I've never heard of having a donation quilt given back. And they are donation quilts. One gives it to the guild and it's their way of raising money. I once donated a lap quilt to an organization and wrote on the information sheet there was $40 worth of material invested not counting labor, which was free (for them) & suggested a $25 starting bid. I found out later it went for $15 & if I'd paid attention I would have paid $20 to get it back! :-( (I just give money now.)