The awkward part of sourcing auction prizes is often the first request. You know what the school needs, but asking a busy local business for a donation can still feel uncomfortable.
A short, personal message gives them something they can answer. Explain who you are, what the money will support and what sort of contribution would help. Then make it easy to confirm the details if they say yes.
You can adapt the messages below for your school. There is also a free prize-sourcing tracker to help volunteers share the work without approaching the same business twice.
An email to a local business
If you know the business, use the person’s name and explain the connection. If you do not, take a moment to check whether it has a donation request form or a named contact before emailing.
Subject: Could you donate a prize for [School] PTA’s auction?
Hi [name],
I’m helping to organise a fundraising auction for [School] PTA. We’re raising money for [specific project], and wondered whether [business name] could donate a prize.
[A meal voucher / a family ticket / a session of your service] would be a lovely fit for our school community. If something else would be easier for you to offer, we’d be pleased to hear your suggestion.
The auction will run from [opening date] to [closing date]. If possible, we’d like to confirm donations by [date].
With your agreement, we’ll name your business alongside the prize and thank you in our auction publicity.
Could you let me know whether this might be possible? I can arrange collection or prepare the listing from the details you send.
Many thanks,
[Name]
[PTA / school]
[Contact details]
Remove any sentence that does not apply. If your dates are undecided, say when you expect the auction to take place. Only promise publicity you can provide, and avoid inflated claims about how many customers a donation will bring.
Ask parents for an introduction
Before dividing up a list of businesses, ask the school community. A parent may run a business, know a potential donor or work somewhere that considers charity requests.
Can you help with our PTA auction?
We’re collecting prizes to raise money for [project]. If you run a business, work somewhere that might donate, or know someone we could approach, we’d love to hear from you.
Vouchers, family activities, experiences and services are all welcome suggestions. Please contact [name/email] by [date]. An introduction is helpful too; you don’t need to arrange everything yourself.
Be specific about services. Photography, gardening, coaching or a workshop may be worth suggesting to someone who would never think of their time as an auction prize.
In our own PTA fundraising, local conversations and introductions through parents have helped us find donations. Keeping those relationships going also makes the next committee’s job easier.
Choose businesses your families would use
Start with nearby cafés, restaurants, attractions, activity providers, shops and service businesses that fit your school community. Think about whether families can actually use the donation, rather than concentrating only on its advertised value.
A voucher with a short expiry date or substantial extra spending may be less appealing than a smaller prize with straightforward terms. A school experience can also work, but agree it with the school before offering it to bidders.
Vouchers, hampers and experiences can all suit an auction. The choice between an auction and a raffle depends on your audience, the terms of the prize and the event you are running. A clear face value does not automatically rule a prize out of an auction. Our Furzedown case study shows one school’s mix in practice.
Share the approaches between volunteers
Give each business one named volunteer contact. A shared list should show who is asking, when they approached the business, the response and the next action.
The prize-sourcing tracker opens in spreadsheet software and can be imported into Google Sheets. Keep contact details within your organising team. The tracker is an organising aid; it does not automatically add lots to Aucly.
The first row is a clearly labelled fictional example you can replace with your own approaches. Suggested response statuses are Not approached, Awaiting reply, Confirmed, Declined and No response, but use whatever wording helps your team.
An in-person conversation may be a useful first step with an independent business. Choose a quiet moment and ask who handles donation requests. Someone serving customers may need to pass the details to an owner or manager.
Hello, I’m helping with [School] PTA’s auction for [project]. Would you consider donating a voucher, product or experience? I can leave a short request with our contact details if someone else needs to look at it.
Follow up once
An unanswered email may have been missed. After about a week, a brief follow-up is reasonable unless the business has given a different response timetable.
Hi [name],
Just following up on the request below about [School] PTA’s auction. We’re hoping to confirm prizes by [date].
If you’re able to help, we’d be grateful. No problem if it isn’t possible this time.
Many thanks,
[Name]
If there is still no response, leave it there. Record a refusal too, so another volunteer does not repeat the request.
Confirm what the winner will receive
Once someone agrees to donate, check these details before publishing the lot:
- What is included, and for how many people?
- What value should be stated, if a meaningful value is available?
- When does it expire, and are any dates excluded?
- Are there age, location or booking restrictions?
- Will the winner need to pay anything extra?
- How will the winner receive and redeem the prize?
- Can you use the donor’s image and business name in the listing?
You can send this message to resolve the practical details:
Thank you for offering [prize]. Before we list it, could you confirm exactly what’s included, any expiry date or restrictions, and how the winner should redeem it?
Please also let us know how you’d like your business named and whether you have a photo we’re allowed to use. We’ll put the important conditions in the listing so bidders know what they’re getting.
Add confirmed prizes to your draft auction as they arrive. Keep bidder-facing conditions in the public description and private contact or collection notes in the organiser’s records. Our item-management guide explains where these details belong in Aucly.
Send a proper thank-you afterwards
When payments have been confirmed, tell donors what the fundraiser achieved and what the money will support. Use the amount actually collected if that differs from the final bids.
Hi [name],
Thank you again for donating [prize] to [School] PTA’s auction. We raised [confirmed amount], which will help fund [project].
We’re grateful for your support and for helping make this possible for the children.
Best wishes,
[Name]
Record when you thanked the donor and any notes that will help next year’s volunteers. A useful handover means the next team can continue a conversation instead of starting from a blank list.
If you have your first donations confirmed, you can create your auction and start adding them. For dates, promotion and the wider event plan, use our step-by-step PTA auction guide. If you are still deciding how to run the event itself, our online auctions for PTAs page explains how Aucly works for school fundraisers.