How do nonprofits raise more without adding more strain to already stretched teams?
What a great way to extend last night’s celebration of an incredible nonprofit with a slew of Broadway stars; a new epsiode with a founder who’s doing exceptional work in the space!
On this episode of the Worthy for Thirty podcast, I sat down with Bobby Gibson, Co-founder of LuxGive, to unpack a model that is helping nonprofits turn luxury travel into a smarter fundraising engine. Bobby breaks down how LuxGive works as a no-risk, high-touch partner: nonprofits set a reserve price, keep everything above it, and only pay LuxGive through that reserve price if the experience sells.
A win-win for everyone!
“We think of ourselves as far more than just [some] sort of a fundraising platform or a travel business. Increasingly thinking of ourselves as an infrastructure layer.” - Bobby Gibson
What makes this conversation especially relevant for nonprofit leaders is that Bobby is not offering a generic fundraising pitch; rather, he is describing an infrastructure layer designed to make auctions streamlined and intuitive, more professional (hello, concierge service), and more effective. Bobby details how LuxGive helps nonprofits with curation, marketing collateral, a nonprofit portal, concierge-level service, and a consultative process that matches the right experience to the right audience. He also described one of the biggest epiphanies for partners: a single LuxGive destination experience can be sold multiple times, allowing nonprofits to monetize a broader slice of their audience than they could with a one-off donated item.
Think in experiences, not specific weeks.
The data is supportive.
The broader nonprofit landscape makes this approach timely. A 2025 NonProfit PRO report found that 77% of nonprofit professionals reported consistent or increased auction revenue, and 90% expected that trend to continue, signaling that auctions remain a durable fundraising channel worth optimizing. At the same time, donor-engagement research continues to show that trust, clear impact, and compelling experiences matter; Yale researchers found that framing a nonprofit as a source of solutions (like a consumer experience, making it frictionless) significantly increased intent to donate, and that trust-building, data-driven communication, and emotional connection all strengthen engagement.
LuxGive sits right at that overlap, helping nonprofits showcase an experience that feels premium to donors while generating meaningful revenue for mission-driven work. Psst, past non-profit guests, you’ll be hearing from me.
For nonprofit leaders, the takeaway is straightforward: this episode is worth your time if you want to rethink auctions as more than an annual event and see them as a strategic tool for revenue, donor excitement, and relationship-building. Or better yet, you’ve been reluctant to try auctions because you may think it doesn’t fit in your model. Bobby and team would like to tell you differently.
Bobby and his co-founders’ perspective is especially invaluable because they’re steeped in hospitality; having started and sold Travel Keys to Accor, which then turned into onefinestay before they turned their sights on the nonprofit world.
Any nonprofit leader I’ve spoken to has said raising money is #1 on their priority list. If your team is looking for new ways to raise more while creating better donor experiences and reducing operational friction, this conversation will give you a fresh lens on what’s possible.
