The Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale

The Bainbridge Island Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale has been a local institution for more than 60 years. The first sale, in 1960, raised $5,800 toward the construction of the public library. The sale is the club’s primary funding source.

Every summer, community members donate their no-longer-needed possessions, and hundreds of volunteers turn those donated items into dollars for good. From 2010-2023, thanks to our community’s generous support, we raised and invested over $4.2 million in our local, regional, and international communities. With every Auction, 100% of proceeds are returned to the community. The sale of these donated items makes a positive impact in the lives of real people in many ways, such as:

• Fund community grants to nonprofit organizations
• Build large community projects such as parks and sports fields
• Provide college scholarships to local students
• Fund international humanitarian projects such as drilling wells in Uganda and providing sanitation equipment in Guatemala

In addition to raising funds, the event is a major recycling project, with tons of merchandise finding new homes every year. We receive major support from the Bainbridge Island community – last year, 2,200 people volunteered to set up, prepare, and run the sale, more than 4,000 carloads of donations were dropped off by local residents, and several thousand people shopped the sale for treasures.