Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Does your school hold an auction to raise funds? If not you might one to consider it. Many private schools, and even some public schools, hold dinner/auction nights to raise funds. It’s a fun way for parents to support the school, socialize and even go home with some great prizes.

Schools can have a live auction, silent auction, online auction or any combination of all of them. When there is more than one type of auction going on you are more able to reach out to everyone’s interest and price levels.

Have some really high priced, premium items in the live auction. Big vacation packages, a motorcycle or gourmet dinner party are all good ideas for a live auction. Ticket packages for professional sports teams are also great auction items. Even if it’s not a super high priced item, if it will bring in lots of excitement and bids, put it in a live auction.

A silent auction can provide a way to offer many different auction items. The auction items can be valued anywhere from $20 to $500 or even more. With so many auction items, there can be something for everyone. From sports, to kids, gourmet foods, gift baskets, and many other interests can be included in the silent auctions.

Online auctions can happen during the same dinner/auction night or be held over a 1-3 week period. Online auctions are very popular and many parents are already buying items online on eBay. So why not have an online auction for the school?

Auctions can be a fun, great way to raise funds. Consider all of the different auction formats available and how they can fit into your school’s fundraising plans.

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The Frankfort Christian Academy is using eBay to raise much needed funds for tuition assistance for their students. In return, they help people clear out additional clutter that is in their homes and garages.

Parents asked a number of times over the years if the school would be interested in using eBay for fund-raising purposes. Headmaster Robert Roach spoke with Rob Catron, a full-time eBay seller who attends their church and asked him he he would assist the school with their eBay plan. Catron agreed to help and created a fund-raising plan that was approved of by the school.

“The goal is to have the school not have to do anything,” Catron said. Catron states that computer parts and antiques are probably some of the most popular items at the school’s eBay site. The school accepts a wide variety of items. “We sell generally anything someone has that they think a group of people would be interested in,” Catron said.

Source: The State Journal

The school has created a drop-off system for donations. Anyone can bring a donation for the eBay project during the official drop-off hours to the school. The school gives receipts for charitable donations for a person’s taxes.

Headmaster Roach hopes that the school’s eBay plan will expand beyond the school to reach the entire community. He knows churches that use eBay to raise funds, but has not heard of many schools that use it. One of the things Roach likes about eBay is it is another way to “get the name of the school out” and get some publicity.

The school’s goal is to use eBay to raise $63,000 for the 2007-2008 school year. This will assist between 15 to 20 families with tuition costs. Tuition for the school costs $4,300 each year. Many families have more than one student enrolled.

As a eBay seller, the school is getting a lot of favorable feedback and many in the community have commented positively about the school’s efforts. They are very pleased with their project and hope to continue for quite some time.

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