The 22nd Annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction Fundraiser

“Sea, Sip and Shop!” is in the books for another successful fundraiser….and we could not have done it without YOU!!

Everyone enjoyed delicious wines from The Grape and Ale and wonderful hors d’oeuvres provided by Diamond Catering! And as always, 801 Ocean provided the perfect space, with an ocean view no less! Team Cronick, of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, was our startup cost sponsor once again this year! We would like to thank these wonderful business partners and ALL of the generous donors who helped to make our 2024 event successful and fun for all!

Previous fundraising activities:

Our 2023 “On Cloud Wine” auction and fundraiser was a HUGE success - thanks to YOU!! Everyone enjoyed gathering together again, after two years of “modified” silent auctions due to COVID. We just love how this all came together, and we can’t wait to do it again next year!!

ONLINE AUCTIONS, NOT QUITE THE SAME…

In early 2020, over 100 generous donors gave us items to be auctioned for Beach Preservation activities on Oak Island. We carefully sheltered these gifts, hoping to meet all our supporters in person for a wine tasting gala rescheduled to April 2021, but COVID-19 just didn’t allow that.

We really enjoy the Wine Tasting and Silent Auction event as a chance to connect with the friends and supporters who share our passion for protecting Oak Island’s beach. In addition, we rely on ticket sales and purchases at the silent auction to raise funds to support our mission.

Like everything else, fundraising during COVID had to change to survive. We adopted an alternative auction format using online 32auctions.com. Small auctions in fall and winter helped restore missing revenues from summer events, but when we were not able to have an in-person fundraiser in April 2021 either, we put our remaining auction items in one basket and launched “A Basket of Bids for the Beach!” That online event ended on April 10, and with it came a bright season of hope. Your generous bids throughout the three online auctions brought in nearly the funding one of our annual in-person events would [but we really lost TWO years of fundraisers]!