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elementary school

Did coronavirus cancel your school auction? Here is what one elementary school did – with Becky Urbano

#010 – Becky Urbano is the auction chair for her elementary school.  Their auction was scheduled to take place just days before the shelter in place was ordered due to the coronavirus pandemic.  She and her team had to scramble to change course fast.  In a matter of days, they had to cancel vendors and move their event online to a virtual one.  They lost deposit funds paid to vendors, but they were able to minimize other losses and still had a successful event.  They used social media more than they had in the past to inform the community and drive excitement. 

They had to scramble fast to scrap their physical event and go virtual.  They did the best they could with the hand they were dealt, but still raised money.   Do what you can and don’t worry about what was planned.  This covid-19 crisis has taught us that we have to do things differently.  You have to think out of the box.

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SchoolAuction.net

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Groupfinity COVID-19 Q&A

Facebook Live

3 Key Takeaways  

#1 Don’t be afraid to ask your guests to donate their ticket funds

#2 Be proactive and emotions must take a back seat  

#3 Prepare for the worst case scenario     

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode

[1:51] We were under pressure from the district to postpone 4 days before the event
[2:35] We were proactive and we looked at other options
[3:36] It was very clear that our event was not going to happen
[4:02] We lost our deposits, but we did not have to incur additional costs
[5:24] All guests donated cash paid for tickets
[7:15] Our decision to go virtual
[8:28] We had to go through our items to determine what could still be offered
[9:16] We quickly pivoted to an online event
[9:41] Using SchoolAuction.net was a big benefit to us
[10:53] We had to adjust our expectations
[11:20] The online only event did not generate as much as the historical live event
[12:43] We generated about 50% of what we would have fundraised
[14:00] You always have to be prepared for the worst case scenario
[14:30] The biggest thing I learned was the importance of being proactive
[15:20] We used social media more than ever before
[16:20] I had not done Facebook Live and now I've done several
[17:24] How we used Facebook Live

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Posted in PodcastTagged annual event, auction, canceled, community, coronavirus, coronavirus crisis, covid-19, donation, donor, elementary school, events, FAQ, fundraiser, fundraising, gala, group, leader, mission-driven organization, nonprofit, organization, parent, PFC, postpone, PTA, PTO, questions, refund, registration, school auction, shelter at home, social distance, sponsors, ticket, virtual event, volunteer organization, will coronavirus stop
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