cMarket Reaches $50-Million Mark

Online Auction Fundraiser Offers Holiday Gift Guide

cMarket, which bills itself as the leader in online auction fundraising, recently topped $50 million raised for nonprofits through over 5,000 online fundraising auctions to over 250,000 consumers. A spokesperson told AuctionBytes that the model has gotten increasingly sophisticated, bringing nonprofits, consumers and product/service marketers together in a self-propelling network. "The company and the CEO have received numerous awards and now offer a Holiday Gift Guide of thousands of items in 200 + charity auctions." Also of note, CEO Jon Carson recently blogged about the impact the economy is having on fundraising.

So what's the secret to a successful charity auction?

"A number of folks continue to post great results. We've seen a bunch of folks raising $40k, $30k, $50k," Carson notes on his blog. "The trick is to offer up a compelling merchandising mix and promote the heck out of your auction."