How to Ask for Auction and Raffle Item Donations: Letter Templates and Follow-Up Scripts

Running a great raffle or silent auction is only half the job — the harder half happens weeks earlier, when someone has to actually get businesses to hand over donated items. Most committees wait too long to start asking, send the same generic form letter to everyone, and end up scrambling for gift cards the week before the event.

If you’ve already read our guide on running a raffle or silent auction fundraiser, this is the piece that comes before it: how to actually fill the table with items worth bidding on.

Start 8–10 Weeks Out, Not Two

Businesses that donate regularly often route requests through a corporate giving program or need manager sign-off, and that takes time. Asking two or three weeks before your event means you’re competing with every other request already in their queue — response rates drop sharply once you’re inside a three-week window. Starting 8–10 weeks out gives a business time to say yes, budget for it, and actually get the item to you before you need it.

The Donation Request Letter

Keep it to one page, name your organization and tax status up front, and be specific about what you’re asking for — a vague “would you consider supporting us” gets ignored more often than a concrete ask. Something like:

“My name is [Name], and I help coordinate fundraising for [Team/League Name], a youth [sport] program serving [number] kids ages [range] in [town]. On [date], we’re holding our annual silent auction to help cover [specific cost — uniforms, travel, field fees]. We’re reaching out to ask if [Business Name] would consider donating an item, gift card, or service for our auction table — even a $25 gift card makes a real difference. We’ll list your business by name on our event signage, in our event program, and in a thank-you post to our [number]-family mailing list. Pickup or drop-off works whichever is easier for you, and I’m happy to bring a donation form for your tax records. Thank you for considering it — teams like ours run on community support like yours.”

Who to Ask and What to Ask For

Aim to ask for roughly three times the number of items you actually need — a typical response rate runs 20–30%, so a goal of 30–40 auction items usually means 100–120 asks. Restaurants and cafes tend to say yes to $25–$50 gift cards quickly since it’s a low-cost, low-effort donation for them. Family entertainment venues (trampoline parks, bowling alleys, escape rooms) often donate passes because it drives future visits. Salons, gyms, and other service businesses will frequently donate a session or membership month. This overlaps heavily with the same local-business relationships covered in our guide to asking local businesses to sponsor your team — a business that already sponsors your team is often good for an auction item too, and vice versa.

The Follow-Up That Actually Gets a Yes

A letter or email alone rarely closes the ask. Follow up with a phone call or in-person visit about a week later — owners are far more likely to commit when there’s a real conversation instead of an unread email sitting in a folder. Bring a simple donation form on the visit so they can fill it out on the spot, and offer to pick the item up yourself rather than asking a busy manager to remember to drop it off.

Tracking Donations and Writing Thank-Yous

Keep a simple spreadsheet with columns for business name, contact, item, estimated value, pickup status, and thank-you sent — this becomes your prospect list for next year, too. Send a written thank-you within five business days of receiving the item, and if your organization has 501(c)(3) status, offer a donation receipt with the item’s estimated fair-market value for their tax records. Businesses that get a genuine, prompt thank-you are dramatically more likely to say yes again next season without a fresh cold ask.

Filling the auction table is a slog, but it’s also the most repeatable part of the whole event — once you’ve built a list of businesses that said yes, next year’s ask is a five-minute check-in instead of a cold call.

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Need the scripts and timeline for the rest of your season, too? Grab the free Youth Fundraising Quickstart Guide for fundraiser ideas, ask scripts, and a season-by-season plan.