2026 Destinations of New York State Scholarship Auction

Live bidding at the 2025 Scholarship Auction in Canandaigua, New York

April 23, 2026 | Utica, NY | Donate Now

The Destinations of New York State Scholarship Auction is an annual event dedicated to raising funds for the Destinations of New York State Scholarship Fund, supporting the next generation of tourism professionals. Each year, NYSTIA awards five (5) $2,000 scholarships to exceptional New York State college students within the tourism, hospitality and culinary fields.

Last year’s auction at the Hotel Canandaigua raised approximately $26,000 and an additional $3,000 in cash donations at the event. With your support by donating an item or directly contributing to the fund, we will expand this program and invest in the next generation of industry leaders.

Thank you for your support! - NYSTIA Scholarship Auction Committee. About the Scholarship Auction Committee

What and How to Donate:

Cash donations: We will soon be providing a link for you to make cash donations to the Scholarship Fund. Please check back regularly for updates.

Donation Items: For the Scholarship Auction event held on Thursday, April 23 at the 2026 NYS Tourism Conference, we are seeking item donations from destinations, attractions, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment providers. Contributors are welcome to donate individual items and/or combine items to create special packages. There is no limit to what and how many items you can contribute.

Scroll down to donate or donate here.

Examples of donation items may include:

  • Overnight stays
  • Attraction entry tickets
  • Dinner vouchers
  • Locally-curated gift baskets
  • Hotel overnight stays
  • Tour experiences
  • Bundled multi-item packages such as full-getaway packages, season passes, multi-destination/attraction offerings, and more
  • Other (art donations, electronics, visa gift cards, etc.)

Note: Items may be thoughtfully combined with other contributions to create attractive, comprehensive packages. (Ex. A dinner voucher at a restaurant may be combined with a nearby museum entry ticket)

Important Dates:

Donation Deadline: All donated items must be submitted via the form below no later than March 1, 2026

Auction Date: Your contributions will be auctioned live on April 23, 2026 with all proceeds benefiting the Destinations of New York State Travel Scholarship Fund. 

Donate Below:

*Important: The user session time is limited and there is no option to save your progress and come back later.

Donor Information:
we will use this to communicate with you
Donation Item:

All information provided below will be included when promoting your item. Please be as accurate as possible. 

If multiple, please list.
Does your item need to be redeemed? *
If possible, we request auction items be redeemable through April 23, 2027. If no expiration date, please write N/A.
This will be included in promoting your item, so please be as detailed as possible. Ex.) included meals, vouchers, transportation, ticketed entry to attractions, etc.
Ex. Subject to availability, blackout dates apply, no weekends or holidays, must be 21+ to rent, no more than X# of people, advance reservations required, etc.
Required: Physical Item

It is important that successful bidders receive a physical item upon purchase. All donations must include a tangible item that can be redeemed at the auction, such as a gift basket, certificate, flyer, or contact information for redemption.

Examples include: Gift basket, certificate, contact information to redeem, flyer, etc. 

My physical item(s) will be:
Please choose an option: *

The physical item will be brought to the Conference by:

Full name of the person delivering the item and their organization
Please note that we are not liable for lost/stolen items.
How the physical item will be printed *
File size must be less than 5 MB to be uploaded here.
Please be as detailed as possible (who, what, where, when, and how)
Donation Visuals

Please share a logo and photo of the donated item/package to be used when promoting your donation.

Logo: *
If your file size is larger than 5MB, please provide a file sharing link.
ie: Dropbox, Google Drive
Photo: *
If your file size is larger than 5MB, please provide a file sharing link.
ie: Dropbox, Google Drive
Ex. A dinner voucher at a restaurant may be combined with a nearby museum entry ticket.