Nonprofit Success Spotlight: Ben's Bright Horizons

The foundation’s third annual fundraising event brought more than 200 guests together for a reception, live auction, and golf tournament, all in support of this mission.

“Seeing our community come together to support other young adults means more than we can express,” shared Carol Stratford, Vice President.

With its mission at the heart of the event, thoughtful auction planning offered another way to engage supporters and connect their generosity to the cause.

Founded in memory of their son Ben, Ben’s Bright Horizons Foundation works to ensure young adults can access the mental health support they need, regardless of financial circumstances.

The foundation’s six-day Bright Horizons Program is designed for young adults ages 18–25, with a focus on mental health and personal growth. Scholarships help make participation more accessible to young adults who may otherwise face financial barriers.

So, what strategies helped make the auction a success?

In the sections ahead, we’ll explore three simple, practical strategies inspired by Ben’s Bright Horizons’ approach that you can apply to your next fundraiser:

• Build an engaging auction that gives guests a reason to participate.
• Offer experiences for different interests to broaden your auction’s appeal.
• Keep the mission front and center by connecting fundraising back to the people you serve.

An auction experience can capture attention long before the bidding begins.

Ben’s Bright Horizons incorporated travel experiences into its event promotion ahead of time, giving supporters an opportunity to discover the offerings before they arrived. 

As Carol Stratford, Vice President, explained, “We included travel experiences in our event promotion before the auction and presented them as part of the live auction, where guests could hear what made each trip special.”

This early exposure helped make the experiences part of the event’s story rather than simply another item introduced on auction night.

To support this kind of early promotion, LuxGive provides ready-to-use marketing materials that help nonprofits showcase their travel experiences and build interest before the big night.

A takeaway for your next event: 

Build anticipation before auction night by featuring travel experiences in your event promotions and on social media. LuxGive’s marketing materials make it easy to showcase packages and spark interest early.

One guest dreams of a Mediterranean escape. Another would jump at the chance to experience the Kentucky Derby. A varied auction lineup gives more guests the opportunity to find something that speaks to them.

“Travel experiences gave us the opportunity to offer distinctive live auction items that would appeal to different guests,” Carol explained.

Ben’s Bright Horizons put this approach into practice by working with their LuxGive Fundraising Consultant to select a mix of travel experiences suited to its guests.

The lineup featured three distinct offerings:

• Coastal Croatia — 4 packages sold: An escape inspired by the Adriatic coastline, with seaside scenery and historic coastal towns.

• Timeless Tuscany — 3 packages sold: A getaway inspired by the Tuscan countryside, with rolling hills and charming Italian towns.

• Kentucky Derby — 1 package sold: A distinctive sporting experience that brought a different kind of excitement to the lineup.

Together, the eight packages generated $16,810 for Ben’s Bright Horizons.

Travel consignment creates an opportunity for multiple sales: when several bidders are willing to pay the same winning bid price for an experience, an auctioneer can offer it to multiple bidders, generating additional funds from a single experience.

It can help nonprofits expand their auction offerings beyond locally donated items, while providing greater clarity around proceeds. As Carol explained, “The consignment model also let us include experiences beyond those we could source through local donations, while knowing the amount our foundation would receive from a successful sale.”

A takeaway for your next event: 

Curate a mix of experiences that appeal to different interests, and consider selling multiples when bidder demand and the auction format make it a fit. Both approaches can create more opportunities to raise funds for your mission.

An exciting auction item can capture attention, but the mission gives guests a reason to connect their bids to something bigger.

For Ben’s Bright Horizons, that meant keeping the young adults it serves in focus throughout the evening. As Carol Stratford, Vice President, shared, “Connecting each bid back to the young adults our foundation serves was an important part of the evening.”

For other nonprofits, making that connection explicit can help guests understand the people and programs their bids support.

A takeaway for your next event: 

Bring your mission into the room. Share the personal stories behind your work, remind guests who benefits from their generosity, and give them a glimpse of the impact they can help create. When supporters feel connected to the cause, every bid becomes part of a story that reaches far beyond auction night.

Ben’s Bright Horizons shows how thoughtful auction planning can help bring a mission to life.

Travel experiences gave the organization another way to engage guests and expand its auction offerings. 

“LuxGive helped us add appealing travel experiences to our live auction and broaden the range of items we could offer,” shared Carol.

Of the $125,000 raised during the silent auction, $16,810 came from LuxGive travel packages. These funds will help make the organization’s six-day program more accessible to young adults ages 18–25 through scholarships and financial assistance as they navigate mental health challenges.

By building anticipation before the event, offering experiences for different interests, and keeping the young adults it serves at the heart of the evening, Ben’s Bright Horizons brought its community together around a shared purpose.

Ben’s Bright Horizons demonstrates how a few thoughtful decisions can strengthen the role travel experiences play in a fundraising event.

✅ Promote early. Introduce standout auction items before event day to build interest and anticipation.

✅ Make preparation easier. Use the promotional emails provided by LuxGive to showcase auction experiences and build interest before event night.

✅ Offer variety. Include experiences that appeal to different interests and give bidders more reasons to participate.

✅ Keep the mission visible. Connect the excitement of the auction to the people and programs that benefit from the funds raised.

Each strategy helps make travel experiences a more considered part of the fundraising plan, from the first promotional message to the final bid.

Ben’s Bright Horizons shows how thoughtful auction planning and a deeply personal mission can bring a community together to raise meaningful support for young adults’ mental health.

If you’re planning a gala, auction, or fundraising event, LuxGive can help you elevate your offering and unlock more revenue in the room through risk-free travel experiences designed to raise more, effortlessly.

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