MPI Ottawa's Annual Charity Auction raises $31,025

FEB 2, 2013

On January 31st, 2013 the Ottawa Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) hosted its Annual Charity Auction and Dinner. The event drew in close to 700 meeting, event & tourism professionals from across Canada. Together, MPI was able to raise $31,025.00 to feed nutritious meals to over 11,300 hungry children and youth in 148 schools across Ottawa.

MPI Ottawa supports this investment in the nutrition of our children and supports the Ottawa Network for Education (ONFE) School Breakfast Program year round by raising funds as well as serving and preparing breakfasts in schools across the city. John-Michael Maharaj, MPI Ottawa Community Outreach Director, says, 

"8 years ago I was shocked to learn how many kids were going to school hungry. It's amazing to be a part of the Ottawa School Breakfast program and to see our event grow over the years in support of this truly important cause"

It is proven through research that students who are given nutritious breakfasts daily make significant improvements in learning, school attendance, behaviour and self-esteem. The Ottawa Network for Education's School Breakfast Program strives to ensure that every child in our community has access to a healthy breakfast and that all children are given an equal opportunity to succeed at school.

In 2012, the MPI Ottawa Charity Auction raised over $26,000 for the Ottawa School Breakfast Program. 

Next year, MPI is sure it will break its record once 

Photo courtesy of Lydia Peltz ©2013

MPI Ottawa Charity Auction to be held January 31 at the Ottawa Convention Centre in support of the Ottawa School Breakfast Program

The Ottawa Chapter of Meeting Professionals International, the world’s largest meeting and events community, will be holding their Annual Charity Auction January 31, 2013 in support of the Ottawa Breakfast for Schools program. 

Through no fault of their own, many children and youth in Ottawa arrive at school hungry each day.  The School Breakfast Program as part of the Ottawa Network for Education, feeds 11,300 Ottawa Children each morning in 148 schools across Ottawa with a nutritious meal. 

MPI Ottawa supports this investment in the nutrition of our children.  Research shows that starting the day with a nutritious breakfast improves a child’s ability to focus and learn as well as building self-esteem.  The Ottawa Network for Education’s School Breakfast Program strives to ensure that every child in our community has access to a healthy breakfast and that all children are given an equal opportunity to succeed at school.

In 2012, the MPI Ottawa Charity Auction drew meeting, event and tourism professionals from across Canada helping to raise over $ 28,000 for the Ottawa School Breakfast Program.  Local members assist during the course of the year with serving breakfasts at schools across the city. 

 

About MPI: Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the meeting and event industry’s largest and most vibrant global community, helps our members thrive by providing human connections to knowledge and ideas, relationships, and marketplaces. MPI membership is comprised of more than 23,000 members belonging to 71 chapters and clubs worldwide. For additional information, visit mpiweb.org. mpiottawa.ca

Testimonial from the 2012 Kanata Food & Wine Show

Our primary auctioneer Ryan E. Watson entertained and helped raise record donations for the Kanata Food Cupboard during the live auction at the 11th Annual "Food for Thought" Kanata's Food & Wine Show. The event was held at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Kanata, Ontario and was attended by a sold out group of over 250 food & wine lovers, small business owners and corporate sponsors of the chamber.

The auction started just after 8:00 pm with the attention of the room quickly thrown to the stage as Ryan opened with a smooth vocal percussion & acapella rendition of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.  Once the room was ready to go, the first lot came up for auction; Chef’s Table for Eight, 3 Course Dinner featuring the new Cicchetti menu and Included Wine Pairings at Graffiti's restaurant.  The bidding started at $1 and helped set the pace of the auction for the rest of the evening. 

Some of the other amazing items included:

®       "An Evening with Blue Rodeo" Gallery Suite with 12 Tickets to the 25th Anniversary Tour – Feb. 14th

®       "Ultimate Children’s Playhouse" 8ft x 5ft footprint, included delivery and aggregate. 

®       "$4,000 Advertising Package" EMC – Your Community Newspaper

®       "Private Dinner for Ten" Four course dinner of choice! Included 4 bottles of wine at 

        Sixty Four Hundred Celebration Center "a unique venue for all events"

Rosemary Leu, Executive Director of the Kanata Chamber wrote this testimonial after the event.

"Through the Kanata Chamber of Commerce I have had the pleasure of working with Ryan (Raising the Bid) on several fundraising auctions and I look forward to many more. Ryan has an innate ability to get the audience’s attention and his energy and powers of persuasion are second to none! The recent auction we did for the Kanata Food Cupboard will allow us to present to them our largest donation cheque to date. Ryan has one of the most aptly named companies, because “raising the bid” is exactly what he did for us."

Thank you to the Kanata Chamber for inviting Raising the Bid to this amazing event we were honored to be a part of the yearly tradition and look forward to working with you in Raising the Bid even higher at future events!

How to Fund-raise with an Art Auction

By an eHow Contributor

An art auction is a sophisticated and easy way for a nonprofit organization to raise money. Such a fund-raising event is simple to organize, and will attract buyers eager to spend money on high-quality artwork. The best part is that fund-raising with an art auction requires little overhead.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Raising the Bid!
• Venue
• Art for Auction
• Program
• Artwork notes

®            Look for artists who are willing to donate art. Let them know that art auctions give them a chance to  receive free publicity, and disclose how you plan to promote the event.

®            Help the artists choose a minimum bid for their work. You will want to convince the artist to keep the price in a reasonable range in order to prevent scaring off potential buyers.

®            Make sure the venue you choose is spacious. It will need enough wall space to display the different pieces of art. Use lights and backgrounds to highlight the works.

®            Put together a program that gives the artists' biographies as well as information about the works up for auction.

®            Hire a personable and experienced auctioneer who is knowledgeable about art. You want the buyers to be entertained as they bid on the pieces. If they are in a good mood, they are more likely to spend more money.

®            Provide notes to the auctioneer on the artwork being sold. The emcee should be able to provide a detailed description to the potential buyers.

Tip

 If you are overwhelmed by the requirements, don't do everything yourself. 

Hire Raising the Bid! that has experience working art auctions.

How to Fund-raise With an Art Auction | eHow.com