Bradfield Elementary School

Bradfield Elementary School is proof that a little creativity and a lot of community support can go a long way. By placing their silent auction online, Bradfield appealed to a wider audience, increased participation and generated over 3,500 bids in their school’s fundraising auction.

In order to present such a diverse catalog of items to bidders, Bradfield tapped into the local business community for contributions – resulting in several hundred donations. Their auction featured everything from health and beauty items, gifts for the home, certificates to restaurants and fine dining options, tickets to sporting events, entertainment and more. No donation went overlooked and the school was able to capitalize from just about every auction item acquired.

In addition to the donations they collected, the school created their own categories filled with Bradfield originals such as the opportunity to be a teacher for a day. One of the most popular categories in the auction, “Teacher Treasures”, raised $17,411 for the school. It offered students the chance to spend time with favored staff outside of the classroom, from an afternoon at the movies or the theater, to ice-cream socials; plus the opportunity to throw a girls’ pajama party at Bradfield – an item that raised $2,650 for their fundraiser.

Bradfield’s ingenuity and outreach paid off. Their first cMarket online auction raised $99,981 for the school’s programs, services and student activities. They were able to enhance their live auction event by giving the community a chance to preview their catalog online - generating excitement and anticipation for their in-room auction. Bradfield was also able to expand their reach and attract more support by offering the chance to bid online, and their cMarket auction became one of the most successful fundraising programs for the school to date.