New York City charity auctions are a lot of fun. Being an auctioneer, I get to see some very entertaining and unique ways to raise money for nonprofits and charities at fundraisers.

If you’re looking for a creative idea that will go viral, look at what the Bronx Zoo has been doing since 2011 to raise money for the Wildlife Conservation Society. This fundraiser always gets a ton of free press that everyone is “crawling all over”, not only in NYC but online, in newspapers, and on TV.  On Valentine’s Day, you can name one of the thousands of hissing cockroaches at New York’s Bronx Zoo. You are emailed a colorful certificate that you can give to that “special someone.”

Granted your charity might not have bugs to name (that’s probably a good thing), but what creative, out-of-the-box idea can your charity come up with that everyone is talking about.  There is always something that you can auction off or use to raise money.  Some examples might be name a tree or name a parking lot. What about naming each brick and park bench at your office? Find something fun and creative, and then get the media talking about it.