(hand)made for Glory re-cap + thoughts on online auctions

Well, it's over. Sort of. Payments are rolling in and boxes are being shipped out. Pretty soon I'll have my office and my evenings back. All in all, we made just under $2,000 from the auction! Getting closer!

Several people have asked how we pulled this off. Here are just a few loose tips. If you want specifics please feel free to contact me.

• First, start collecting your items at least 4-6 weeks in advance. 
• Pick a theme that is enjoyable to you. I love handmade goodness so I choose handmade. Maybe you like sports, or food, or something else. It will be more fun if you enjoy it.
• Don't pick a theme. (I know, I know.) I had a couple items offered that just didn't fit handmade. Could I have thrown them in and probably no one would have noticed? Yes. But I'm a first born type A and couldn't do it.
• Share enough of your story to get people interested in helping. When I contacted potential donors I gave one or two lines about our adoption journey and shared the link to our Give1Save1 video. 
• Give them the details on what they need to know - what are you asking for specifically, when is the auction, do they mail the item to you or the donor, what are you offering them in exchange - FB mentions, Tweets, blog profiles, etc.?
• Note: It is against Etsy policy to solicit donations. I did not know this when I started. I must have contacted 200 - 300 shop owners and only ONE person mentioned this policy. I'm a beg-for-forgiveness-rather-than-ask-for-permission kinda girl but Etsy can and will shut down your account for breaking this policy.
• It might also be against policy to hold auctions on Blogger. See begging for forgiveness comment above.
• Some people are not familiar with Blogger and thus don't know how to comment or see older posts. I wouldn't have done anything differently, just something to note.
• Sending out invoices via Paypal seems to be working well. Some people don't have their settings set up to receive  an email if they get an invoice. Those people will be a little confused.
• Having donors mail the item directly to the winning bidder is ideal however, not everyone will want to do this. 

I think we'll be taking a break from fundraising for a while. This one nearly did me in and, unfortunately, we don't need the rest of our money for quite some time. I can write grants in my sleep and I think I'm going to read George Mueller's autobiography and pray for some of that to rub off on us. 

Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him,

He will never fail you.

~ George Mueller 

(hand)made for Glory /// day five

Happy Friday!

We are moving into day five of (hand)made for Glory!

 

 

 

I must admit, this fundraiser has been a lot of work, (more than I expected:-) BUT

it's also been a LOT of fun!

I hope you guys are having fun checking out all the handmade goodness

and bidding on some of your favs!

 

Since we are down to the final few days we're going to add in a little incentive.

 

ALL of the bids started at at least half the retail value - but beginning today, 

I will be dropping the starting bid price on all items with no bids by $1.

I'll do the same tomorrow and Sunday. (when the auction closes at 11:59pm)

 

Our goal is to raise as much money as possible and

bless your socks off with some handmade goodness!

 

Head on over and see if your favorite item still has your name on it!

 

 

(hand)made for Glory /// day three

I can hardly type because I. Am. SO. Tired.

This raising thousands of dollars thing is no joke.

 

I'll try to stay on track and be brief so you can scoot on over to (hand)made for Glory

and bid on some of our amazing auction items.

 

People, it's like Etsy exploded in my house.

And I love all this handmade goodness but it. got's. to. go.

(Oh dear, see what happens when I get no sleep? I turn ghetto. Fast.)

 

Here's the deal:

 

Over 150 amazing handmade items.

ALL donated to our adoption auction.

ALL money raised helps us get this girl home.

 

What else do you need to know?

 

(hand)made for Glory.

Go there.

Now.

(and share and pin and tweet and stuff. tired.)

(hand)made for Glory is LIVE!

Here it is folks - the moment you've all been waiting for!

(Heh:-)

(hand)made for Glory is LIVE.

 

Join in the fun right here.

 

We have had such an amazing response that I could really use your help.

Will you please help us spread the word about this wonderful fundraiser?

 

There really is something for everyone and ALL of the proceeds go towards our adoption thanks to the generous shops and individuals who donated their handmade goods to our cause.

 

Head on over and start bidding!

It's going to be a fun week!

(hand)made for Glory {sneak peek #2}

Four more days until:

I am SO PUMPED about this!

First, it has been so much fun connecting
with all of these seriously talented folks and being blessed by their generosity.

Second, it is UN. REAL.
how many lives have been touched by adoption!

I can't tell you how many people I contacted
(aka cold messaged on Etsy. This is against policy BTW. Ooops.)
whose lives had been blessed by adoption.

I've heard stories of sisters moving to Africa,
and daughters adopting,
and dreams of one day adding to families through adoption,
and one gal who has 16 siblings from all over the world!

Just a few reminders:
the auction will be totally online (more details on that later),

you will need a Paypal account to play,

ALL items are handmade (and AMAZING) and were donated to (hand)made for Glory

so ALL money goes toward bringing her home!
 

We have over 140 items! How did this happen?!?

 

Here's sneak peak #2!

Don't forget to forgo your frappachino's this weekend
so you are ready for all this handmade goodness!

 

(hand)made for Glory {sneak preview}

One week from today our handmade adoption auction will go live!

Yikes! I've got a LOT to do before then!

 

A few details: the auction will be totally online (more details on that later),

you will need a Paypal account to play,

ALL items are handmade (and AMAZING) and were donated to our adoption auction

so ALL money goes toward bringing Glory home!

 

We have over 100 items!

I am overwhelmed at the handmade goodness in our house right now.

 

Here's a sneak preview at just a handful of my favorite items.

 

(Set aside a little money this week - you're gonna need it come Monday!)

Calling are crafters, bakers, artists and creators!!!

I am SO excited about our next adoption fundraiser!

I LOVE all things crafty, handmade and creative so this fund raiser is a fun one!

(Just check out all those great handmade items up there!)

I am working on a handmade item auction for Glory and need YOUR help!

There are 2 ways you can be involved.

#1 - I am looking for crafters, bakers, artists and creators who are

willing to donate an item to our (hand)made for Glory auction.

 

Are you crafty? Would you consider using your gifts in this way?

For your donation I will:
mention your shop here in each post about the (hand)made for Glory auction (there will be several:-)
tweet about your donation/shop/blog
post facebook mentions about your donation/shop/blog
pin your items on pinterest.

 

#2 - Maybe you aren't crafty but God gave you some mad organizational skills. I need YOU too! I need someone, or several someones, to help me solicit donations from all those crafty folks.

 

The auction will go live on May 6^th and I’d like to have all donations finalized by the end of April:-)

If you are interested in donating an item OR helping me solicit items please email me at lindsy.wallace AT gmail DOT com for more details!