If you’re ready to take your fundraising events to the next level, a donation kiosk is a great tool to bring in more donations. These intuitive donation stations help organizations raise more on-site gifts in an increasingly cashless world. In this article, we share some creative ways to use donation kiosks to keep contributions flowing throughout your event. Read on!
You’ve spent months planning the perfect fundraising event. You’ve created your event page, shared it with your audience, and sold plenty of tickets. But now you have a dilemma – how can you keep that giving momentum going during your event?
That’s where a donation kiosk comes in! Android and iPad donation kiosks can help you collect more gifts, manage your fundraising add-ons, and collect valuable donor information that will help you build solid donor relationships.
In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about using donation kiosks at fundraising events, including what they are and some creative ways to use them.
Donation kiosks are an excellent way to collect more contributions on-site at your location and during in-person events. You can choose to have a stationary kiosk and let donors interact with it independently. Or you can use your kiosk as a portable giving tool and have a staff member or volunteer walking around with it during your events.
These donation kiosks typically bring an Android or iPad tablet, a card reader, and a powerful kiosk app together to help you collect more donations. Ideally, they should offer an intuitive user interface so donors of all tech skill levels can easily give with cards, smartphones, and smartwatches.
The Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app helps you turn your tablet and card reader into a powerful tool to collect more gifts. Donors can give with taps, dips, or swipes, using their preferred payment methods.
Plus, the donor view on Donorbox Live™ is available in three languages – English, French, and Spanish – making it accessible for more members of your audience.
Contributions you collect using your donation kiosk will flow directly to your Donorbox account, making it easy to track the success of your campaign. Donors can also choose to share their email, which allows you to develop a stronger relationship with them.
Here’s all you need to get started –
Then, simply download the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app, connect your account, and sync your tablet with your card reader.
Watch this short video to learn more about this powerful tool!
A wine pull is a fun way to bring in more donations for your organization. Here’s how it works: you gather a selection of wines (either purchased or donated) and wrap them so your donors can’t see the label. The value of the wine should vary, with some expensive options to up the excitement! Donors will give a set amount and choose which wrapped bottle they want.
Use your donation kiosk to easily collect their payments for your wine pull. This will speed up the process and make this an exciting, seamless activity during your event!
Pro tip: With Donorbox, you have the power to create different campaigns to help you better track the success of your event fundraising. For example, create a wine pull campaign for your giving kiosk. This will help you see how many contributions you brought in from your wine pull – so you can assess if you’d like to do it differently next time!
A silent auction is a great addition to any fundraising event. Get supporters to donate auction items like luxury products, exciting experiences, and local gift cards. Then, ask your event attendees to bid on the items throughout the night. Announce the winners at the end of the event and send people home with their prizes!
Your donation kiosk is the perfect tool to streamline the checkout process for your donors. All they need to do is enter the amount of their winning bid and pay with a card, smartphone, or smartwatch.
Pro tip: Have some branded bags on hand to help your auction winners carry their items. They’ll remember your organization and the fun evening they had whenever they re-use the bag in the future!
Including a raffle in your event allows you to raise more money and generate more excitement. Be sure to choose raffle items that entice your attendees to purchase more tickets and increase their chances of winning! Here are 15 raffle prize ideas to inspire you.
You can use your giving kiosk to sell raffle tickets throughout the event. Set up a ticket booth near your registration table featuring the kiosk and ask staff members to circulate with another kiosk to collect more payments.
Pro tip: Using an Android or iPad donation kiosk means you can easily move it around, but remember that you’ll need an internet connection to collect contributions. Check with your event venue ahead of time to ensure there is a strong Wi-Fi connection and test it out well before your event so you have time to troubleshoot.
A photo booth is a fun way to capture the excitement of your night. Your event attendees will love the opportunity to show off on social media and post about your event. But a photo booth can also help you collect additional donations – especially if there’s a celebrity involved!
This can be a local celebrity, a celebrity to your organization (like the founder), the event’s entertainment, a mascot, or someone else your attendees would want a picture with – get creative! Make a fun backdrop (preferably featuring your logo) and be sure to fully explain that the goal is to boost giving during your event.
Place your donation kiosk near the photo booth to collect payments and have someone on hand to help take photos using your donors’ phones.
If you’re hosting a fall festival or similar event where there are games and activities, a donation kiosk is an excellent way to sell activity tickets! Attendees will likely be purchasing more tickets throughout the event, so it’s crucial to make this process quick and easy so they can enjoy their time!
Station giving kiosks around your event with a staff member present to confirm payment and distribute tickets. Set your default donation amounts to match your ticket prices. This will make checking out with tickets even easier for your donors!
Pro tip: You can also use Donorbox Events to sell your activity and raffle tickets ahead of time, the way this organization did for their carnival. This is a great way to build event momentum – just note that you’ll need a way to collect more ticket sales during your event, too!
Selling concessions during your event is a great way to boost your overall success. Get food and drinks donated by local restaurants or bakeries, or ask volunteers to supply their favorite dishes. Place your donation kiosk at the beginning of the food line and have a staff member there to facilitate purchases.
Pro tip: Ask your attendees if they’d like to make an additional donation on top of the cost of their food (by rounding up or adding more to their total) to make this go even further.
Hosting a fundraising event isn’t easy. Planning one takes a lot of time and energy – which nonprofits often don’t have. That’s why making the most of the fundraising events you host is absolutely crucial. You’re investing in your organization by hosting an event, and it’s important that you raise as much money as possible.
That’s where the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk comes in! Simply download the app onto your Android tablet or iPad, connect your card reader, and start collecting more gifts during your event. Whether you station your kiosks around your venue or ask staff members to work the crowd, your donors will experience a smooth checkout process using the payment methods they’re most comfortable with.
For more event fundraising ideas, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter for a curated collection of blogs delivered to your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower