The McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum

Quick Facts about the Auction:

  • Auction Raised $17,863
  • Opted into BiddingForGood
  • 80 of 96 Auction Items Sold
  • 537 Bids Placed
  • 111 Unique Bidders
  • Raised $1,000 from 2 Sponsors
  • 3 Items Donated Online
  • $862 Raised in Online Donations

 

 

 


The McNay Art Museum paints a picture of how successful a single online auction fundraiser with BiddingForGood can be.

For over 50 years, the McNay Art Museum has enriched the lives of San Antonio residents and visitors alike, with their diverse collection of European and American Art. In addition to the extensive works, the museum regularly hosts a number of free family programs, distinguished lectures and special events that promote the arts and cultural enhancement. Their fundraising campaigns benefit these and other services, including their growing research library and opportunities for students such as curatorial and internship programs.

As the McNay Art Museum prepared to run their first online auction with BiddingForGood, they considered creative ways to promote their upcoming auction. Prior to their online auction officially opening, the museum was able to instill a sense of excitement and anticipation among their constituents, by giving participants a preview of items that were going to be available. They used the Items Coming Soon category to promote their catalog - allowing bidder a chance to see exactly what the museum had to offer.

In addition to advertising their auction, the museum recognized that like themselves, some of their supporters were also new to online fundraising auctions. Therefore, they took the time to really connect with their community to make their online bidding experience easy and enjoyable. The McNay Art Museum took the opportunity to use their BiddingForGood homepage to create an "Online Auctions 101" glossary, to assist their users in understanding terms and references used in the auctions. They explained the meanings of Absentee Bidding, Reserve Prices and the term "Priceless" as referenced on many auction pages.

By making the bidding experience easier for the novice user, the McNay Art Museum benefited from increased participation. They were successful at using BiddingForGood's services to generate buzz and anticipation for their catalog of items which led to active bidding from the moment the auction opened. Their initial online auction raised over $17,000 for museum programs, and BiddingForGood looks forward to helping them raise even more revenue for services in the future.