Oh, that's a bummer. I don't know why some fund raisers get big bids on quilts and others don't.
Been there and done that with the twin sized quilt DIL asked me to make for the silent auction at the autistic school she works at. Their fund raisers usually bring in big bucks. After the school's director's handicapped DD put a bid in for it the other people stopped putting their bids in as they wanted her to 'win' it. It did make more than the cost of the fabrics but DIL expected at least $200 for it. Live and Learn but sometimes we forget and do it all over again. Like your new idea of giving them a cash donation instead of a quilt that you put lots of time and effort into.