Annual Open House Fundraiser

Yearly, an annual fundraising arm of the college volunteers to seek the assistance of a homeowner in the City of Andover, Mass which is an affluent part of our area. This homeowner opens their home up one Saturday night in the month of June. The volunteer board then organizes the event looking for volunteers to help with the auction item donations. A silent auction is held which consists of around 22 items donated by area individuals. A raffle is also held which consists of 26 items - these are separated from the silent auction items and raffle tickets are sold and the persons attending the open house go and put their raffle tickets in the bags associated with each item that they would like to win.

We also have a caterer doing the event - we have carving stations - a wine and beer station - a dessert station - a pasta station. We make sure each and every year that the individuals are served a great meal. The caterer donates $10,000 towards the event in goods and services. The event cost per person is $60 to attend. Formal invitations are done (this company donates 50% of the invitation cost back to us) and mailed to close to 400 people. We also have a local florist go into the home and donate floral arrangements for the house. Remember - this home is a wonderfully spectacular home and each year the attendees cannot wait to see what type of home we are going to next. They love viewing luxury homes and the decor and will pay to attend.

Always remember - to keep your costs down by finding as much as possible for donations! One great silent auction item was a "pot of gold" - i had my board members each donate $30 - i then went and bought some scratch tickets in different dollar values and put them in a pot (with gold nuggets in it) along with different bills decorating the pot - try to let the people know that it is priceless - do not list the value of the pot in cash. They will then bid on the item and you will wind up getting a great amount on this since it is priceless. This past June the event raised $14,000. It was a great night - the event ran from 7:00 pm - to 10:00 pm.