With all of the news of school budget cuts and teacher layoffs across the country, I think it’s equally newsworthy that hundreds of schools have raised $16 million through online auction fundraising in the past 4 years. What’s even more remarkable is that in just the last 4 months (March – June 2008), 390 schools in the US raised $6 million dollars by going online. That’s an average of $15,400 per online auction. Five schools made over $100,000, and 82 schools made over $20,000. (guess that 80/20 rule is true after all.) Anyway, the point is it took 4 years to raise $10 million, but only 4 months to rake in $6 million. At this rate, there’s clearly a lot more to learn from schools then just the ABCs.

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Auctions draw from discretionary household budgets vs. charitable giving- why they are so effective for schools and non-profits. In the current economic climate this means that some serious headwinds are building. Its not that folks wont bid- they just wont bid as much. In a survey we did 2 months ago 25% of charity bidders said they were pulling back.

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IMUS Radiothon 2008 featured several high end/rare items in their auction including Red Sox/Yankees tickets, autographed jerseys and high-end jewelry.

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Chronicle of Philanthropy Blogs on cMarket

The sluggish economy has dealt a blow to charity auctions, which aren’t raising as much money as they have in past years, according to a new survey by cMarket, an online-auction company.

Sixty-five percent of charities said the economy had an impact on their fund-raising event, while 66 percent said it had become more difficult to get donated items from local merchants. Twenty-nine percent reported lower attendance at this year’s event, while 20 percent said they’d had fewer bidders…

“We found that respondents were feeling the impact of the economy in many different ways,” said Timothy Matthews, senior analyst at cMarket, in a statement. “Even those whose auctions did well said they felt at least some softness, particularly on the supply side in terms of item donations and acquisitions.”

Please follow this link to read the rest of the blog and to share your comments.

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WXXI did an excellent job of following cMarket’s best practices and acquiring items to add value to their catalog. We also commend them for finding unique ways to promote their auction, showcasing a wide range of both high and low ticket items in order to appeal to a diverse range of bidders…

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Did you know you can post videos on your cMarket auction homepages?

While cMarket does not have full support for video files, there is a workaround utilizing the HTML capabilities of the Headline Text areas in homepages. Hard-coded HTML can be entered into these fields which, when viewed in a web browser, would display the video on your homepage.

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Angel’s Wish (http://angelswish.cmarket.com) is dedicated to reducing animal overpopulation, re-homing companion animals, and raising awareness of animal welfare issues in South Central Wisconsin.

Angel’s Wish has done an excellent job of promoting their online auction and acquiring auction items…

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Believe it or not, it’s never too early to start planning for your next online auction. The great news is: we affirm that your next event is will be easier – and better – than your first. Here’s why…
Aside from what you’ve learned by experience, consider the facts! The auction reports from your first [...]

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Rotary Club of Sacramento (http://bidsforkids2005.cmarket.com) has held this online auction to benefit the Sacramento Chinese Community Center’s After School Program which serves over 2000 children daily in the South Sacramento area in 16 programs, 14 languages, 5 days per week for 3 hours per day after school.

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