Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando

What could be better than running a successful online auction fundraiser? How about running 3 profitable auctions in the same year for the price of one! That’s just what the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando did. They took full advantage of cMarket’s annual membership and ran three online auctions in 2007 that raised close to $40,000 for their JCC programs.

As the hub of Jewish life in Central Florida, the JCC of Greater Orlando relies on their fundraising campaigns to continue their social, cultural and fitness programs in the community, and to generate the means to expand their offerings. They provide educational and recreational activities for children and students of all ages, outlets for young professionals, health and wellness services, as well as senior enrichment groups and activities. The Center’s fundraising outreach is aimed at advancing their mission. As such, they turned to cMarket to help raise the necessary funds, run a complementary program that would maximize their live event and engage their community.

As the preferred online auction service for the national JCC, cMarket is recognized by the organization as a profitable way for their local chapters to raise money. The Greater Orlando chapter ran their first auction in the spring in conjunction with their “J Ball” fundraising event. They assembled a diverse auction catalog with close to 150 items including a 7 night vacation package to Banff and Lake Louse from cMarket Place, an item that raised $1,400 for the JCC.

They also used cMarket’s email tool to promote their auction. The JCC sent out 10 unique messages and informed their community of new items, items closing soon and ways constituents could show their support. At the close of the J Ball event, the Orlando chapter had raised $23,745 from their online auction.

Having benefited from the overwhelming success of their initial cMarket event, the JCC of Greater Orlando ran two other online auctions during their annual subscription period. They followed up with a second, smaller auction the following month that raised an additional $1,500, and ran another substantial auction in the fall. Their “J Ball Shipwrecked at Shingle Creek” auction event in November featured 135 items and raised over $13,500 for the chapter.

The JCC of Greater Orlando discovered how easy it is to integrate cMarket’s services into their fundraising programs. They benefited from three auctions for the price of one sign up fee. Their online auctions ran in conjunction with live events giving the JCC the opportunity to raise more money from their annual fundraising campaigns.