The UNM Alumni Association is working to boost revenue from its annual Homecoming silent auction by adding online bidding.
For the past 16 years, the Alumni Association held the silent auction as part of its Southwest Lobo Fiesta Tailgate on Homecoming game day, but this year some items have been available online since Sept. 20, and will be up for bid until Oct. 3, at 10 a.m.
Maria Wolfe of the Alumni Association said the association didn’t want to put out-of-state bidders at a disadvantage.
“It’s fun to come to the tent. But, we’ve had people from out of state calling family members and telling them what and how much they want to bid for. We thought the online option would be a good way to allow them to participate and increase our revenue,” she said.
Wolfe also cited an excess of goods as a reason for adding the online bidding option. She said about 300 items are donated every year to the auction and not all of them fit in the tent.
Some items include a pair of adult, two-day Taos ski passes and dinner for four at the High Finance Restaurant with a tram ride included, Wolfe said.
Bidding For Good will run the online auction. Wolfe said the auction typically brings in $10,000 to $12,000, all of which goes toward scholarship programs within the Alumni Association.
Wolfe said the Alumni Association relies on the auction for funding.
“It’s a really fun way to do some shopping and benefit a good cause at the same time,” Wolfe said.
