What should I wear and bring to the auction?
20s attire is highly encouraged but certainly not required. Otherwise, any type of cocktail attire is perfect. Please bring a fully charged mobile phone, as all silent auction bidding will happen online via your phone. We will have a charging station, but plugs are limited.
What does my ticket include?
Open bar, appetizers and desserts, photo booth, DJ and dancing!
When should I arrive?
The party will be from 7-11. Check-in will start promptly at 7pm, and we hope you’ll arrive as close to 7 as possible to maximize your fun! We highly encourage you to pre-register online as an online bidder, saving you time during check-in. You can do this via the “Get Started” button on the bidding site. However, we’ll have multiple check-in stations to keep things moving quickly.
What is the timeline for the evening?
The silent auction is open now and will continue online through Friday evening. The silent auction will close in two phases—at 9pm, all silent auction items except Parent Parties, Class/Teacher Experiences and our luxury vacations will close. Parent Parties, Class/Teacher Experiences and Luxury Vacation bidding will continue until 9:15pm. The Live Auction will begin at 9:45, during which we’ll auction off eight different items/packages. And during the entire event, we’ll have a DJ playing great dance music, appetizers, desserts and an open bar. Because of this, it’s an adults-only event.
How can I prepare for the auction?
All of the silent auction bidding will be done online, which means even during the party on Friday night, you’ll be bidding straight from your phone. We’ll also have all tangible items on display for you to view in person. To ensure you are successful in your bidding, we recommend that you: a/register ahead as a bidder via the “Get Started” button on our bidding page, b/ be sure your phone is fully charged (although we’ll have a charging station just in case), c/ sign into the Knights of Columbus wi-fi when you arrive to ensure great connectivity. We’ll provide instructions for this at check-in. Our online bidding system will notify you if you’ve been “outbid” on an item you’re interested in, so you can still enjoy the party while the silent auction is underway.
What if I can’t make it to the event? Can I still bid?
YES! Everything except for the eight live auction items are available to bid on virtually—you don’t have to attend the auction to bid. Because of this, feel free to share the link with friends and family who may be interested in some of our items.
What are the proceeds from the auction used for?
The auction is the PTA’s primary fundraiser and raises money critical to funding our school supply stipends, teacher grants, student support and teacher appreciation activities. All of the profit from the auction goes directly back to our students and teachers. For more details about what your donation supports, please see this post in our PTA Groups.io.
The auction is our biggest annual fundraiser, and because of COVID, we have not been able to hold one in-person since the McKinley auction in 2018. This has significantly impacted our PTA budget and we’ve had to dip into reserves. (Fortunately, our reserves were healthy, thanks to past auctions). Our goal is to raise at least $40,000 at the auction to fund our annual PTA budget. This sounds like a big number, but if everyone contributes what they can, it adds up to big things for our students and teachers.
Are Gifts Tax-Deductible?
Yes! The Cardinal PTA is a 501(c)(3) organization and can do its work thanks to donations from our member families. Your gifts are tax-deductible.
I noticed there are two luxury trips in the silent auction. What’s the deal with these?
We are offering two incredible luxury trips—one to St. Martin and one to Tuscany. These trips are provided to the PTA at a discount through our partner, LuxGive—any amount that we sell the trips for over our “reserve” price will go towards our PTA funds. The trip winner(s) will have 12 months to book the trip, but 24 months to actually travel. The winner will work with LuxGive’s concierge team to select dates, book additional excursions, etc.
What are the parent parties that are being offered in the silent auction?
From a throwback frat party to a pancake palooza, a pizza party in Parkhurst Park to an end summer blowout — there’s a “parent party” for everyone up for bid during this year’s auction. A parent party is like a regular party, but better — it’s a way to build connections with other Cardinal families while raising money for our students and teachers. These parties are our only “first come-first serve” items—each party has a set price per person or couple, and a maximum number of spots. The first people to secure the spots win—there is no price increase or bidding for these. A bid secures your spot then your party hosts cover the rest of the festivity costs, with 100% of proceeds benefitting our PTA. These will go fast — grab your spot today. Select “parties” from the dropdown on this page: https://cardinal2023.ggo.bid/bidding/package-browse , then browse and bid!
If I don’t want to buy anything at the auction, can I still donate to the PTA?
Of course! On the bidding site, click the “Make a Donation” button on the right-hand side. You can then enter the amount you’d like to donate.
