No kidding - add them to your procurement database right now. No phone calls or letters needed. One of them is a stand-alone, free gift certificate for a service that sends books to your kids; the others are a three-pack of hot-air balloon rides. I’ve made arrangements with the companies behind these services to let any and all of you put them in your fundraising auctions.

1) $40 ** BookPig ** Gift Certificate

Item Description: Book Pig is a children’s book rental service. Book Pig delivers books tailored to a child’s reading level and interests. Children read more with Book Pig because they have affordable and convenient access to the books they want to read.

Item Restrictions: Gift certificate is valid for one year. Books must be shipped to a U.S. address.

Click here to download the gift certificate. Note: Please contact BookPig directly through their website.

The next three are a package of Hot-Air Balloon Rides. I’ll list them first, then explain the deal below. To get the gift certificates and list of locations, click here.

2) Balloon Ride for 4

Item Description: A Dream Come True!

Float for an hour above the treetops and below the clouds. When you land, celebrate with a fruit juice or Champagne toast! Choose from 150 locations nationwide - take the ride close to home or while on vacation! Fully transferrable—makes a fantastic gift!

Item Restrictions: Ticket can be used anytime in the next 12 months. The winning bidder will receive the balloon ride ticket, list of 150 locations, and ride scheduling phone numbers after the auction.

3) Balloon Ride for 2

Item Description: A Dream Come True!

Float for an hour above the treetops and below the clouds. When you land, celebrate with a fruit juice or Champagne toast! Choose from 150 locations nationwide - take the ride close to home or while on vacation! Fully transferrable—makes a fantastic gift!

Item Restrictions: Ticket can be used anytime in the next 12 months. The winning bidder will receive the balloon ride ticket, list of 150 locations, and ride scheduling phone numbers after the auction.

4) Balloon Ride for 1

Item Description: A Dream Come True!

Float for an hour above the treetops and below the clouds. When you land, celebrate with a fruit juice or Champagne toast! Choose from 150 locations nationwide - take the ride close to home or while on vacation! Fully transferrable—makes a fantastic gift!

Item Restrictions: Ticket can be used anytime in the next 12 months. The winning bidder will receive the balloon ride ticket, list of 150 locations, and ride scheduling phone numbers after the auction.

Okay, so here’s the deal: two of the Balloon Rides are consignment items - if they sell at your auction, you have to pay the provider a fixed amount for each of the rides. Anything you raise over that fixed amount, you keep. I’m going to write an installment of this newsletter on consignment items soon - I don’t really love them, but there are circumstances under which I’m grateful for the opportunity to add them to my auctions. The reason I decided to see if I could offer these to you is because a) the consignment fee is pretty low on these, and b) I like the fact that they give you one of them completely free, just for offering the other two.

The Balloon Ride for 1 is a free donation to your auction, contingent upon your agreeing to offer the Balloon Ride for 2 and the Balloon Ride for 4 items in the auction as well. The Balloon Ride for 2 and Balloon Ride for 4 are no-risk consignment items; if they do not sell for over the minimum bid, you owe FundraisingRides.org nothing. You still get the Balloon Ride for 1 free for your auction even if the other two don’t sell, as long as you offer all three.

If either the Balloon Ride for ** 2 or the **Balloon Ride for 4 , or both, do sell for over the minimum bid at your auction, you agree to pay FundraisingRides the consignment fee ($240 for the Ride for Two, and/or $480 for the Ride for Four) to FundraisingRides.org, and you keep the rest of the money raised.** Please contact FundraisingRides.org with any questions on this offer. Email: Answers@FundraisingRides.org**

-Roger

P.S. In case you are wondering, we - Tofino Auctions, SchoolAuction.net, or any of the people working for us - do not get any kickback or commission from the offering companies on these. I’m helping to promote them because I think they are a pretty good deal for our customers’ auctions.