Our 47th Annual Auction is Sat. Nov. 2

Each year our congregation hosts a giant laugh filled party all centered on enjoying each other’s company and talents for the upcoming year. This is our annual service auction. The theme this year is ‘Friendsgiving’- for friends building community and giving! This party includes music, decorations, good food, and drinks! Even if you don’t have the funds to make a single purchase the night of the event, there are so many good reasons to join us. This is a long-standing tradition at our church and the largest major fundraising activity we do for the year.

How To Participate Before the Day of the Auction

Well before the day of, we need folks to submit their activity or events to the auction website! Check out the “How to Submit” section below for more.

Do you know a cool local business that you think more people from church should get to know? You can grab a business donation form (available in the Great Hall) and ask them to donate a gift card! This gets people from church to meet new businesses while also helping our fundraising efforts. Please contact the office at office@firstunitarian.us to help coordinate what businesses you solicit so we don’t all hit up the same places!

The night of the auction we will have a 50/50 drawing which means the winner will get $260! Before the event, you can enter by purchasing a playing card from Lois and Dan Holm for $10 each. You get a lovely piece of art to take with you and a chance to win! These will be available to purchase after Sunday Service for several weeks prior to the event.

Are you a good baker? Do you know a dessert that can win the hearts and minds of your friends? You may want to enter our dessert competition. The competition will take place during the intermission the night of the auction. If you are ready to put your sweets to the test, contact the office office@firstunitarian.us to participate.

What To Expect At The Auction Event

Doors open at 6pm so that you can enjoy substantial appetizers, grab a drink at the cash bar, view the silent auction items in the conference room, and get your official bidding number. The main event kicks off at 7pm.

We will be going systematically through each auction item submitted to the website (see below for how to submit). Each audience member will be able to hold up their bidding number to determine who gets the winning bid. Many events have more than one seat available, and some events get pretty competitive. You’ll find auction items ranging from a few dollars to more than fifty dollars throughout the event. There is very likely to be something that catches your interest and suits your budget.

Once things get going, we have all kinds of ways to have fun. Folks can purchase a joke from $1, $2, or $5 and we will be playing Heads & Tails 50/50s.

Once we have completed auctioning off all of the items, we will then ask that everyone who placed a winning bid completes their payment before they leave the auction for the evening. You can pay via check, cash, or digitally.

Silent Auction

Our silent auction is a great opportunity to look around your home for nice but unused items you’d like to pass along. The silent auction is where we will bid for donated gift cards and all other physical items. These items will be on display the night of the auction in the conference room, but you can start submitting and bidding on silent auction items right now! To see the current items, email the office manager office@firstunitarian.us for log in information. Remember, this is all about bidding up your peers so we can have a little friendly competition and do some good for our church family.

Oral Auction

Our main auction event is filled with different services members and friends of the congregation provide. We’ve got everything from babysitting, to gardening, to hosting a Kid’s Pizza and Movie Night, or even a 70s themed Party! Consider entering a fun or useful activity you think folks at church would enjoy and don’t forget you can pair up with another church member or friend to do an event with you! It’s a great way to make memories while doing good for your peers. 

How to Submit an Auction Item

To submit items for either the Silent or Oral Auction, please contact the office manager office@firstunitarian.us to get all of the log in information. If you need more inspiration for what you might donate, there will be sample programs from past auctions in the Great Hall. 

Questions or Concerns?

If you cannot access the auction website, or have questions, please contact the office at 574-234-6588 or email office@firstunitarian.us