quilt9226

I make a quilt every year to support the nonprofit that runs our local dog beach. The quilts are always dog themed and are part of a silent auction. They have always made a lot of money. Last year's quilt vwas purchased by a grandma who outbid everyone because her granddaughter wanted the quilt. Several times when I have donated a quilt for a fundraiser I should have written a check. One quilt was in a silent auction and sat in a far corner folded up so no one saw it. One of the people assisting in the auction got it for pennies. Another fundraiser put my quilt in a silent auction and it did not show well in a dark crowded room. I bought it back and gave it to a friend. The third was given to an organization which will remain nameless. The organization was so disorganized it could not keep track of the quilt or my information and it took me months to get a tax receipt. I only make a quilt for the dog beach now.

Rose Bagwell

I raffle a quilt for my daughter's MS Walk every year. I sell thickets for $1.00 a ticket or 6 for $5.00. I have raised as much as $1,500.00 towards a donation. I prefer the raffle myself.

Annaquilts

Great idea!

mjsylvstr

We have a charity booth at our Quilt Show and we price the quilts which the club donates. Towards the end, we do lower the prices if necessary. This last year the theme was red, white & blue patriotic and the recipients were the Veterans, it was the best we have had.....people all wanted to support our service men and women.

ptquilts

After we moved out of our house and got rid of everything we stored the quilt stuff with my sister. There were a lot of DH's tiny piece quilts (http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-79481-1.htm) and she/we started donating them to fundraising auctions. I did not follow up with how much they got for them.
We did donate this one
5 years in the making!! DH's masterpiece done at last!! Over 100,000 pieces.
to the WGBH auction, a huge auction for the PBS station that has been going on for decades, and is now mostly online. It went for the minimum, $750. I was kind of disappointed. But oh well. I hope the person who got it, enjoys it.

ETA - now that I am settled in one place, I have the remaining quilts with me, and have hung four of them on the walls so I can enjoy them everyday.

fallonquilter

I agree that if you donate a quilt for auction you should put a "opening bid" on it. Too many people do not no what it costs to make a quilt.

Sewnoma

We do silent auctions at work for charities - all of the items being auctioned off are set up in our large meeting room, with a sheet attached and you just write your bid down on the list if you want to outbid the person ahead of you. Some of the bidding wars get crazy!

It's cool - some people donate pre-made things (wine is popular, so are movie passes with candy) but a handful of people make things by hand and it's fun to see what sorts of creative things my coworkers get up to.

I put a scrappy little baby/dog quilt in once and then bid $50 for it myself. I figured that made it win-win; either I'd get outbid and earn/donate more than $50 for the charity; or I'd donate $50 of my own cash and keep my quilt. If I remember correctly, the quilt ended up going for $75, which I thought was pretty good considering it was a very small & simple quilt. I wasn't sure it'd get any bids at all, so I was content. (The quilt was "free" in my mind, since it was all scraps, even the batting.)

dorismae904

Perhaps ten years ago, I belonged to a group that made crocheted blankets for needy children. We met at a clubhouse in the mobile trailer park where the organizer lived to sew labels on the blankets. A day came when someone brought in small quilts for the NICU unit of the local hospital. So I started bringing in some charity quilts to donate also. Later I and a lot of other ladies in the group found out that the organizer was sorting through each month's donations and taking the best of the lot to a large city approx 2 hours away and selling them. After he husband passed on, she had the nerve to set up a table at a local craft fair and selling them at low prices guaranteed to make a sale. Needless to say, I stopped donating. Now I do make charity quilts which I give out to a Headstart class at my church. I can see where my donations are going. My experience has really given me trust issues.

D.Henson

Quilters are such warm hearted people and it's amazing to read all the wonderful quilts donated to great organizations. Spreading love, one quilt at a time! <3

Annie68

Oh, that is a sad story! So glad you continue to make quilts and give them out yourself, great idea.