Charitable travel auctions sell travel destination trips, such as five nights in a luxury resort on a tropical beach for charitable purposes. They are funded by donors, who list the offered travel package on a charitable auction website. All the money earned from these auctions is donated to charity.
The bids for these travel vacations typically start low and offer a discount to the traveler or travelers. Each travel auction details the package offered and designates which charitable organization the proceeds will go to, usually providing a link to the charity's website for further information about the organization and its causes.
Charitable travel auctions are designed to encourage people to donate to charitable causes by offering them travel discounts. For example. a business or profitable organization, such as the Daytona Beach Yacht Club, will sponsor the auction on a website like Charity Buzz and designate which charity the raised money will go to, such as the Children's Health Foundation, which will use the donations to fund children's health research and treatment.
Charitable travel auctions are usually a win-win for everyone involved. The unfortunate get the aid they need, and the donors receive vacations at a discounted price. Plus, charity donations are tax-deductible, so the donors get tax benefits as well.
Travel auctions hosted for charity can raise significant amounts of money. Because they usually involve popular travel destinations, they generate much interest, which, consequently, increases the number of bids on the travel packages, which, in turn, raises the price--and the donation.
For instance, an escape to Sea Island with tennis stars Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf raised as much as $85,000 to benefit the Andre Agassi Foundation.
If optimally marketed, a charitable travel auction could quickly raise a significant amount of money for a charity, and websites make it easy for any size organization to get involved. The partnership of the right destination and the right donors could be a potential gold mine for any charity.
