Virtual events can help your nonprofit reach more people without the geographical barriers of an in-person event. They also help you save costs on a venue, catering, and event staff. Hosting a virtual fundraising event can also be extremely rewarding. Check out our video and step-by-step guide on how to host a successful virtual fundraising event.
So you’ve decided that your annual fundraiser, your big breakfast, your upscale gala, the event that ensures you are on track to meet your annual budget requirements should now be a virtual fundraising event.
Now what?
Getting the creativity flowing can be challenging, but hosting a virtual fundraising event can also be extremely rewarding for your organization. Check out some virtual fundraising ideas to get started!
Virtual events still have the opportunity to raise money and keep your nonprofit running smoothly. Plus, you have the chance to reach even more people without the geographic barriers of an in-person event, and you’ll be able to save on costs such as venue, catering, and event staff.
Check out this short, useful video from Donorbox for help with best practices and pro tips of running virtual fundraising events.
It’s true – planning a virtual fundraising event is not easy, but in the following post, you will learn to:
This first step is vital.
Donor databases, once a luxury few nonprofits thought they should invest in, are now a necessity.
Those who are donating virtually need to know that they are giving using a secure platform that will protect their valuable information. If it’s not secure, people are less likely to donate.
Create a list of key donors that you expect to attend. Make sure that you reach out to those donors first and give them VIP information about your event, including anyone who will be performing for your virtual event, information about party boxes if you are including those, and other insider information.
Encourage them to save the date, and make them feel like an integral part of your event. If it is safe and if COVID regulations allow, offer to have coffee or lunch with a few key donors, and take the extra step to ensure they will attend your event.
Once you have a list of donors that are key players for your virtual event and who have agreed to come, use Donorbox to easily export donor information and send updates to donors, notify them of your event, and help them donate quickly and easily.
Pro tip: If you’d like to sell tickets to your online event, you can use Donorbox Events as your online ticket selling tool! You can either host a ticketing form on the Donorbox servers, or embed it into your very own website. Plus, we make it easy to apply fair market and tax-deductible values to your tickets.
You want to keep donors engaged, and you want to provide opportunities to donate before the event for key donors.
Having money in the bank before the event helps kick off the donations at the virtual event. If you can prove that people are invested in your mission and if you can tell people that you have already raised a percentage of your goal, they will be more likely to donate.
If you are thinking about including an online donation thermometer, text to give options, or other technical pieces to your virtual fundraising event, do your research and make sure the platform you choose for these technical pieces is supported wherever you are streaming your event. Here’s how an organization is using Donorbox to raise money with their virtual fundraiser.
Start Virtual Fundraising With Donorbox
Your followers and donors know what to expect with your fundraising events.
If every year, you put on a large gala, but you now decide to transition your fundraiser to a virtual 5k because it is easier, this will likely confuse consistent donors.
They are expecting a gala, so that’s what you need to give them. Just because you are sticking to what you are used to and what your followers know, that doesn’t mean you cannot still add new, creative elements. Here’s how Left Coast Chamber Ensemble has implemented a virtual gala and raised money using the below Donorbox recurring donation form and fundraising page.
Start Raising Donations Online
On the other hand, maybe your event is typically more laid back. Keep the laid-back element, but encourage people to thrift cocktail attire for the event, with a chance for their outfits to receive a live shoutout.
At the end of the day, you know your target audience best, and you know what adaptations will work for them and excite them. This is not a “one-size-fits-all” list of to-dos. Do what you know will work for your nonprofit.
Just because your fundraiser is now a virtual fundraising event does not mean that you can just hop on Zoom or Facebook live, talk about your nonprofit for an hour, and expect to raise thousands of dollars.
Your virtual fundraising event needs to convey your values to influence the attendees. So, whether they have followed your mission for many years or are joining your fundraiser for the first time, they should walk away from the event knowing exactly what you stand for, who you serve, and why you chose this particular mission.
The reason for your fundraiser needs to be clear. Are you raising funds for a specific project? Is your organization $20,000 short of your annual fundraising goal? Are there a few families in particular that you are trying to raise money for so they can have a house, an apartment, or access to other resources? Be clear about your purpose, while staying within your budget.
Here’s how you can go about this:
Even though you are shifting to a virtual platform, you still need to define a budget.
Since you won’t be spending a large chunk of sponsorship money on a venue, food, and other normal needs, pour that money into a videographer, a video editor, and decor for the space you choose to film in. Your event should still look great and look on-brand for your organization.
Reach out to film companies in your area and ask them to be a part of this mission. Be clear about your budget for digital services, and see if you can find someone who believes in your mission and will help you stay on budget.
If you are relying on volunteers for the event, consider budgeting money for gift cards or another small gift to make volunteers feel special and to make sure they want to keep returning and helping you!
Also, consider spending money on interactive elements, which we will talk more about.
Is your goal $50,000? $100,000? Set a clear fundraising goal for you, your staff, and your board of directors to work towards. This will help you stay on track and engage your donors better.
During your event, use a fundraising goal meter or thermometer of some sort, constantly updating your attendees on how much money they have helped you raise.
Give people who have donated shout-outs. Have a leader board on your website or on your social media to show who has donated and the amount they gave. This will further motivate people to continue to give and to give large amounts.
Always push people to sign up as recurring donors. Recurring donors are a vital source of funds for nonprofits, so if you can get more monthly donors during your event, push yourself to make that happen.
Tell people the impact of monthly giving, let them know that they will receive exclusive updates about things happening within your nonprofit, and tell them they will be added to monthly newsletter updates and have access to buying tickets for future events before the general public.
A timeline of the virtual fundraising event is crucial. If you are planning an hour-long event, make a detailed minute-by-minute schedule of events, who will be speaking when, and–if you are going to include any live performances from musical or other artists–including special guest performances.
As we will talk about more later, having a day of coordinator for the event would help immensely. A day of coordinator will keep the run of the show flowing and help make sure anyone who is a part of the event knows when they need to log on to your streaming platform and talk or present, as well as make sure other elements go smoothly.
As previously mentioned, where you gather footage for the virtual fundraiser is still important. This footage can look like many things. Gathering footage in advance can take a lot of pressure off of event organizers and help reduce the risk of unexpected hiccups in the event.
Some examples would be getting the introduction for your fundraiser pre-recorded, with updates from your annual report and details about the intention of your fundraiser. Also, you could ask donors, board members, staff, and others in the community to share about why they donate, what they do, and how your organization has impacted them.
Local artists (musicians, poets, etc.) can also pre-record their performances. Panel discussions or your founder speaking are some other ideas.
Filming at your home office or in a tiny closet is not going to come across as professional or well-planned.
Have a small team of people film in your office, or in another space that looks professional.
Of course, if you are having donors, board members, or others film videos for your event in advance, they may film at home or in less professional spaces.
However, the keynote speaker should film in a place that has good lighting and professional, well-decorated background.
For better or worse, there are more live streaming options available than ever before.
Some popular streaming platforms that you might consider using include:
A good example would be the below virtual event that was streamed on Zoom and they used the donation form to accept ticket donations as entry to the online event.
Market your event on all platforms at least six months before your event, always pointing people to your secure donation landing page or events ticketing form for the event.
Make the event personal by including some surprises. For example, the Seattle Shakespeare Company created some custom Zoom backgrounds for the event that attendees could use when they joined the call. Or, send out a link to a virtual photo booth to those who sign up to attend or buy virtual tickets. Customize virtual photo booth elements to fit your nonprofit’s brand.
Include party boxes or a cocktail hour in a box for attendees who commit to hosting a mini-gathering of ten people or more.
These tiny but special details will set your virtual fundraising event apart.
Leading up to your event, it is important to ask: What are ways you can provide more opportunities for engagement to those who are attending this event?
With everyone adapting to a virtual setting, it is easy for your nonprofit to get lost in all the noise.
If someone is going to jump on another webinar, another Zoom event, or another streaming opportunity and commit two hours or more of their time to you, how are you going to set yourself apart and make that time unique and valuable?
It’s important to consider this as you are planning. If you are not offering opportunities for engagement or unique opportunities for donors, they are less likely to show up for your fundraiser and less likely to participate this year.
One way to do so would be to offer sponsorship package options for donors. If someone pays a bit more money, your nonprofit should consider giving them early access to the fundraiser. If your virtual fundraiser includes gift bags with chocolate or food, consider offering your bigger sponsors a private virtual tasting with the chef. And if your virtual fundraiser includes live performing artists, consider giving your bigger sponsors a pre-fundraiser private show with an opportunity for artists Q and A.
Get creative, and provide special opportunities!
Another opportunity for unique engagement would be adding a “challenge” to your fundraiser.
If your fundraising goal is $30,000, challenge people to donate $30 and tag 30 friends in a Facebook post who should also donate. Or, a supporter could walk 30 minutes a day for 30 days, post about it, use the hashtag for your event, and challenge others to do the same.
If your virtual fundraiser has an auction element, create an online auction where people can bid on items weeks in advance, and announce winners during your virtual fundraising event.
A fun and unique way to spice up your online auction is to ask your board members to get involved and consider asking them if they would be willing to set a fundraising goal for their followers. If they are willing, have them sign up to participate in a crazy task to help raise money.
“Auction” the opportunity to pie a board member in the face, make them shave their head, or ask them to get a tattoo as an option, but only If they meet their fundraising goal!
Too often, audience interaction during virtual events is not prioritized.
If you want this fundraiser to be unique, add in some time throughout the night for your audience to ask questions, share stories, and connect with other supporters!
Allow them to unmute or create a Google Form with the option to submit questions leading up to the event. Answer those questions throughout the night, and have someone monitoring the chat so you don’t miss any opportunities for engagement!
If you are worried about participation, have some attendees “planted” in the audience to ask questions, engage, and speak about their experience with your organization, setting the tone for other attendees.
Pro tip: Use your event page link in newsletters, in the bio on your social media accounts, and in any other places that you are sharing about your event.
Pro tip: Allow attendees to unmute themselves and talk during your event. If you are worried about participation, have some attendees “planted” in the audience to ask questions, engage, and speak about their experience with your organization, setting the tone for other attendees.
Pro tip: If you are hosting your nonprofit’s website on Wix, or Squarespace, or WordPress, you can embed secure donation pages into your existing site, eliminating the extra work of creating a whole new page for your virtual fundraising event. Also, with resources like Donorbox, your donors can choose to cover online processing fees, which takes the burden of responsibility to front those costs from your agency.
It may sound like a no-brainer, but make sure you have one or two individuals designated to keep everything on track behind the scenes during your virtual fundraising event.
Keep the specific timeline you have created on hand.
Get the contact information for every speaker or performer who is scheduled to speak just in case you need to get a hold of them.
If a speaker bails last minute, or if someone is having technical issues, make sure you have ideas for how to fill in time.
Pro tip: Rehearse the event at least a week in advance. Make sure that every individual that will be a part of your virtual event is also present at the rehearsal so everyone is on the same page the day of the event and there is less chance of slip-ups and virtual hiccups.
If you are planning on using any virtual tools like the fundraising thermometer, polls, break-out rooms, or others, make sure you also rehearse those!
Don’t forget to include special messages from board members, sponsors, and those that your nonprofit serves. These are easy to collect in advance. Here are some ideas:
After pulling off your successful event, don’t forget to provide supporters with updates. Here are some ideas:
Your event is being held online, then why use the same traditional approach toward managing the event data and tickets? You should create an event-ticketing form online and add ticket levels to it as per your pricing strategy. All your ticket levels should reflect the tax-deductible values for your attendees’ convenience. A form like this also makes marketing your event easier; all you have to do is share the link and ask people to buy tickets.
Donorbox Events is a simple-to-use, comprehensive event-ticketing form creator, designed specifically to assist nonprofits in selling and managing fundraising event tickets. You can issue tickets with the tax-deductible value mentioned and ask purchasers to share any specific information that might be helpful for you. You can even let them donate to your nonprofit right from the event page. And the best part? Events auto-generates tax-deductible ticket values, reflecting both fair-market price and tax-rate values in the ticket prices, and automatically sends receipts to the purchasers.
Donorbox Events also lets you embed the ticketing form on your website and use Apple Pay. You can also refund the ticket amount in full if need be. There’s also the option to set a deadline for buying your event tickets. Check out the below video to quickly learn about all Donorbox Events features –
Virtual fundraisers are overwhelming at times, and it’s important to rely on your team, your volunteers, and your board members to ensure the day is a success.
With the tips and tricks given in this blog and with other information available here and on our nonprofit blog, we wish you success in your virtual fundraiser planning and execution!
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Megan Koontz