How veterans organizations get auction items donated

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

Members, then the town

1. Members and the auxiliary

Ask at a meeting, with two specific questions: what do you or your employer do, and what could you contribute? A post's membership contains trades, businesses and craft skills, and the auxiliary usually knows where they all are. Start here because it gives you items to point at when you approach the town.

2. The post's own assets

The hall, the kitchen, a reserved table, a named brick, a parking space. These cost the post an evening rather than money and they need nothing more than an officers' decision. Most posts do not think of them as auction items.

3. Veteran-owned businesses

A distinct network with a reason to say yes to a post specifically. Covered in full in veteran-owned business outreach.

4. The town, in person

Two members, one afternoon, a one-page leaflet with what you are funding, the number and a QR code. Who does the asking matters: a member of the post, in a post cap or jacket, is a different conversation from a letter on letterhead. If your roster for this is thin, do fewer businesses in person rather than more by mail.

5. Regional and national

Sporting goods manufacturers, outdoor brands, distilleries and breweries often run donation programs, and several have specific veteran-support lines. These need six to eight weeks in writing, so start them first if you want them.

What to offer

The item page listing, a post to your followers and the auxiliary's, a mention in the newsletter, and a receipt. Be precise about the receipt: it comes from whichever entity is running the auction, and deductibility depends on that entity's status. Do not let a business assume.

Which entity that is: tax rules and receipts.

Tracking and follow-up

One list: business, who spoke to them, what was promised, whether it arrived, who owns the follow-up. Most yield comes from the second contact about a week later, and for a post that means a member stopping in rather than an email. Name one person who owns procurement for the whole window.

Committee structure: committee and volunteer roles.