By Drake Lucas
Staff writer
April 07, 2008 06:00 am
NORTH ANDOVER — Kate Turk has ideas for what she wants to bid on at the auction for St. Michael where her grandchildren go to school — books for the classroom, a school uniform for one of her grandchildren, maybe a fishing trip for her husband and son.
The catch?
Turk lives outside of Chicago and her grandchildren's school is in North Andover.
The school's Parent-Teacher Organization is making it easier for faraway relatives like the Turks to participate in fundraisers by moving their annual auction online. Anyone with a computer can bid on Red Sox tickets, autographed Bruins pictures and dining room furniture.
"It's fun to be able to feel like we are there and doing something for the school even though we don't live close," Turk said.
Items range from gift certificates to a local orthodontist and gym to vacation condo rentals. Turk said a golf package would be a good way for her husband and son to spend a day on the Turks' next visit to North Andover.
PTO President Tricia Hekmatpour said putting the auction online allows the school to reach a broader audience, raising more money and allowing new donors to jump on board.
"Most importantly, it's a way to get beyond our community. We feel like we are constantly tapping our own St. Michael community for donations," she said.
The online auction is one example of many schools looking to technology to help bolster sales for their school fundraisers. At Atkinson Academy in New Hampshire, the Parent-Teacher Association put a new twist on students going door-to-door to sell catalog items by also putting the catalog online for their fall fundraiser. Items were shipped directly to those who ordered online, making work easier for the fundraiser organizers.
Atkinson PTA President Carolyn Longchamp said only a handful of items were ordered online this first year — about 20 out of 1,500 items that were ordered. She said next year she plans to do more promotions about the online aspect of the fundraiser.
"I can only imagine it is going to get bigger," she said.
For the online auction at St. Michael, word spread fast. The PTO has a budget of $7,000. In the first three days of the online auction, bidders pledged over $5,000.
Last year's auction for the school raised $19,000, but one of the big-ticket items was a car. A car is not being offered this time, but Hekmatpour said they still hope to raise well over the $7,000 budget.
Mike McInnis, vice president of marketing at cMarket, which runs the auction, said the average auction makes around $18,000 for the school or organization running it.
McInnis, who is also the parent of three students at St. Michael, said since the company started in 2003, it has run over 3,500 online auctions for organizations across the country, including schools and other nonprofit organizations.
Sandy Bosco, PTO marketing chairwoman, said one of the reasons the school is trying the online auction is to raise the bids for items.
Bosco said that last year, some auction items went for much less than they should have because they didn't interest the St. Michael community. One example was a NASCAR package that included two premium box seats at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and a private helicopter ride to the track from a nearby airport. The package was valued at $4,000, but only went for $800.
Bosco said that could have raised a lot more money for the school if more people had been able to bid on it. That prize isn't available this year, but tickets to the Bruins, Red Sox and preseason Patriots games are.
Bosco said another benefit to the online auction is that bidding will happen outside of the actual fundraiser event at Salvatore's in Lawrence on April 12.
"What we like to give parents is a fun night out," Bosco said. "The auction itself cut into the fun. Every time the dancing got started, we had to break in to auction off another item."
To help out St. Michael:
Bidding is open for items on sms-auction.cmarket.com through April 11.
Items available are:
Two Premium Club level seats and a preferred parking pass for the Bruce Springsteen concert on Aug. 2
Value: Priceless
Three nights at a condo in Sugarbush
Value: $900
Dinner for eight with the Parish Priests
Value: Priceless
Two weeks at Palaestra Gymnastics Summer Camp
Value: $250
Mini hockey helmet signed by Ray Bourque
Value: Priceless
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