City Kitties Online Auctions: How to Donate
Thank you for your interest in supporting City Kitties through our online auctions! We regularly list items right here on our website — check out the right-hand menu bar for the latest auction. All you need to donate is a Paypal account.
Do you have original artwork, crafts, or other handmade items you’d like to donate? With the help of generous and talented folks like you, we can continue helping stray cats and kittens in need all year long. Please read the below information, then fill out the form at the bottom of this page. If you have a question about donation, please contact us here.
Accepted Items:
- Artwork & Crafts: Past auction events have featured original artwork, jewelry, metalwork, pottery, digital art, knitted items, and mixed media pieces in a wide variety of styles. We have found that original artwork donated by the artist sells best.
- Gift certificates/ baskets: Gift certificates to Philadelphia area businesses are welcome, whether donated by the merchant or purchased by the donor. (If purchased, please ensure that the merchant allows transfer of the gift certificate or coupon from one party to another.)
- Have another idea? We are open to suggestions!
Shipping Policy: City Kitties is lucky enough to have supporters in far-flung places! Donors can live anywhere in the world, but must be willing to ship their donated item to the winning bidder within 30 days of the auction ending. Donors may choose to restrict the auction to local bidders or bidders within the continental United States. The cost of shipping and packing materials (if applicable) is considered part of the donation, and City Kitties will include this cost in your acknowledgment letter. For local auctions, we ask that donors and winning bidders coordinate pick-up/drop-off of the item.
Publicity: City Kitties will provide a link to the donor’s website and/or a store address and phone number in the auction description. Please be sure to include this information when you fill out the form below. We will post this information on the auction widget and will link to the information when we post the auction to our Facebook page on Monday morning. We have more than 4,000 “likes” on Facebook, so you can be sure your item will receive plenty of publicity.
Donor Acknowledgment: We love our generous donors-if you would like a letter acknowledging your in-kind donation for tax purposes, please let us know! We will email you a letter for your records. Please note that City Kitties cannot estimate the value of your work; we will only describe what was donated and (if applicable) the cost of shipping the item to the winning bidder.
Starting Bids: Donors can assign a starting bid, or we will assign one for you. We have found that low starting bids ($25 and under) foster bidding wars and ultimately drive up the selling price. If you would like to donate a high-value piece with a high starting bid, please consider inviting clients to bid.
Images: We will need at least one photo of your donated item, but can post up to three photos.
Reserve Price: City Kitties has the ability to set a reserve price above the starting bid price, should you wish to set one.
Duration of Auction: Most auctions run for 5 days (Monday morning through Friday afternoon).
Unsold Items: If an item doesn’t sell or meet reserve, the donor may rescind their offer to donate the item, or offer the item to be re-listed at later date. City Kitties will re-list the item no sooner than 30 days after the end of the first auction.
Payment: City Kitties accepts payment for winning bids through Paypal. Once we receive payment, City Kitties will forward the winning bidder’s information to the donor for shipping or pickup/drop off arrangements.
