Proud to Power Extraordinary Causes

For more than 35 years, Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) has empowered Medfield, Massachusetts’ five public schools with the funds they need to go beyond the basics. From innovative classroom technology to cultural enrichment to health and wellness projects, MCPE’s community-driven fundraising ensures every student has access to opportunities that inspire curiosity, creativity, and growth.

The Challenge

When MCPE prepared to bring back their signature Fall Ball Gala after a five-year hiatus, they faced a new set of hurdles:

• A rotating board meant much of the institutional memory from past galas was gone
• Limited tools like Eventbrite weren’t flexible enough to handle ticketing, auctions, and donor engagement in one place
• They needed a streamlined system to manage donor records, event logistics, and payments
• Guest experience was paramount, including fast check-ins, easy bidding, and inspiring giving throughout the night

The Solution

MCPE partnered with FrontStream, giving them the technology and hands-on support to ensure success:

• Integrated Platform: Ticket sales, donor data, and auctions managed all in one place
• Mobile Bidding: Guests could bid on items in real time from their phones, with live totals projected on a big screen
• Live Giving: A live donation ask added $10,000+ in minutes
• Onsite Support Team: Four FrontStream staff handled ticketing and technical support, freeing board members to focus on guests
• Top-Tier Customer Service: Ongoing support from FrontStream staff in the lead-up made setup easy for a team of volunteers, not tech experts

The Results

Despite having 200 fewer guests than their last gala, MCPE raised $20,000 more for Medfield schools.

• Exceeded their paddle-up goal, raising $10,000+ in minutes
• Top auction item sold for over $6,500
• Guests engaged in live bidding wars while seeing real-time fundraising progress
• Smooth guest experience with no long lines, thanks to mobile ticketing and checkout
• Board members had the freedom to focus on mission and guest engagement, not logistic

After stepping into the role of auction chair for the New York/New Jersey Marriott Hotels Business Council’s Annual Golf Classic, Rebecca Waite quickly turned a new responsibility into a personal mission. Drawing on a lifetime of community service and relationship building, she embraced the challenge of growing the event’s silent auction to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The New York/New Jersey Marriott Hotels Business Council Charity Golf Tournament has raised critical funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for more than a decade. The event blends competitive golf, community spirit, and a robust silent auction to make an impact for children and families in need.

Each year, the tournament brings together golfers, business leaders, and supporters for a day of competition and generosity — and under Rebecca’s leadership, the auction has become a major driver of fundraising success, blending local energy with the power of a nationwide online audience to make a greater impact for children and families in need.

With the support of FrontStream fundraising platform and the BiddingForGood community, Rebecca streamlined auction management, reached bidders nationwide, and maximized participation both on and off the golf course.

The Challenge

When Rebecca Waite first became the auction chair for the Council’s charity golf tournament benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, she brought a deep background in community service — but also faced the challenge of single-handedly running a large, high-stakes auction.

The event combined an in-person golf tournament with an online silent auction. Managing prize procurement, setting starting bids, promoting the auction, and handling bidder questions was a huge undertaking. On top of that, Rebecca wanted to make the experience simple and seamless for golfers and online bidders alike, without the old headaches of paper bid sheets, last-minute item additions, or shipping confusion.

The Solution

Rebecca turned to FrontStream’s BiddingForGood platform to simplify and scale the auction:

• Strategic Item Procurement: Rebecca set a personal goal of securing 62 prizes, leaning on her network, LinkedIn connections, and thoughtful personal outreach to secure a mix of certificates, sports memorabilia, and travel packages.
• Optimized Auction Setup: Rebecca used BiddingForGood’s built-in tools to set starting bids and bid increments, ensuring strong participation from the start.
• Expanded Reach: Rebecca opened the auction two weeks prior to the event, promoted it via email and social media to tap into networks far beyond the golfers in attendance.
• BiddingForGood Community: Rebecca leveraged BiddingForGood’s 4.4 million philanthropic shoppers, who accounted for $35,000 of the winning bids.
• On-Site Support: FrontStream staff attended the event to register bidders, send targeted text alerts, and keep auction energy high during the tournament.

The Results

Rebecca exceeded her auction goal by 20%, bringing in $42,000 in auction revenue — her personal best.

• 125 bidders came directly from the BiddingForGood community.
• $35,000 of winning bids were from supporters outside the immediate event audience.
• Auction promotion and the extended two-week bidding window attracted participation from across the United States.
• Complimentary shipping on prizes and clear prize descriptions improved bidder satisfaction and reduced questions.

Learn how Rebecca curated a diverse range of auction items that appealed to various price points. Watch the Webcast >

Founded to meet the immediate needs of children facing abuse, abandonment, or neglect, Lowcountry Orphan Relief (LOR) provides emergency care kits with clothing, toiletries, school supplies, books, and comfort items. Serving nearly 50 schools in the Charleston area, LOR supports children during times of crisis, and works to connect them with supportive, lasting care.

The Challenge

While LOR’s mission was strong and community support steady, the small nonprofit team faced two big hurdles with their annual gala:

• Cumbersome, manual processes for check-in, bidding, and checkout left guests frustrated in prior years.
• Limited supporter data meant they couldn’t easily segment or engage attendees after the event.

Executive Director Sarah Wallace and Community Outreach & Events Manager Stephanie Mermott needed a way to run the event more smoothly, create a better guest experience, and capture detailed data they could use year-round.

The Solution

The LOR team implemented FrontStream to modernize their gala and auction:

• Mobile Bidding & Digital Auction: LOR transitioned both live and silent auctions to mobile, allowing for text bid alerts, instant outbid notifications, and real-time engagement tracking.
• Streamlined Check-In & Checkout: They eliminated long lines by collecting payment info at registration and delivering won items directly to tables.
• Integrated CRM: LOR automatically captured attendee and bidder information — including purchase history and interests — into FrontStream's CRM for future campaigns.
• Creative Fundraising: They introduced a “Backpack Auction” in the live program, where guests sponsored $50 backpacks for children in care. The fast-paced appeal raised $30,000 in just five minutes!
• Data-Driven Planning: LOR used past bidding data to tailor auction items to attendee preferences for future events.

The FrontStream Advantage: More Time, Bigger Impact

With FrontStream, LOR has one platform for event management, auction tools, payments, and CRM. Together we're delivering:

• A better guest experience – No long lines, instant bidding, and seamless checkout left guests feeling cared for.
• Data you can act on – Every bid, donation, and interaction flowed directly into LOR’s CRM for year-round engagement.
• Flexible fundraising formats – Ability to mix mobile bidding with creative live appeals like the backpack auction.
• Room to grow – Scalable tools support LOR’s future events alongside the gala.

Bay Laurel Elementary is a public K-5 school in California that has worked with FrontStream since 2012. And every year they run an auction with FrontStream's BiddingForGood community, helping them "reach a whole new group of people beyond our parents.” Finding a way to draw in new supporters made a huge difference in how much Bay Laurel Elementary was able to raise.

Opening up their auction to our community of 4.4 million cause-minded bidders has expanded their base of supporters. The BiddingForGood community helped raise almost a third of the funds brought in by their online auction again this year. “Even if no one at our school donated or participated, we would still make money and make a difference.” 

BiddingForGood expands auction catalogue possibilities.

Before using BiddingForGood, getting items was the most difficult part for Bay Laurel. BiddingForGood’s Instant Items gave Bay Laurel the opportunity to add items to their catalogue that they otherwise might not have been able to source.

Furthermore, the school “showcased” the most valuable and popular auction items on their homepage.

Bay Laurel also created exclusive school items in their online auction, including “Storytime with the Principal” and “Librarian for the Day”. These “Bay Laurel Exclusives” sold for over $7,000 total. BiddingForGood allows them to continuously invite new supporters to their auction while still allowing the school community to have its own unique pool of exclusive items to bid on.

Girls Inc. of New Hampshire's is dedicated to inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Through legislative advocacy and research-based programming, the organization equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers.

An annual in-person gala is critical to Girls Inc.'s fundraising — but managing it efficiently was a challenge, particularly in 2020 when they had to pivot to a fully virtual event. With the help of FrontStream, Girls Inc. was able to quickly move the event online, incorporate social media campaigns, live stream on Facebook and YouTube, and host an online auction. Girls Inc. gained the attention of thousands of supporters and raised over $175,000.

The virtual gala helped Girls Inc. increase donations and trim expenses. The overall cost of the virtual gala was just 13% of the in-person event, thanks to savings on the venue, food and beverage, signage, and postage.

With the success of their 2020 virtual gala, the nonprofit can now host fully virtual or hybrid events. Girls Inc. of New Hampshire continues to inspire girls and create engaging events to help raise awareness for all the good they do.

Jacksonville Humane Society provides care, comfort and compassion to abandoned and orphaned shelter animals. The organization also provides animal training classes, low-cost veterinary care, spay/neuter assistance, and more services to help animals and pet owners in the community. 

Jacksonville Humane Society uses FrontStream campaign pages to increase their online donations and awareness. And they host an auction every April, a revenue-saver in 2020 when the organization's annual fundraiser – The Mutt March – had to be completely virtual.

The Mutt March traditionally includes a dog walk, silent auction, and a community festival for participants and sponsors.

But in 2020, they pivoted to a Facebook Live parade of dogs. They encouraged participants to take their dogs for socially-distanced walks, cuddle their cats, and post photos with the hashtag #muttmarch on social media.

After the virtual walk, they hosted another Facebook Live to tease an online auction on FrontStream's BiddingForGood community. They even auctioned a roll of toilet paper for $250!

In total, the online auction brought in $10,421. And despite going virtual with just one week's notice, they didn't receive a single refund request.

The Vineyard Theatre's mission is to develop and produce bold new plays and musicals by emerging and established artists. Located in New York City, they are committed to nurturing artists and fostering new collaborations.

As part of their fundraising efforts, they run online auctions 2-3 times per year, and their spring auction regularly brings in $23,000-$27,000.

Some of the hottest sellers for the Vineyard Theatre's auctions include event tickets and one-of-a-kind experiences: Saturday Night Live tickets are always popular (these sold for $11,000!), and hard-to-get Hamilton tickets sold for over $5,000.

Vineyard Theatre regularly adds on meet-and-greets or backstage tours to ticket packages - like this set of tickets to If/Then with a meet-and-greet with Idina Menzel, or this House of Cards set tour with a meet-and-greet with the cast members.

Yet it wasn't a hot start out of the gate for the theatre. Before using BiddingForGood, Vineyard Theatre had a hard time generating interest in a silent auction in a separate room of the gala.

Instead, they pivoted to an online auction that didn't compete with the gala's programming. And they prominently displayed a real-time leaderboard to encourage bidding and generate buzz at the gala.

Since then, the Vineyard Theatre's auctions have only grown, and they're a great example of how a small organization can use online auctions to take its fundraising profits to new heights.