The operators of public television stations WCET-TV and WPTD-TV again are seeking donations for the annual Action Auction fundraiser.
For the second consecutive year, the stations’ largest fundraiser will be conducted totally online, eliminating the labor-intensive and expensive companion broadcast. Channel 48’s Action Auction telecast, which had been a 55-year Cincinnati tradition, at its peak raised more than $1 million with a 10-day telecast featuring new homes and automobiles.
An online preview for items up for bid this year will be available starting Friday, Aug. 23. Online bidding opens at noon Sunday, Sept. 8. The auction ends at 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15.
"The Action Auction has evolved over the years, but it has remained an important fundraiser for our station,” said Mary MacDowell, community events manager for Channels 48 and 16, in a media release. Channel 48 is branded as “CET.” Dayton’s Channel 16 is marketed as “ThinkTV.”
As in past years, the Channel 48 team is actively seeking donations of gift cards, gift certificates, travel opportunities and other items for the auction through Monday, Aug. 26. To donate or to learn more, visit https://cetconnect.org/action-auction/, email actionauction@CETconnect.org or call 513-345-6579, says Bridgett Dillenburger, WCET-TV marketing specialist.
From the news release:
— All bidding will be through the GiveSmart platform.
— Registration is required before placing a bid.
— Items will have two closing times this year: Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 15, at 9 p.m.
— The Action Auction will feature "major Gifts again this year, which will follow the same process as the general merchandise. Items will be available to preview online starting Friday, Aug. 23."
WCET-TV, the nation's first licensed public television station in 1955, created the fund-raiser in 1968 when the Cincinnati Board of Education withdrew $117,000 in funding after a tax levy defeat. The first Action Auction raised $31,000.
Even after the arrival of cable TV with home shopping channels in the early 1980s, Action Auction remained the station’s major fundraiser. The televised Auction raised millions for public television here, with the help of thousands of volunteers who answered telephones, displayed items, read descriptions, operated cameras and distributed the winnings to the highest bidders for more than four decades.
The CET/ThinkTV Action Auction annual fundraiser “gives us an opportunity to connect with our business community and other local organizations in a way that furthers our mission while helping with their marketing efforts,” MacDowell said in the release.
“Supporting the auction as a donor, bidder, buyer or volunteer is a great way to show your love for your local PBS station. The money we raise helps fund all the programs and services we offer on air, online and in the community,” she said.
