ReadySetAuction and DonorPerfect Help Timothy School Raise More Than $130,000
2017 is off to a good start for The Timothy School in Berwyn, thanks to the revenue that the school received from its November 2016 auction—the centerpiece of its 50th Anniversary gala celebration.
Gene Sirni serves as Director of Development for The Timothy School, Pennsylvania’s oldest nonprofit school dedicated exclusively to the education and development of children with autism. A DonorPerfect client since 2013, the School was one of the first to successfully use ReadySetAuction, DonorPerfect’s auction management platform, which proved to be a highly successful fundraiser. 200 guests attended the black-tie, formal dinner, and their spirited bidding helped net $133,000.00 in new revenues.
Both attendance and proceeds were up significantly from the school’s 2015 fundraiser, a more casual affair with pick-up appetizers and drinks, which attracted 110 people and netted $65,000.
Sirni believes that the addition of a Master of Ceremonies, who drew the guests’ attention to scrolling auction items and encouraged them to bid, helped to boost revenues.
“I also feel that the inherent peer-to-peer encouragement of an auction environment inspired our guests to engage in friendly bidding competitions, driving up the price of desirable items, as well as live, direct contributions through ReadySetAuction for our Teachers’ Wish List, which netted over $50,000 for school projects and classroom needs,” Sirni said.
Timothy School students were big beneficiaries of the auction proceeds, with the Wish List supporting vocational training supplies, computers, and funding for curriculum development.
Sirni used 501 Auctions to run prior events and was pleased with the product, but found the cost to be prohibitive. He was happy to discover that ReadySetAuction was competitively priced and could be used to run multiple events in a calendar year.
“We split the ReadySetAuction purchase price evenly between the fall gala and our spring golf outing,” said Sirni, who is particularly pleased that ReadySetAuction integrates seamlessly with DonorPerfect software.
The School used email pushes from DonorPerfect’s email marketing partner, Constant Contact, which is integrated with DonorPerfect, and direct mail to promote the event and drive traffic to the school’s website and to ReadySetAuction’s online auction pages.
Sirni explained that “We use Constant Contact for pushes to both existing constituents, as well as to new prospects. We do pushes to prospects to help them learn more about the school and make more informed decisions.” Sirni said that the school began promoting the gala and auction last June, with a Save the Date Reminder.
For more information about using ReadySetAuction as part of your organization’s fundraising campaign, visit or call 1-800-824-0490 to schedule a group demo.
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