…and we’re off! Auction procurement is underway
Our annual auction is a wonderful opportunity to support our school and students while enjoying an evening of fun and community. This year’s event is Kentucky Derby ~ and they’re off! held May 2 at The Lodge at Trinity Tree Farm
To make this year’s auction a success, we need your help in securing amazing auction items!
From now until March 31, we will be procuring donations to auction off at this year’s event.
Table of Contents
WHAT IS PROCUREMENT?
Procurement is the process of gathering items or services we’ll use for our upcoming auction! It’s about reaching out to friends, family, local businesses, or anyone who might donate fun or valuable items people will want to bid on. Think gift cards, event tickets, handmade goodies, or anything exciting! The goal is to collect great things that will make the auction fun, successful, and help raise money for our preschool.
Procurement ends March 31 and all donations must be turned into our Procurement Chair Claudia LaBarge.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The Garden has a long tradition of coming together as a community around the auction. We all have a role to play in making this the biggest, most successful fundraiser of the year! It is the most impactful way to ensure that students at the Garden continue to have the amazing experiences in this program, next year and beyond.
View and download our Procurement Roadmap where you’ll find a step-by-step overview of the different ways you can help the school, along with the contact information for the fundraising team.
1) Class Baskets
Each class comes together around a basket, brainstorming and collecting items that truly reflect what people are really wanting! Examples from last year include a Family Game Night basket (board games and snacks) and a Gardening basket (complete with home-made planter, dirt, tools, plants, etc.).
2) Class Art Projects
- Come up with an idea for an art project for your cohort that will be created with the help of teachers at school
- Nominate a parent from each cohort to take the lead in managing the project and coordinating with teachers
- Think about what kind of artwork you would like in your house
- Brainstorm ideas. Remember, your class will likely be the one to bid on it so plan on doing something you would want to bid on.
- Share your ideas with the teachers. They are so creative and after having done many art projects over the years, they are a great resource.
3) Personal Contribution
- Do you own or work at a business that can contribute goods, services, or gift cards? (Examples such as estate planning, car detailing)
- Do you have season tickets that you can donate? (Kraken, Sounders, Storm, Mariners, Seahawks)
- Do you have a vacation rental to offer?
- Some auction items are group experiences – Dino Day, Fairy Day, group cooking classes, etc – when the auction catalog comes out, plan ahead with other families to design a group bidding strategy to win the prize!
4) Volunteer
- We need a few hands to help us reach out to local businesses. You won’t be asking for money, simply telling them a little about the Garden and offering them the chance to be a part of our event and get some visibility in our community.
FUNDRAISING FAQ
The Children’s Garden School values our children as unique individuals, teaches them how to be a caring, cooperative member of the group, and fosters a life-long love of learning. Students learn to express themselves, and they feel heard and seen without being judged. This develops respectful, kind kids that turn into respectful, kind adults.
Changing the world starts with our children and your support of our community makes this possible! We keep tuition as low as we can to increase accessibility of our programs, and your donations also help make it possible for students and families of all backgrounds to thrive, now and in the years to come.
We hold two fundraising events at the Garden. Bellamie’s Birthday Gifts, our annual giving campaign in the Fall, which is virtual, and the Auction in the Spring, is held in person with a virtual component.
All families are asked to contribute to the Garden’s fundraising efforts each year. There is no required gift amount – it can be any amount that is personally meaningful to you and your family. We also ask that each family contribute to the annual auction. There are many opportunities and ways to show our support for the auction in addition to charitable donations: volunteering on the fundraising committee to help throw the party, run the technology and operations, engage the community in the celebration, collect class baskets and art projects, and more. We can find a place for you to contribute however you would like to bring your personal interests and professional skills to our community. Community support is essential not only to our fundraising program, but also to our mission. It is the glue that holds us together, and your participation is what makes it work!
TOOLS TO GET STARTED
We are a team! We support the school when we support each other. Join in with ideas, time and donations and let’s keep magic of The Garden going!
CONTACT A BUSINESS
Let’s make sure we are not asking our local businesses for donations multiple times.
DONATION FORM
Share completed digital donation forms via email or drop hard copies off in the office.
DONATION REQUEST TEMPLATES
We have Donation Letter and Donation Email templates to use if you’d like to ask a business for a donation.
QUESTIONS?
Please let us know how we can support you! If you have questions about donations, the auction, fundraising or anything else, please reach out to our amazing procurement chair Claudia at cl*************@ch*************.org or (425) 465-0620
WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!
From helping create beautiful class projects to donating a skill or service, you’ve come up with some amazing auction items. We can’t wait to see what comes in next! Thank you so much!
SPONSORS
Businesses and families can become Auction sponsors
