I have been asked about the auction being tax deductible.

Absolutely!

So get your clients and your companies to bid!! I told my clients about the auction and said "hey, can you hire me some help for when I get really stuck on something?" Even an hour of having someone like Kimberly Tripp take a look at their SQL Server setup would be invaluable!!

The PayPal account (acehaid@tides.org) that the winners send their $ to is a U.S. 501c3 non-profit. If you want to donate a lot of $ to them (regardless of your eBay bid or even if you win) you can even send a check or wire money.

More info is on this page www.acehaid.org.