Donation Value ????

Hey there Brethren.....

I think this is the thread I should post this question on?

Here's the deal.... My wife and I are blessed to be able to send our kids to a private school here in Mooresville. Every year, the school has an auction as a fund raiser. In past years, I've donated my time as a "handyman" to be auctioned off. It's always kind of a hassle. I don't really have time for side jobs anymore, and so doing it for free (albeit for a good cause) stinks.

This year, I've decided to do something I truly enjoy anyway.......BBQ! I'm going to put in to be a "BBQ cook for a day". I'm offering to help plan the menu, select (and even order/pickup) the meats, prepare and cook the BBQ for their party/event. I have a few cookers, so I'm posting that as long as it'll fit on my cookers, I'll cook it. I'm even offering to cook sides, as long as they can be cooked outdoors on my grill(s).

First of all, they need to know an approximate value of the donation. This is so that they know where to start the bidding. I was thinking of putting $200, but I really don't have a clue. (again, this isn't something that'll really matter, but I'm all about accuracy)

Secondly.....any advice on this would be appreciated. Although I've become quite comfortable cooking just about anything at MY house on my smokers and grills, I've not ever really cooked for strangers at all before. I've cooked for my Cub Scout families at cookouts and we even cooked up 2 butts last summer for our annual campout. I've cooked many times for family and friends at my place. All have been met with rave reviews. But, as you all know, when your brother and his family, or a bunch of friends come over to drink beers and eat BBQ.....if they don't like it, I ain't all that concerned. But I really want this thing to go over well. I'm sure I'll be fine. I only plan on cooking what I'm comfortable with. I'll be OK with ribs, chicken (whole or parts), turkey (whole or breast), butts, etc. Steaks, burgers and hot dogs are a no brainer. I've not done brisket yet or whole hog or anything, so I won't be going there.



Anyway..... any help would be appreciated.


Thanks all!

ipls3355 said:

I think it would be easier to make the menu before the auction.

Example:
Auction BBQ for 20:
Pulled pork sandwiches
Baked Beans
Cole slaw
sweet tea

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Hmmmm....had not thought of that, but that's not a bad idea. One of my concerns was that if the meat they want requires an early am cook start time, that would be less than ideal. I've had butts take sometimes 16 hours to cook before (on the ECB). Haven't done them yet on the UDS, so I imagine that'll go quicker. I'd always planned on doing the cooking at their place, but I really don't like the idea of firing off the cooker and then leaving it overnight.

I guess if I dictated the menu (or at least a couple of options) I could better control that, huh.

Ribs would take less time than pulled pork, but could be more expensive for them.


I had always planned on ordering, picking up and prepping the meat, just having them pay for it.




Hmmmmmm......

Smoke & Beers said:

I've thought about doing this too...just haven't had the opportunity to.
I too think that you should have a fixed menu with max # of people to serve. I would supply the meat yourself, so you don't get stuck with a crappy piece of meat that they picked up on sale, or get some that has gone bad... (someone may decide to clean out their deep freeze and expect you to make miracles out of 3 a year old ham :shock
Maybe start out with an appetizer (Moinks, ABT's or Fattys are always good) then serve some pulled pork and some ribs if you are comfortable doing them...

Judge the value of what your costs will be plus labor... Do some research and see if anyone else has ever donated a meal like this and keep their price in mind too...don't want to under or over value your skills, but remember that while it is for charity, people will remember how good it is and you may get some paying gigs out of it...if that's something your interested in:mrgreen:

When I was in high school, we had a priest who taught at the prep school I attended who donated an Italian meal for 10 guests every year... he would come to your house and cook up 4 or 5 courses... It would fetch anywhere between $1200 to $1800 every year...and this was over 25 years ago..:shock:

Good luck and keep us posted!

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I wasn't thinking I'd have any costs, but then as I think about it, I wouldn't expect THEM to buy rubs, marinades, aluminum foil, etc.

When you say that I should supply the meat myself, I assume you mean that I should BUY the meat? Obviously, I'd include that in the value of the auction item, so the bidding would have to START at my estimated minimum cost.

I'm glad I posted this here......more to this thing than I thought.

Jacked UP BBQ said:

I have done this before for charity. The way I did it is sold it as a BBQ party for 20 people. Ribs and pulled pork with slaw and beans. Include all the forks napkins and what else you need. I valued the party at 25 pp 500 for the party. It sold for 750 dollars. I had an expiration date on it and the lady never booked it. It has been a year and never heard anything. I think this way is the cheap way out so you don't become a slave for the day running around and doing things you do not want to.

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Yeah, here's the thing.....
I didn't think about this when I posted, but the way the auction works is this: I donate an item to be auctioned off. At the day of the live auction, the "item" is displayed (or in this case, described) and folks bid on it. That's it. The school keeps the money.

So, if I buy the meats, other groceries, rubs, marinades, forks, spoons, napkins, etc., etc., etc....nobody pays me back for it. Now, I'm not just being a cheap arse here, but I just can't afford to put up that kind of dough. I'm just guessing from the hip here, but ribs for 20 people (say 10 racks of spares) and all the other goodies will cost be maybe, what.....$300? Minimum? Ain't gonna happen.

That's why I thought I'd make a stipulation that they buy all groceries involved. I thought that I'd work with them to prepare a menu based on what they liked (within the limits of my comfort level) and then if they didn't want to pay for ribs, they could buy shoulder, which is cheaper. I mean a 10 lb butt will feed more than 10 lbs of ribs, right? Plus it's cheaper by the pound. Also, I thought that after the menu was set, I'd go to the butcher and order the meats, they could pay for it and I'd pick it up prior to the cook for prep, etc. That way I can control the quality/shelf life of the meat.

Last thing I want to happen is to regret ever doing this when it's all said and done. I don't mind the inconvenience....that's my contribution to the school. I just don't want it to turn into a major pain in the arse. Plus, I don't want them to go ahead and pay, say $300 for this thing and THEN find out that the groceries are also gonna cost 'em another couple hundred. I mean....I know what stuff costs, but if you're gonna pay a guy to come and cook for you, then you likely don't have a clue, or you'd do it yourself....right?