Case Study: Sunset Cooperative Preschool
Posted by Roger Devine
In 2008, the Sunset Cooperative Preschool set out with an ambitious goal: double their fundraising from the previous year, from approximately $9,000 to $18,000. A new chair, a professional auctioneer, and Tofino were all brought in for the first time, to help the team organize and mount a more ambitious fundraising event than they had ever put on. By the end of the evening, the auction team had raised over $28,000 for the school.
What were you using to manage your auction before Tofino? Why did you switch?
2008 was Sunset Preschool’s first large auction. In years past we did not use software because the size of our auction did not need it. Because this year’s auction was larger in terms of guests, items, and volume we needed to replace our manual systems with software, in order for our small team to handle the bigger load.
Why do you prefer Tofino to other options?
We chose Tofino because the system was so user friendly. We had our entire fundraising team using Tofino which made entering users and items much more convenient. Also, there was an added benefit that was absolutely crucial in making this event happen - the Tofino support staff. This was my first experience with running an auction and using a web based system…the folks at Tofino were so very patient in consulting and helping me through this experience. Our event was a huge success and I give a lot of the credit for that to Tofino.
How did using Tofino change the way you manage your auction?
Tofino is still helping me manage the auction even months after the event! It helped track all sales, by user, donor, category, etc. When I receive calls to track sign-up parties I can pull the report and send it to the host (very easy). The system did everything. I can’t say it changed the way we managed our action because we did not manage it before. It taught us how a real auction should be managed.
Any tips or tricks for other customers?
An auction planner should choose Tofino over other options based on system, price, and people. Double check all your information has been entered correctly into Tofino before the event…it will go much smoother.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Tofino was a life saver for our auction, and I would recommend it to any organization looking to successfully execute an auction.
Nancy Freeman was the Auction Chair for the 2008 Sunset Cooperative Preschool auction.
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