Maestro Teams With Chef John Howie and Former Seahawk Craig Terrill to Raise Money for Food Lifeline

BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwired - Apr 8, 2016) -  Maestro, the premier provider of charity fundraising solutions utilized by major organizations such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association, today announced that their Text2Bid system played a vital role in helping the Seattle Seahawks team raise a combined total of $93,693 for Food Lifeline, Washington State's largest hunger relief network that stocks nearly 275 local food banks, meal programs and shelters. The team, led by Chef John Howie and former Seahawk Craig Terrill, earned a second place finish in the Kick Hunger Challenge. For the first time, the Text2Bid smartphone app enabled guests at the fourth annual Kick Hunger Challenge auction and dinner in January at SPORT Restaurant & Bar to browse, bid and pay for their items using only their smartphones. The event raised $60,000 in one night alone.

The Kick Hunger Challenge is a friendly fundraising competition between all 32 NFL teams to raise money for food banks nationwide. Chef Howie, Terrill and the Seattle Seahawks won the Kick Hunger Challenge the previous three seasons, but the New England Patriots team, who raised $134,000, was named this year's winner at the 25^th annual Party with a Purpose hosted by the Taste of the NFL during Super Bowl 50 festivities in San Francisco.

"Maetro has supported our Kick Hunger Challenge auction the last three years, and the addition of their Text2Bid smartphone technology at this year's event allowed our guests to more conveniently bid on and watch their items while also enjoying the evening's food and entertainment," said Chef John Howie, Chef and Proprietor of the John Howie Restaurant Group. "We look forward to again partnering with Maestro's great team to raise even more money next season for Food Lifeline via the Kick Hunger Challenge!"

SPORT provided a standard floorplan for these types of events- a central location for the silent auction (main lobby), separate from the seating area. The Text2Bid system assigned bid numbers and registered phones upon arrival at SPORT, essentially creating a mobile silent auction. The smartphone app enabled guests to remain at their tables to eat, drink, socialize and enjoy celebrity appearances and live entertainment.

Event organizers also leveraged what they described as Maestro's excellent on-site customer service to help assign the bid numbers, ensure guests were able to register their phones and provide other real-time troubleshooting. They credit the add-on services for helping to reassure guests that their Text2bid experience would be seamless. 

"Text2Bid is rapidly redefining the traditional silent auction in favor of mobile bidding," said Ken Kleve, President and COO, MaestroSoft. "We're thrilled to join forces with Chef John and Craig to create a more guest friendly and clearly more streamlined method to manage a fundraising silent auction."

Demo

To arrange a demo and reserve a custom keyword call (800) -438-6498 Option 1.

MaestroSoft-
MaestroSoft is the premier provider of charity fundraising solutions in the U.S. A leader in mobile bidding, the company's Text2Bid service is used by major organizations such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the American Diabetes Association and others. MaestroSoft recently launched Text2Fund, a versatile mobile fundraising service optimized for rapid deployment and receipt of funds. It's an easy and ultra-convenient way to immediately contribute to any campaign using a PayPal account. For more information, visit www.maestrosoft.com