The Viewpoint School

The Viewpoint School wanted to add another element to an already prominent fundraising event. They ran their first online auction with cMarket to enhance their live gala evening and raised over $141,000 for their school's programs and student services.

As an independent preparatory school in Calabasas CA, Viewpoint offers a challenging curriculum in a nurturing environment for students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade. They hold an Annual Benefit to raise money for school enhancements and new student resources. In the past, Viewpoint had run silent auctions as part of their yearly fundraising program. However, the school wanted to increase participation and take their development campaigns to the next level. They opted to replace their silent auction with cMarket's online auction. By doing this, Viewpoint gave alumni and members of their community a chance to support the school even if they could not attend the actual event - by bidding directly online. Subsequently, they enjoyed greater revenue from their fundraiser, and an even more successful benefit overall.

The "Stars Over Viewpoint" auction offered over 250 items for constituents to bid on. The school came up with creative category names such as "Trendy Tickets" and "Fun / Foods" to attract attention to their catalog. They took every opportunity to put their own personal touches on the auction site pages. Their diverse catalog featured highly desirable items such as tickets to sporting events, family vacations, exotic getaways and entertainment options. Plus, Viewpoint offered unique items relating directly to the school and their community. One of their more popular categories, "Viewpoint's Own", offered the chance to have lunch, a picnic, or dinner with members of the teaching staff, as well as the chance to be "Headmaster for a Day".

The Viewpoint School was also able to benefit from cMarket's email communications tool. They promoted their fundraiser by sending email messages to their supporters through the Auction Manager. They were able to advertise their events, give periodic updates on the progress of their fundraiser, spotlight items and thank their supporters for their bids and participation.

The school took a chance by changing their program and bringing their auction online. As a result, their initial online auction complemented their event and gave Viewpoint the chance to raise even more money from their annual benefit auctions.