Successful TV Auction Funds Rotary Projects

Posted by Bryan Kelly 
 
Dan McGrath and John Anderson lead our Club to another successful fund raiser. Almost $27,000 was raised by Ladner and Tsawwassen Rotarians during the 17th Annual Rotary TV Auction on Delta Cable TV 4 held Saturday, November 3rd. The donated 147 items had a retail value over $50,000 so some outstanding values were realized by successful bidders. The 12 most valuable items were segregated into the Diamond Lot and for the first time were listed on-line with Go Bid (www.gobid.ca). By the time the TV Auction opened for telephone bids the on-line bids already exceeded $5,000 to start the day.

When the telephone lines were opened bids flowed and the dozens of volunteers were kept busy by the broad community support. Once the last item was sold a total of $26,867 was raised from items with a retail value of just over $50,000 yielding a return of just over 53%. The most extreme bargain was the most valuable item, worth $8,900, that went for only $300! This testifies to the need for better promotion to broaden the community support and understanding so more value is realized from the generous contributions.

 

The website traffic spiked pushing the server to capacity several times.

 

Lessons learned suggest exploring on-line options for greater opportunities and developing superior promotion.

 

All the member of the  Rotary Club of Tsawwassen thank Dan and John for their tremendous contribution, weeks of hard work, superior management and many improvements to this important fund raiser.

 

To see a photo essay of the Rotary Auction click HERE. When the on-line photo page opens click on 'Slideshow' and enjoy the show.