Celebrity Donation + eBay = Major Scratch for Charities

How much would you pay to hang in Howard Stern’s Sirius studio while he and his crew do one of their daily broadcasts? To buy a piano Elton John played on tour? To name a new species of monkey?

Charity auctions are nothing new, but as BusinessWeek notes, nonprofits are using online auctions to open up the fundraising to new audiences — and to garner far larger winning bids in the process. The auctions noted above, all conducted online, are among the most lucrative ever conducted. Technology has long been touted as a great way to do more with less. In this case, it would seem, the hype has been worth it. | 501(c)