences. Most of the catalogue, and a reason for people to browse who are not already committed.

What must never appear

• Any client's name, photograph, voice or identifying description, including indirect detail
• Anything about immigration status, case type or claim stage
• Location details of client-facing programmes or housing
• Photographs with metadata intact
• Anything implying priority in services
• Anything requiring a client's participation that they have not freely offered after a protection review
• Framing that presents people as exhibits rather than as professionals offering something

The indirect detail point is the one that catches organizations out. "A former engineer from a country in East Africa who arrived last spring with three children" names nobody and identifies somebody precisely.

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.