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"I've got questions!
Why Isn't there a contact email address listed on this website?"

Note from Jenna: It must be frustrating not to find an email address to send questions to listed on our website. I apologize for that. For two and a half years, I had an email address listed, and I replied to thousands of emails from people like you. But, truth is, the volume just got to be too much. We have closed the email account that we used to use, but we have built up our areas of our business to compensate for this gap in customer service.

Hopefully, you can get your questions answered in one of three ways: 1. through the expanded content on our website and improved navigation, 2. from the FAQs below, or 3. by contacting the Soaring Adventures of America Call Center at (800) 762-7464. Our Call Center business hours are Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm Eastern Time. Most likely, you will talk to Roberta, Gail, Mary Jo, Dellie, Sophia or Frank. They are all terrific, and have been with Soaring Adventures of America for many years. Each of our representatives is very knowledgeable about our FundraisingRides.org services.

Below is a list of our Frequently Asked Questions. You can either scroll down the page or click on a specific question and jump to that answer.

Questions About the Live and Silent Auction Kit
Is the Balloon Ride refundable?
What should I use for a starting bid?
What if no one bids on the ride?
How many non-profit organizations have used the Live and Silent Auction Kit?
Why do I have to order the ticket within 21 days of the close of my auction?
Do I have to identify the location that the winning bidder will take their ride?
How long have FundraisingRides.org and Soaring Adventures of America been in business?

Questions About the Balloon Ride
How long do the winning bidders have to take their ride?
How do the winning bidders schedule their ride?
How far in advance does the winning bidder need to call and schedule their ride?
What if the winning bidder needs to cancel and re-schedule their ride?
Does the winning bidder have to take the ride himself, or can he give it as a gift?
How long is the balloon ride?
How frequently are the rides given and what times of day do they launch?
Where are the balloon ride locations?

Is the Balloon Ride refundable?
Yes. We have a full refund policy for 60 days from the purchase of the ticket.

What should I use for a starting bid?
Most people use our non-profit prices as the starting bids. That way, there is no risk you will lose money on the item. So, for the balloon ride for two people, the starting bid would be set at $240. For the balloon ride for four people, the starting bid would be set at $480.

What if no-one bids on the ride?
Then you do not have to purchase the balloon ride. We just hope that you will try our service another time!

How many non-profit organizations have used the Live and Silent Auction Kit?
As of December 2007, more than 10,000 balloon rides from FundraisingRides.org had been used as fundraising tools for non-profit organizations. We do have a lot of organizations who use our services for every auction they have. We don't have an exact number of organizations, but you can view a list of more than five hundred of them by visiting our 500 Participating Non-profit Organizations page.

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Why do I have to order the ticket within 21 days of the close of my auction?
We are sorry to be so definitive on the 21-day policy. Unfortunately, we had to enact this policy because many organizations auctioned off our rides and forgot to buy the tickets. We received hundreds of calls from winning bidders wanting to take their balloon rides, only to find out the non-profit organizations never purchased the tickets. It is embarrassing for us as well as the non-profit organization. We either had to put this policy into effect, or require pre-payment of the rides--which we did not want to do. We hope you understand our position on this. As long as you are on top of placing your order after your event, it should have no impact on using our Live and Silent Auction Kit.

Do I have to identify the location that the winning bidder will take their ride?
No. The winning bidder--or whomever the winning bidder gives the balloon ride to--can take their ride at any of the 150 Soaring Adventures of America locations around the country. A complete list of the locations with the pilots' names and scheduling phone numbers comes with the balloon ride.

How long have FundraisingRides.org and Soaring Adventures of America been in business?
FundraisingRides.org is the division of Soaring Adventures of America, Inc. that is dedicated to providing non-profit organizations with fundraising opportunities. A family business founded in 1980, Soaring Adventures is America’s largest and most-trusted provider of recreational aviation rides.

In 2002, The founder’s daughter, Jenna Wilkinson Roche, created FundraisingRides.org to formalize its support of non-profit organizations nationwide, and provide convenient and widespread distribution of its Hot Air Balloon Ride Tickets for use in live and silent auction fundraisers. Today, the FundraisingRides.org Live and Silent Auction Kit is used by hundreds of non-profit groups annually—raising thousands of dollars for worthy causes.

How long do the winning bidders have to take their ride?
The balloon rides can be taken any time through November 1, 2009.

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How do the winning bidders schedule their ride?
The balloon ride ticket comes with a list of the 150 balloon pilots' names and scheduling phone numbers.

How far in advance does the winning bidder need to call and schedule their ride?
We recommend that the winning bidder calls the pilot three weeks before they would like to take their ride.

What if the winning bidder needs to cancel and re-schedule their ride?
No problem. The winning bidder just needs to call the pilot 72 hours in advance of their scheduled ride so that he/she has time to fill their spot. The winning bidder can then call that pilot or any other pilot on the list to schedule their ride on a future date.

Does the winning bidder have to take the ride himself, or can he give it as a gift?
The tickets are fully transferable. About half of the tickets are actually bid on as gifts for a family member or friend. They make terrific holiday gifts!

How long is the balloon ride?
You are in the air for an hour. The whole experience including the inflation of the balloon and the soft drink/champagne toast at the conclusion of the flight takes about 3 hours.

How frequently are the rides given, and what times of day do they launch?
The flights are twice daily at sunrise and sunset. The balloons fly seven days a week, weather permitting. For areas of the country that have a very cold winter, the season typically runs from April 1st through November 1st.

Where are the balloon ride locations?
The rides launch from 150 locations around the country. You can see a list of locations by clicking through to our Ride Locations page.

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You can contact us at 1-800-762-7464, Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm EST. For more information on Soaring Adventures, visit www.800soaring.com. Click here for validation of Soaring Adventures of America's participation in the Better Business Bureau's Online Reliability Program.