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eteddys Jun 23, 2010

Hello,
I need advice from all of you.  There is a woman that lives here in the Phoenix area that is in need of a double lung transplant, Tiffany Tate.  I became interested in helping her firstly, because I have had a kidney transplant and know what a gift it is to have an extended lease on life.  I also wanted to help because she is the same age I was when I received my transplant.  I also believe that each person on earth is worthy of s second chance.  So, I decided to make a teddy bear to auction on her behalf.  She is raising her funds through the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) which is a non-profit and oversees the use of all the money.  They give accountability by ensuring that all funds raised are used for medical expenses.  NTAF is a part of Mission Fish, eBay's non-profit program.  So, I think this is a no brainer and called NTAF to find out how my eBay auction funds would get credited to Tiffany's account.  They informed me that this is not possible through Mission Fish.  I would have to run the auction on my own and forward the money on to them or the money would go into their general account.  Also, they cannot provide me with the paperwork to run a charity auction on my own.  So, here I am with a giant bear, ready for ebay and now I cannot promote this as a charity auction or eBay will yank in a heartbeat.  I wish NTAF would provide the means for me to do this as a charity auction but that's not going to happen.   

What should I do?  Should I go ahead and run this as a private auction and just let my mailing list members know the money will go to NTAF on behalf of Tiffany?  Should I scrap the auction idea and try to sell raffle tickets?  My thought was to print 200 tickets and sell them for $10 each.  Our state may cut lung transplant benefits for those on Medicaid and if that happens, the family needs to come up with $500,000 + for the surgery.  Obviously, I want to raise as much money as I can to help.  Please send me your thoughts on what I should do!  We planned to start the auction on Sunday.  I saw Tiffany on the news and felt a special connection with her so this is very important to me.

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

Hugs,
Alison

Dawn J Jun 23, 2010

Hi Alison
As far as know you can say on the Ebay auction where the money is going to. When I was raising funds for WSPA last year I put a few bears up on Ebay that were going directly towards my fund-raising account. It was very clear in the auction description and Ebay never pulled them.

It just means that you will put the information in the description of the auction rather than posting it as a charity auction.

I know other people that have done similar things to support people who are doing treks etc., they normally say something like: I want to help my friend and have donated this bear plus all ebay and Paypal fees, the selling price will be given to ....

I hope this helps.

Dawn

Moo Jun 23, 2010

Alison, such a lovely generous thing to do.  I wish you well in raising as much as possible!
Could you not contact Tiffany or someone speaking on her behalf and ask for advice?  I'm sure they are probably experienced in raising money and may be able to advise the best way to go about doing it?
Why can't things just be simple and straight forward heh!

eteddys Jun 24, 2010

Thanks Dawn,
I guess if you word things correctly, you can still do an ebay auction.  Unfortunately, neither Tiffany nor her mom seem very savvy about fund raising.  I probably have done more fund raising throughout the years for various organizations.

Hugs,
Alison

boohbears Jun 24, 2010

Hi Alison,
Ebay pulled a charity auction I did about 5 years ago right after they started Mission Fish - I'm not sure how you need to word it now so that they won't pull it but it would be a shame if you received bids and then they pulled it.  I would check with ebay beforehand to make sure you can do it with the proper wording.   I think if I were you, I would put the notice out on facebook and also to your notification list that this is going to be a charity auction (if ebay won't allow you to say it's for charity, at least your list and your facebook friends will know) -
Good Luck!!
Hugs,
Janice

karas bears Jun 24, 2010

Hi Alison, What a wonderful thing to do. I agree with Janice. If you can get the word out through all of the forums and facebook plus your mailing list.And also find out from e-bay what they will allow (good luck) Who wouldn't spend 10.00 on a ticket to help with this cause. This way you would know that the funds are going just to Tiffany. I used to do some fundraising for charity but got fed up when I found out that just a small portion of the money went where I wanted it to go, Too many other pockets out there! If you do the raffle and have the money in your own hand, you can make sure it goes straight for Tiffany. Hugs, Joy

eteddys Jun 24, 2010

After reading the few posts here, private emails and talking to Tiffany's mom, I've decided to scrap the eBay auction plan.  I don't think it's worth the risk of having and auction pulled.  I will set up a raffle of some sort and sell a limited amount of tickets so that the chances of winning are good.  I'll make sure to post the info here and anywhere else that I can.  Thank you all for your help!

Alison

boohbears Jun 25, 2010

Count me in on a Raffle ticket, Alison!!
Hugs,
Janice

karas bears Jun 25, 2010

me too!

thumperantiques Jun 25, 2010

Alison,
     I think you are better off with a raffle - Ebay's final value fees are high and you'd be able to give 100% of your money to the charity with a raffle.  Good luck.

                        hugs,

                        Brenda