HIPOW was a rockin’ good time

Holy smokes! It was a fun HIPOW. Elivis, Cher, Prince and Diana Ross mingled with the crowd. The Wompus Cats played oldies Rock n’ Roll during social hour. We welcomed old and new faces to the party. Volunteers logged hundreds of hours setting up before HIPOW, plating and serving the dinner, showing off auction items on stage, and cleaning up afterwards. Did you know two volunteers came up from Texas to participate in the event? 
Here are some fun statistics: 

• 1,031 Active Bidders
• 577 Saturday Tickets Sold
• 20 HIPOW Sponsors
• 1,446 Packages Sold
• 3rd Year of Online Bidding
• 1st Year Mammoth Marketing created our Fund-the-Vision Video (and it was great!)

While feedback about online bidding has been overwhelmingly positive, there are still a few guests who would prefer paper bidding. They tell us they miss the camaraderie built by hovering over paper bid cards. They also say they feel “rude” looking at their phones when visiting with friends. 
We’re researching ways to bring back a part of the paper bidding excitement. In the meantime, here are some reasons why we have embraced online bidding: 

• We have experienced an increase in the number of bids placed and the number of bidders bidding. 
• People can continue to bid on packages from home. 
• The number of “no bid” items has dropped significantly. 

Someone suggested we offer online bidding training before the auction. This is a great idea. Training would highlight how to place a max bid (the computer will bid for you up to your maximum dollar amount) and look for “no bid” items. Keep an eye out next fall for your invitation to the training. 
You helped us break records this year: 

• Friday Fund-an-Item
• Saturday Fund-the-Vision

We started the Friday Fund-an-Item in 2015. The first year, we raised $2,110 for new chairs in the Academic Center. Last year, we raised $1,750 for art for the school halls. This year, we raised $7,385 to upgrade one of our high school science rooms. To top it off, these donations were matched by a grant from The Bill Stroecker Foundation. 
But wait; it gets better! The generosity of this community is truly incredible. On Saturday night, Fund-the-Vision raised $211,500 breaking the 2015 record of $196,000. In total, HIPOW raised more than $650,000 for the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks.
Thank you for the role you played in making this a successful HIPOW.