130,500 causes · $320M raised · 4.7 since 2009
Adopt-an-animal, paired with the auction
A product you already sell, and the list that has already given twice.
Free for up to 20 items Unlimited bidders No credit card required
Almost every zoo runs an adopt-an-animal programme, and almost none connect it to an auction. It is both a product that could be auctioned badly and the warmest list the organization has.
Do not auction what you sell at a price
The trap is obvious once stated: auctioning a standard adoption package teaches buyers what the package is really worth, and a winning bid below the listed price undercuts every adopter who paid it.
Auction the versions that are not for sale instead:
- A tier above the highest one you offer
- A species not usually available for adoption
- Adoption plus an encounter with that animal
- A multi-year adoption, where the finance side agrees
- The plaque, the certificate signing, or a photograph with the keeper of that animal
Adopters are the list to mail first
An adopter has already gone past membership, already chosen a species and already given money for an animal rather than for admission. That is a donor, and most zoos treat them as a customer.
Mail them separately and lead with items involving the animals they adopted. A member who adopted a snow leopard opening an email about a snow leopard encounter is a different proposition from the same person receiving a general appeal.
Use the auction to grow the programme
The auction reaches people who have never adopted, and adoption is an easy second step for someone who just bid on an animal experience. Two moves that cost nothing:
- Put an adoption link on every animal-related item page
- Offer every underbidder on an encounter the standard adoption for that species afterwards — they have already told you which animal they care about
The second is the one worth doing. Underbidders are the most under-used asset in any auction, and here they arrive pre-segmented by species.
Keep the fulfilment separate
Adoption packs, certificates and plaques are fulfilled by a team with a process. An auctioned adoption that bypasses that process arrives late or not at all, which is the wrong first experience for a new donor. Route auction winners through the same fulfilment as any other adopter, flagged rather than special-cased.
What else belongs in the catalogue: item ideas that actually sell.
More guides for Zoos
Revenue benchmarks from platform data Encounters and keeper-for-a-day
Scoped by the animal team, not development Behind-the-scenes items
What the public cannot buy Item ideas that actually sell
And what welfare policy decides Getting items donated
Curatorial colleagues before outside donors Valuing an experience item
What to disclose when nothing has a price
Frequently asked questions
Should we auction an adopt-an-animal package?
Not the standard one — a winning bid below the listed price undercuts every adopter who paid it. Auction versions that are not for sale: a tier above the top one, a species not usually offered, or adoption plus an encounter with that animal.
Which list should be mailed first?
Adopters. They have gone past membership, chosen a species and given for an animal rather than admission — that is a donor, and most zoos treat them as a customer.
How can the auction grow the adoption programme?
Put an adoption link on every animal item page, and offer every underbidder on an encounter the standard adoption for that species. Underbidders arrive pre-segmented by the animal they care about.
How should an auctioned adoption be fulfilled?
Through the same process as any other adopter, flagged rather than special-cased. A bypassed fulfilment arrives late, which is the wrong first experience for a new donor.
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Free for up to 20 items · Unlimited bidders · No credit card required