Why this package wins for nonprofits
Tuscany holds a special place in the American imagination—rolling vineyards, golden hills, and the kind of slow, sensory living that feels impossible at home. This package plants your winners right in Cortona, the medieval hilltop town immortalized in Under the Tuscan Sun, where they'll experience a cooking demonstration with tastings and a wine education session featuring four local varieties. That's not a generic European getaway; it's a chance to live one of the culture's most beloved narratives. For your auction, the Tuscan Escape works because it combines genuine Italian hospitality with experiences—the cooking class, the wine tasting—that create tangible, shareable memories. Six nights for four adults in a private apartment means the winning bidders aren't splitting hotel rooms; they're gathering around their own kitchen table. HGA handles all coordination at no upfront cost to your nonprofit. You set the reserve at $3,995, and every bid above that goes directly to your mission. That's the fundraising edge: a package with real emotional pull and zero financial risk.
The experience your winner walks into
Your winners arrive in Cortona and settle into their private two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment—a home base for six nights surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Early mornings offer sunrise views over the valleys; evenings, they watch the sun set across the vines. A cooking demonstration with tastings introduces them to the rhythms of Italian cuisine, hands-on and intimate. Then comes the wine education: a local wine tasting featuring four varieties grown in the region, a chance to understand the terroir that makes Tuscan wine distinctive. Between those structured moments, they explore the medieval town, wander the golden hills, sit at café tables, and move at the pace that Tuscany demands. HGA's white-glove concierge team coordinates every detail—restaurant reservations, local questions, any adjustments—so the only decisions your winners make are which sunset to watch and which wine to pour again.
What the winner receives
- 6 nights in private apartment in Cortona, Italy (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms)
- Cooking demonstration with tastings
- Wine education and tasting featuring four local wine varieties
- Concierge service and HGA travel coordination support
Sell the trip. Hand us the winner. You're done.
Send us the winner's name, email, and phone — we do the rest. Within 24 hours, a dedicated HGA booking specialist reaches out to your winner, and your team is officially done. No itineraries, no follow-up emails, no "did they ever book?" anxiety. Your nonprofit gets the credit; we do the work.
The only thing your team owes us is the winner's name, email, and phone. We submit the trip and contact them within 24 hours.
Every winner gets a real human at HGA — same name, same inbox, from first call to wheels-down.
No blackout dates. Winners have 24 months to lock their dates (not to travel — to book).
Our in-house booking and customer-service teams handle every detail. Your donors brag about the trip and the way your nonprofit treated them.
There is no cap on how many times you can put this trip in front of bidders — same night, next event, every year. Reserve it once, sell it again and again. You only ever pay the consignment cost on the trips that actually sell.