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This or That?
July 26, 2016Some of the Destinations of Excellence® in the Mitch-Stuart catalog are synonymous with an interest, an attraction or even a climate. Oenophiles know to go to Napa Valley or on one of our adventures in France. Want beaches? That’s why we’ve got trips and cruises that go throughout the Caribbean. But sometimes, a traveling pair may differ on what each wants. Cityscapes or nature? Warm weather or sweaters and fireplaces?
For those donors who can’t decide on the type of vacation they want, we can still help. Many of our charity fundraising auction travel packages appeal to not just different interests, but even direct opposite ones. If you’ve got supporters who don’t know what they want to do, but do know that they want to get out of town, one of these trips could raise big bids. Do your donors want… Nature or Luxury?: For some, vacation perfection is a tent, a campfire and s’mores. For others, it’s infinity pools and relaxing spa treatments. The island of Praslin in Seychelles combines both with Raffles and its 86 villas, restaurants featuring cuisine ranging from Creole to sushi, beachside spa and two infinity pools staring down the Indian Ocean. Beyond the resort, there are ample chances to explore nature, with hiking, ziplining and even rock climbing available in the nearby forests. Hot or Cool?: Summers in Telluride, Colorado feature a little something for everyone in terms of climate. The average high temperature in the city in the month of July almost hits 80 degrees, warm enough for t-shirts and shorts while hiking or mountain biking through the Rocky Mountains. In the evening, though, bring a coat: The average low temperature dips hovers around 40 degrees, which is great bonfire weather. For those who like either sunscreen or sweaters, summertime in Colorado is perfect – and with golf courses and private outdoor hot tubs, our “Colorado at Its Absolute Best” trip will let your donors experience both. Fast-Paced or Relaxed?: Southern California has a little something for everyone. Visitors can even ski in the morning and watch the sunset over the beach in the evening, if they like. But with the opening of the city’s newest light rail line, Los Angeles has made it easier than ever to go from the bustling atmosphere of Hollywood or the hip downtown district to the laid-back, beachside vibes of Santa Monica or Venice. If your donors want to see the sights of the City of Angels while also getting in a surf session in the morning or a beachside picnic dinner in the evening, this might be the best time to do so. |
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Geek Out On the Road
July 20, 2016Tonight, thousands of costume-clad fans of pop culture will flood the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con, the largest gathering of fans of comic books and comic-adjacent entertainment in the country. Between July 20 and 24, more than 130,000 attendees will look for rare issues of comics, watch new trailers for forthcoming movies and flood the restaurants and bars of the host city’s lively Gaslamp District.
Your donors may not be into cosplay (dressing up like favorite fictional characters), or willing to stand in long, snaking lines for free posters, but we guarantee – they’re something that they’re equally as “geeky” about. And whether it’s a genre of music, a type of wine or even cooking from world-famous chefs, Mitch-Stuart quite likely has a non-profit fundraising auction trip that can send your donors to the home base of any passion. Music lovers can be incredibly dedicated to their favorite genres, and some cities are inexorably tied to the styles of song that have made a home within city limits. Two in particular stand out at great destinations for great tunes: Nashville is, in many ways, the spiritual home of country music, and with either of our travel packages that can take your supporters to the Country Music Awards, donors can rub elbows with the shining lights of the genre as well. A few miles south, jazz music is such a part of the blood of New Orleans that its jazz festival is one of the world’s greatest. Go to any bar around town, and a combo is likely to be playing in one corner. Or better, let your jazz-obsessed winner go to Preservation Hall, dedicated to preserving the city’s musical heritage (and home of the world-renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band). Some call themselves oenophiles. Others are fine with “winos.” Whether fancy or simple, wine lovers are motivated to travel to taste their favorite varietals. A quick word search of our catalog reveals more than 30 different trips that involve the spirit in one way or another. Your supporters can tour wineries closer to home, in Napa Valley or the Williamette Valley of Oregon. If they want to go bigger: How about adventures to Italy, Spain or France? There are chances for wine fans to fly all around the world in search of that perfect label, that rare bottle or just the opportunity to geek out with fellow connoisseurs. Of course, those destinations are already on the lips of fans of music or wine. But did you know that one of the biggest gathering of chefs and wineries each year AND the one of the biggest art shows take place in the same city? And that it’s not New York or Los Angeles? Each year, thousands of foodies and art fans flock to Miami for (during different weeks, of course) a chance to surround themselves with like-minded aficionados at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival and Art Basel Miami Beach, both in the sunny city of Miami. The conventioneer website BizBash named each event the top in the country in their respective categories, meaning that, besides the world-class entertainment and gorgeous beaches, there’s yet another reason that a supporter might want to take the chance to support your cause while also heading to Florida. |
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Healthy Habits as Travel Souvenirs
July 13, 2016Whether it is postcards, that perfect sea shell or even a snow globe for a collector at home, trinkets from vacation always fill any leftover space in luggage when a traveler returns from a voyage. But not all souvenirs are physical; some globe-hoppers may come back with fascinating stories, others with a new affinity for a specific wine varietal. Some may even have figured out how to finally hit that untrustworthy pitching wedge (just kidding, of course – no one knows how to do that). But maybe best of all is when someone returns from time away with something healthy to add to their life – a new habit, perhaps, or a positive change in outlook.
At Mitch-Stuart, Inc., we believe that travel is inherently positive, whether it’s as healthy as a beachside yoga retreat or as gluttonous as a weekend in Sin City. But there are some habits that your donors can pick up on the road that can translate to a healthier lifestyle at home, and a vacation away from the stresses of the day-to-day life may be the perfect time to acquire those patterns. One healthy habit that can be picked up while on the road is also our first form of transportation – walking! Exploring a new destination on foot can be one of the most insightful ways of seeing what makes a city tick, along with being a way for travelers to find their own “hidden gems” – those corner cafés or small parks that don’t make the guidebooks. Spend a week walking around a dense, urban center like New York or London, and one may want to come home and spend more time discovering the lesser-known neighborhoods their own city has to offer. Of course, not all by-foot exploration needs to be urban. Some of our favorite trips give donors a chance to go hiking in some of the world’s most beautiful destinations. Getting out and seeing the sights of the Rocky Mountains in Aspen, or the wilderness of Jackson Hole, may be the catalyst a donor needs to conquer that hike closer to home, and get a good workout in at the same time. American take-out food consumption has risen dramatically over the past few decades, as has obesity rates. Correlation doesn’t prove causation, of course, but the added ingredients in a lot of the fast food we consume certainly don’t make us healthier. If you want to start a new habit of eating better food, you can go on the road to a few different cities for inspiration. One trip to take may be to San Francisco, where chef and food activist Alice Waters opened her first restaurant, Chez Panisse, in 1971. In doing so, she sought out organic foods to serve, long before “farm-to-table” was a buzzword, and her restaurant continues in that tradition to this day. For those who want to have control over a meal’s ingredients by learning how to cook it themselves, several of our trips to Italy, France and even New Orleans feature cooking lessons, as well. We’ve spent some time recently extolling the virtues of stress relief while on the road, but it’s important enough to mention again: Traveling doesn’t have to be a tension-accumulator. Thankfully, many of our trips include treatments at resort spas, like those at the all-inclusive Palace Resorts in Mexico, several trips to Florida and even some adventures in California’s wine country (combine a massage with a glass of wine for full relaxation). |
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Travel in a Time of Brexit
July 06, 2016The news of Great Britain leaving the E.U., known as “Brexit,” has left the world in shock. The vote sent waves through every international market, and while stocks have mostly evened out – and in some cases gained back the losses they suffered – one important economic marker has yet to fully recover.
The American dollar has not been as strong against the British pound in recent memory, with one pound now fetching around $1.33 US. This is in comparison to around $1.46 in the run-up to the Brexit vote, and more than $2 per pound in October of 2007.
Mitch-Stuart’s fundraising auction travel packages can take your supporters to Destinations of Excellence around the world, but there may be no better time than now to offer your donors a chance to head to London, where the dollar currently goes further than it almost ever has before. How does this translate on the ground? Your auction winner can:
Catch a game: The Premier League is one of the world’s most popular sports associations, with soccer fans around the globe tuning in on a weekly basis to watch teams like Manchester City, Liverpool and 2015-16 champion Leicester City. The drop in the pound also means that ticket prices have fallen, as well; Arsenal’s league-topping cost of 97 pounds on average for a single match ticket now comes in at just under $130, as opposed to almost $142, while Leicester’s 22 pounds price – sure to go up after winning last season’s title – has fallen from $32 to under $30, a steal for championship-caliber soccer anywhere.
See a show: London’s West End is a favorite destination for theater-lovers from around the world, a close second maybe to only Broadway for the peak of the art form. Accordingly, admission prices are higher here than in most theater districts around the world; an average high-end ticket cost almost 100 pounds in 2014. The current dip translates to a $13 dip – enough for a post-show pint at a nearby pub after the show.
Grab a meal: The English capital city has some of the world’s most inventive chefs working, but getting a table at Sketch or The Grill at The Dorchester may cause a bit of sticker shock. Those prices are a little less shocking now, though; The Grill’s summer prix fixe menu gets a small haircut (now under $75), while the Michelin-starred Sketch can now come in under triple digits.
There’s never really a bad time to help a donor visit London, but there’s almost never been a time during which the dollar has gone further than today. Want to set up your supporters with a chance to visit the United Kingdom? Reach out to one of our Travel Experts!
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