Not Surprisingly Another Huge Haul for the Rotary Auction and Rummage Sale – Would You Believe Over $1 million, Again!

Ok, we’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In many ways, that old adage still applies to Bainbridge Island’s annual Rotary Auction and Rummage Sale. But one thing that can’t be denied is the amount of money this Mother of All Fundraisers makes over just a mere six-hour period!

The auction, more of a humongous garage sale than anything resembling something you might witness at Sotheby’s in Manhattan, just completed its 66th year, and hundreds of volunteers and Rotarians cheered at a celebratory picnic this past Sunday afternoon when the final tally was announced.

A dozen or so Rotarians, along with a handful of fanatical volunteers stood up in front of the assembled masses and held up yellow placards. When instructed to do so, they each turned over their signs to reveal a dollar sign, numbers, commas, or a period.

A hush went over the crowd as they took in the unveiling, and not long after there were shouts, clapping and whistling as everyone began to figure out the number in front of them: $1,021,366.03. Wow. It was another record haul for the Rotary Club, beating last year’s record total of just over a $1 million by $2,647.28. The final number is a gross revenue figure and doesn’t include the cost of putting on this signature island event.

“One hundred percent of net proceeds will be distributed in the form of grants, scholarships, and public projects,” said Carol Reitz, the auction’s volunteer manager. “We could not be more humbled or grateful for the tremendous effort and support of this community.”

Most islanders know, or soon find out after moving here, that the auction is a truly unique event, with 12 months of preparation, followed by a week or so of donation collection and sorting, as some 150,000 items (mostly from Bainbridge Islanders) are distributed among some 36 departments.

On the big day – this year July 11, 2026 – some 7,000 to 8,000 people streamed through Woodward Middle School and bought treasurers that sometimes end up back at the Rotary Auction the following year. The money is used to support local non-profits, and local causes as well as the Rotary Club’s international programs.

Reitz, a former auction chair, shared some pretty amazing statistics. There were 2500 volunteers signed up to work during the donation and sale portions of the event. “There were new volunteers who showed up every single day and that is a testament to what a worthwhile (opportunity) is.”

Other interesting tidbits:

• A handful of local and area non-profits were responsible for starting the massive cleanup of the site after the auction officially ended at 2 p.m. on July 11. They included: Boy Scout Troop 1496, BHS cheer, Woodward Cross Country, BI Ultimate Peaceful Morning Farm, The Rock, BHS Tennis, Model UN, BHS Gymnastics, BI Girls Swim and Dive, BHS Cross Country, and numerous individuals.
• Registered Harvesters were invited to come and take any unsold goods – for free. Over 70 registered non-profits participated.
• Saturday to Sunday morning. Goodwill loaded and took multiple truckloads of remaining goods off the site. They also took truckloads of goods during the week. In addition, there was a specialized harvester who took loads of rejected clothing from Bulk Clothing during the week.
• 11 pm Saturday to 8 am Sunday. The gates were reopened, and the public was invited to take any of the unsold items, which by that time had all been moved to the parking lots and fields. Volunteers, who were still trying to catch up on sleep, supervised the process by helping the “gleaners” load their vehicles, welcomed them and help protect Rotary property.
• Rotarians and other volunteers came to the school for final organizing, cleaning and sorting to allow the crushers and recycling trucks from Bainbridge Disposal to come and dispose of any remaining unsold goods, garbage, and collect cardboard, and metal.
• The City of Bainbridge Island sent their street sweeper to do a final sweep of the paved surfaces during this past week.

Other Fun Facts

• 30 dozen donuts fed volunteers on sale day – only 1 lone donut remained
• Social media (Facebook, Instagram) received over 1,000,000 hits/views during the week
• Over 1,000 new volunteers were registered for a grand total of over 2,500 volunteers
• Volunteers came from 20 different states and throughout the Puget Sound and parts of Eastern Washington
• A woman traveled from Forks, WA to shop because she saw the Facebook posts
• On sale day, Miguel from one of the Bainbridge Island restaurants served over 800 burritos
• There were 45 extra-large pizzas served to the cleanup crews on Saturday evening
• Food service provided lunch to as many as 800-1,000 volunteers each day
• The tech team reported:
  • At peak sale time of customers on campus, the public Wi-Fi was hosting over 4,000 simultaneous users. Ouch! (Yes, that’s a bunch)
  • For credit cards: Last year there were 45 credit card cashiers. This year there were 195 credit card cashiers!

To learn more about the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island and the Auction and Rummage Sale, visit: https://www.bainbridgerotaryauction.org/

Photos courtesy of the Rotary Club

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