Silent auctions are a GREAT way to generate non-dues revenue for your association or chamber of commerce. But the success of a silent auction all depends on the interest and demand for the items you have available.

Now some items are pretty standard and always popular – wine and/or beer baskets, vacation packages, sports paraphernalia, etc. But what other items and offerings could you throw in there to not only switch things up, but really grab people’s attention? Here are three:

1. Time with a personal assistant

We all dream of having our own personal assistant – to help us run errands, get organized, check off lingering to-dos, etc. But for most of us, it’s just that: a dream.

Make that dream come true for some of your members by offering up time with a personal assistant (24 hours, for example). (Sounds appealing, right?)

2. A streaming service subscription

Many of your members and event attendees probably pay for at least one streaming service, whether that’s Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or something else. But chances are, they probably don’t pay for and have access to all of them.

Give them a gift that has year-long value by offering up a streaming service subscription. Depending on your audience, you could even thrown in a premium channel subscription, like HBO or SHOWTIME.

3. A short-term mentorship

Whether you work for an association or a chamber of commerce, many of your members likely turn to your organization for industry updates and best practices. They want to learn and grow professionally. And not only that, but they want to network with other like-minded professionals.  

Help them do both by auctioning off a short-term mentorship. (Think one-on-one sessions with an industry success and/or thought leader.) And what’s great about this is, with tools like video conferencing, the mentorship could be entirely virtual – so don’t limit yourself to local professionals only. Tap into your national network!

What silent auction items have you tried (or seen) that ended up being major hits? Let us know in the comments below!

And for more ideas regarding non-dues revenue sources, check out our free guide: