In October 2020, Cloquet Community Memorial Hospital Foundation hosted the “UnGala- The Online Event of the Year”. The unique online auction and raffle drawing created their 2nd most successful fundraising event ever!
Keeping you safe…
For the first time in the history of the Cloquet Community Memorial Hospital Foundation’s existence, the annual gala, their largest fundraising event of the year, was cancelled. Every fall this event raises money that provides grants for equipment and programs to support patient and resident care areas at Community Memorial Hospital, CMH Raiter Family Clinic, and Sunnyside Health Care Center. With COVID-19 affecting everything in the world, they had to figure out a way to keep you, their donors safe, yet move forward and provide a meaningful giving opportunity to support their cause. And so….
The UnGala was born…
They invited folks to “save the expense of the tux and the little black dress” in exchange for a night at home on a smart phone or laptop. Businesses, community members, and employees of the CMH healthcare organization supported the event like never before….mailing in sponsorships, buying raffle tickets, posting yard signs around town, donating cash and creating unique baskets for the online auction. And did you see the flashy billboard on I-35 in support of the UnGala? That too was donated!
And the crowd went wild…
On the evening of the UnGala, the raffle drawing was live-streamed at https://www.facebook.com/cloquetcmhfoundation/– the foundation’s facebook page. Then later that evening the online auction at http://www.lots4bid.com went wild. There were definitely good ole fashioned bidding wars happening.
Trophy worthy…
At the end of the evening nearly $52,000 was raised in the name of local healthcare! While the 2019 Autumn Splendor Gala hangs onto its first-place gold title-coming in at just under $56k, the 2020 UnGala earns the respected title of 2nd highest fundraising event in our history. Definitely trophy worthy for a year like 2020, wouldn’t you say?!
Changing lives and making a difference…
Executive Director, Laurie Korby reflects, “I had no idea of what to expect. I made it up as I went along, and things just evolved. I figured if we raise $20,000 it’d be a success- better than doing nothing at all. Our supporters certainly showed their love! The final results were such a tribute to the kindness that is in the world. You know, good people are all around us. You just have to provide an opportunity for them to act on their kindness.People will be talking about 2020 for decades and so will we. But we’ll be talking about the year that our supporters changed lives and made a difference in the world right here in Cloquet, Minnesota.”
