Posted by Roger Devine
Wed, 21 May 2008 04:43:00 GMT
Roseway Heights is a new K-8 school in northeast Portland formed from the former Rose City Park Elementary and Gregory Heights Middle Schools. This year was Roseway Heights’s first auction, though we have had four previous auctions at Rose City Park. We use the proceeds from these auctions to provide funds for staff positions at our schools through the Portland Schools Foundation.
This is the first year we used Tofino. Our first year was manual (yow!) and after that we switched to Auction Pay. We switched from Auction Pay for several reasons, primarily technical:
(1) We had lots of new folks who wanted to help with the auction, and had lost some of our veteran technology people, so we had lost a lot of our institutional familiarity with Auction Pay.
(2) Team members who had seen Tofino felt that its user interface would be simpler to learn & use.
(3) We felt that its web-based architecture would be easier to use during the pre-auction procurement/data entry/catalog generation phase, when many folks are working from their various homes (compared to Auction Pay’s quasi-web-based data entry interface).
(4) We preferred a system that didn’t require Windows, both for philosophical reasons and practical (we had almost no Windows machines readily available to us for use on site during the auction).
(5) The prospect of saving money, especially in credit card processing fees, was certainly attractive as well.
(6) We like the story of Tofino: a local business run by fellow parent/auction volunteers!
Now, if Tofino was simply an easier to use Auction Pay that saves me money and doesn’t make me use Windows, I’d be pretty happy. But it gave us several other advantages as well. We were able to promote our auction catalog on line in the days leading up to the auction and that really helped generate interest. (In the future we’d like to take advantage of online auctions as well.) Tofino also has a much more flexible approach to the relationship between items, lots, and tables, and that spared us a lot of the tedious software manipulation that we were used to with AuctionPay. On the flip side, now that we’ve learned the software better, I think we’ll be able to approach it next year and use it more effectively, rather than always trying to map concepts to the way Auction Pay does things.
I’d also like to praise the user interface for the night of the auction - that whole part of the software is a real pleasure to use. And the folks in the company are a pleasure to work with and very
responsive!
Ted Slupesky was Technology Chair for the 2008 Roseway Heights auction.
Posted in Testimonials | Tags auction, school, testimonial
Posted by Roger Devine
Tue, 20 May 2008 04:34:00 GMT
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.
Posted in Case Studies | Tags auction, case, preschool, study
Posted by Roger Devine
Fri, 09 May 2008 18:35:00 GMT
" We are a small Montessori School in Corvallis with aroud 100 kids. We had always done small fundraisers but this 2008 year we decided to do a big event. The first thing we decided to do was get a professional auctioneer and they recommended Tofino’s software to us. The event turned out to be a big success
Our goal was 15,000, and we made a net profit of 39,000! We could not have done it without Tofino. Having the items online gave our guests the oppurtunity to come prepared for what they were going to bid on. Some of them missed the appetizers as they were busy finding their items. We had people calling from Portland wanting to bid on items. Roger and his crew were there to assist us on the day of the event, everything went so smoothly. We will be using Tofino for all our auctions. I could not imagine doing an event without the software."
Sharna Prasad chaired the 2008 Corvallis Montessori School Auction
Posted in Testimonials | Tags auction, montessori
Posted by Roger Devine
Fri, 09 May 2008 18:07:00 GMT
The annual Red Ball is one of the largest public school fundraisers in Oregon. Through this event, the Ainsworth Foundation helps fund teaching positions and programs like art, library, music, physical education, reading support, and a school counselor both at their school and at other Portland Public Schools, through contributions to the Portland Schools Foundation. In 2008, the Red Ball team used Tofino to manage all elements of their event.
What were you using to manage your auction before Tofino? Why did you switch?
We had been using Auctionpay prior to switching to Tofino. The biggest limitation we were experiencing with Auctionpay was the item entry. The item database must be maintained on one computer at a time, effectively requireing that one individual be responsible for entering, reviewing, and editing all items. Tofino’s web-based design enabled us to have multiple procurement volunteers enter and review items.
Why do you prefer Tofino to other options?
Prior to choosing Tofino we reviewed a number of other online auction solutions, but chose Tofino because of the local support they were able to offer.
How did using Tofino change the way you manage your auction?
Tofino allowed us to distribute the management as previously mentioned. We were not dependant on one individual for the data entry. In addition, the auction chairs were able to easily run reports from their own computers, Windows or Mac. The "database" member of the auction team becomes more of an admisistrator, creating usernames, helping people with the system, and reviewing the data being entered by others.
Any tips or tricks for other customers?
Tofino provides a simple way to produce reports and pull the results into Excel with the click of a button. This is a fantastic feature that will provide your auction team with virtually unlimted analysis and review of the data in Tofino.
Steve Pearson was the Technology Chair for the 2008 Red Ball.
Posted in Case Studies | Tags auction, case, elementary, school, study
Posted by Roger Devine
Mon, 05 May 2008 21:07:00 GMT
In 1966, Heartland Humane Society was founded by a group of concerned Benton County citizens with a mission to build a more compassionate community by teaching humane messages to our youth, caring for homeless animals, and strengthening the human-animal bond. The organization provides an open door animal shelter where they care for 2,500 - 3,200 animals each year. Programs include a spay/neuter program, an affordable adoption program, a foster care program, a humane education program, a pet food bank, behavior counseling referrals, and services for low-income pet owners.
Wine & Whiskers is Heartland’s signature event. It began four years ago when a local gallery offered to auction a piece of artwork on behalf of Heartland. The Executive Director asked if Heartland could bring a few more silent auction items, hors d’oeuvres, and wine. Wine & Whiskers was born! This year, Wine & Whiskers featured a live auction, silent auction, dinner, dessert, wine, and a live band with dancing. More than 200 guests attended and revenue more than doubled from the 2007 event. Knowing the event would be much larger, the planning and committee and staff worked hard to ensure the organizational infrastructure behind the event would be solid.
What were you using to manage your auction before Tofino?
Previous events used no auction software. Tickets were sold and when the guests arrived, they filled out a form for their bid number. Everything was handwritten.
Why do you prefer Tofino to other options?
I prefer Tofino because it manages all aspects of the event — ticket sales, seating, donors, winning bids, payments, and sponsors. Once the data is entered, reports and mailing lists can be generated. However, the special thing about Tofino is the staff. Initially, I thought it was just a faceless software program. I was very wrong! The folks at Tofino bent over backwards with their customer service! They even attended the event to ensure the software and process ran smoothly.
How did using Tofino change the way you manage your auction?
We are now able to grow the event without causing grief and lines for the guests. The software also allows us to have electronic information we can use year after year.
Any tips or tricks for other customers?
If you have any questions or concerns, call or email your Tofino representative - they will help you promptly! (It took me 3 weeks to realize this!)
Andrea Thornberry is the Executive Director of the Heartland Humane Society.
Posted in Case Studies | Tags auction, case, humane, oregon, society, study
