FAQs About Winspire’s Fundraising Auction Travel Packages
The Nonprofit Cost is the list price or total value of an Experience. It includes the costs of the package itself (using rack rates for hotel rooms and brochure rates for cruises to ensure consistency), as well as the marketing assets we provide for your nonprofit, our work putting the Experience together, and booking services for winning bidders.
With Winspire, there are no upfront fees, and you only pay for what you sell.
A transaction with Winspire doesn’t take place until after your event and only for Experiences that sell above their reserve price, which you’ll work with us to establish for each package. Your reserve price is the minimum amount you’ll accept for a package (we recommend 20% more than the Nonprofit Cost, since anything you earn above the Nonprofit Cost goes to your organization). If you can’t sell a package for that price, no transaction occurs.
Your Suitcase is basically your cart, where you put the Experiences you’re considering while you decide on the best set of packages for your fundraiser. Once you’ve finalized your selection, simply click “Reserve Experiences” to claim the packages you want for your event.
Generally speaking, payments for nonprofit auction items are only tax-deductible if they exceed the item’s fair market value (FMV), and only the portion above the FMV counts toward deductions. For Winspire Experiences, the Nonprofit Cost is essentially the FMV, so anything a winning bidder pays above the Nonprofit Cost is tax-deductible.
Yes! Winspire will match the price of any qualifying experience offered for less through a competitor. You’ll need to provide proof of the competitor’s price through a publicly accessible website, advertisement, or catalog.
We generally match the pricing of any package that has a similar (although not necessarily identical) scope to an existing Experience with regard to activities, accommodations, and transportation. If the package is too different or is determined to be too low in value to sell at an auction, Winspire reserves the right to decline a price match request.
Not always, but sometimes! Our product development team will review each price match request to determine if it’s within our capabilities to create a custom Experience that matches or beats the competitor’s price. Again, Winspire reserves the right to decline a price match request if it isn’t possible to replicate another provider’s vacation package with the resources available to us.
Most of our Experiences are designed for two travelers, but we have some travel packages for four, six, or even more people if you select stays that include large villas or house rentals. See individual Experience listings for the quantities of all components of each package.
Winspire Experiences don’t include airfare, which allows winning bidders the flexibility to choose flights that best fit their location, schedule, and preferences. Our Booking and Concierge team is available to assist with airfare planning and coordination during the redemption process to ensure a smooth, stress-free experience.
Yes! We welcome suggestions for new travel and experience offerings, and our team regularly reviews partner and nonprofit feedback when expanding our catalog. You can submit recommendations at any time through our Contact Us page.
Some airline and hotel partners may have blackout dates, most commonly around major global holidays or local event dates. While blackout dates aren’t common, any known restrictions will be communicated in advance. Additionally, certain Experiences tied to specific events, such as major sporting events or awards shows, must be used on the scheduled event dates.
Most Winspire Experiences must be booked within one year of the winning bidder’s purchase at a fundraising event, and travel must begin within two years of the purchase date.
For most Experiences, the only additional costs for winning bidders are airfare-related taxes and an airline ticketing service fee. All other required taxes and fees are included in the Nonprofit Cost unless specifically noted in the Experience description. Personal incidentals incurred during travel are the responsibility of the winning bidder.
Your Winspire Event Consultant will help you select Experiences that fit your event type and attendees’ interests. Between your knowledge of your donor base and fundraising objectives, and Winspire’s extensive experience with nonprofit fundraisers, we’ll help you determine the best mix of auction items to maximize your event’s engagement and revenue potential.
Absolutely! We have multiple quantities of every Experience we offer, meaning you can choose more than one winner for each item or feature the same package in two different events or activities at the same event (e.g., auction and raffle or silent auction and live auction).
Essentially none. While it’s best to give yourself some lead time so you can promote Experiences to attendees, all of our packages are available on a moment’s notice. You can reserve any Experience through our website at any time up until your event begins.
Yes! Each Winspire Experience comes with a package display PDF for you to use in your fundraising event. Each letter-size PDF is produced using high-quality photos and graphics, allowing you to enlarge it if you’d like.
In addition to this display sheet, we provide a full package description that covers all Experience details as well as additional images for you to use in your marketing materials or presentations.
Multiple images of each Experience come with the promotional materials we send you before your event. Depending on the Experience, we may be able to share additional images and even videos upon request.
We supply a letter template for you to modify and give to winning bidders to congratulate them and thank them for their support. We also recommend including your contact information and a copy of the full package description with this letter so they have a record of what they have won. They’ll receive Booking Vouchers once you pay for your Experiences.
A Booking Voucher is the document each winning bidder needs to redeem their Experience. Booking Vouchers will become available only after Winspire has received payment for all Experiences sold at your event, when they’ll appear in your Suitcase for you to send directly to your winning bidders’ emails. These vouchers include a Trip Booking Identification Number and directions to redeem their Experience. We also provide a default thank-you message on each Booking Voucher, but you can easily replace it with a message of your own.
Booking Vouchers will become available within one week of our receiving payment from your nonprofit. Once a Winning Bidder receives their Booking Voucher, they can begin the redemption process as soon as they’d like. Winners have to book their Experiences at least 60 days prior to the requested travel date and within one year of purchase unless otherwise noted in their individual listings.
All of our Experiences include the Winspire Booking & Concierge Service. Winning bidders simply follow the redemption process directions outlined on the Booking Voucher, and one of our travel professionals will handle reservations and book the entire Experience with no additional work required for your nonprofit.
The Winspire Booking & Concierge Service consists of a team of seasoned travel professionals who help winning bidders redeem Experiences. Not only do we take care of all trip-related details and reservations, but we also operate as a full-service travel agency and provide an established network of onsite contacts for each Experience.
Yes! Our team of travel professionals can accommodate many requests from winning bidders, including booking additional hotel nights, adding extra people to an Experience, or incorporating more excursions and activities into travelers’ itineraries (depending on vendor availability).
No. We require winners to complete the redemption form before we check availability to better accommodate our travel vendors’ needs. The turnaround time to check availability varies depending on which vendors we’re working with to fulfill an Experience.
Yes. Credit card information is necessary to hold winners’ hotel reservations. Any other costs that travelers may be responsible for will be charged to their cards when we have their express approval (and not before).
Still have questions about Winspire’s fundraising travel packages?
Our Event Fundraising Specialists are here to help you with every part of the process, from managing your Suitcase to choosing Experiences your audience will love.
