When it comes to your next fundraising event, springtime is the right time. Just picture it: the weather is growing ever warmer and people are beginning to venture outside to connect with one another again. Another way to visualise it: March ushers in the unofficial start of spring fundraising season! The very-good-news is that our world has changed quite a bit since last spring—the vaccine programme is in full effect and we’re hopeful that COVID cases and hospitalisations will remain low. As we all start to venture out, consider these tips to help your charity plan the best spring fundraising event to date.
Bring Fresh (and Accessible) Ideas
2020 and 2021 were challenging times for charities of all sizes and shapes. You had to navigate new ways of giving amidst lockdowns and uncertainty, but the charitable sector proved itself to be agile and resilient to these challenges. Now, in 2022, we hope this will be the first spring in three years with significantly fewer COVID restrictions. You have an opportunity to rethink all that you wish to do in the year ahead.
For example, why not consider an in-person or hybrid fundraising event this spring? If you had to cancel previous campaigns, or move them online, now is the perfect time to revisit what is possible. Charity Digital suggests that hybrid events will be “all the rage”. The fundraiser of the season is all about accessibility. Virtual fundraisers kept us safe, but distanced and enabled charities to throw geography to the wind to reach more donors. Yet in-person fundraisers create deeper and stronger relationships that can lead to lifetime giving. The best path forward this spring may well be a hybrid event that merges the benefits of each modality into a single, successful event that is safe and fun for everyone.
What is the Impact of Your Event? Make it Clear!
A clear goal will keep your participants motivated and on track. As you plan your spring 2022 fundraiser, be sure to set clear goals for participants—highlight how their contributions will benefit others and themselves. Drawing these clear connections will help you inspire more people to get involved with your cause, including people that may be new to your charity or to fundraising activities in general.
Marie Curie’s Step into Spring campaign is a great example. It’s a clear commitment: simply sign up to walk 10,000 steps a day in March. The fundraiser provides step-by-step instructions to get involved: 1. set up a JustGiving page, 2. select a smartphone or pedometer to track your steps, 3. go walk (and tell someone where you’re headed), and 4. share your achievement with others to raise money and awareness. Step into Spring makes a compelling case for committing to so many steps (310,000 in total): Every amount raised helps Marie Curie care for even more people affected by terminal illness. Raising just £20 equates to an hour of expert care and support from a Marie Curie nurse. As a bonus, all participants who raise at least this much also receive a free Step into Spring t-shirt to wear with pride. The charity also promotes personal fitness goals, to encourage people to get involved not just to help others, but to gain greater physical fitness and mental health, especially after emerging from a long, cold winter.
Promote your Event (and Don’t Forget Peer-to-Peer Fundraising)
A spring fundraiser is only successful if people participate in it. How will people learn of your campaign? Leverage all existing channels at your disposal, like social media, newsletters, and mailers. Move beyond the basics to explore platforms that could help you reach new demographics. For example, TikTok is a great way to engage younger people. Charity Digital suggests five potential platforms that could be worth researching, including: MeWe, Houseparty, Discord, Yubo, and Honk. Another smart strategy is to reach out to partners. What businesses, organisations, or local leaders might be willing to make an in-kind or financial donation or help you spread the word?
No matter how you promote your campaign, always provide your participants an easy way to do peer-to-peer fundraising. A study of 4,800 organisations found that campaigns that enabled people to raise money through peer-to-peer fundraising were 4.5 times higher than the median amount raised by ticketed events, and the vast majority of people (4 out of 5) who gave to a peer-to-peer fundraiser were new to the organisation. Not only is peer-to-peer fundraising effective and engaging, it can often be done with limited staff time and low cost.
Deliver a Really Memorable Experience
Step three is an important one, because it’s all about your supporters: a great fundraising campaign should be a memorable experience for all participants, to ensure that donors will come back year after year. It also helps you achieve your fundraising goals—people who make recurring donations give 42% more on average, per year, than one-time donors.
This spring, get creative in how you engage with participants to make your event fun and memorable. Battersea’s Muddy Dog Challenge is a great example, in which participants (and their dogs) can “sign up to get muddy” with a 2.5 or 5 KM obstacle you can do with your dog, to make a life-changing difference for Battersea’s animals. A video from Battersea shows smiling participants with their pooches, saying they “loved every single minute of it” as they jump through water obstacles, slog through mud, and crawl through tunnels. If the fun itself wasn’t enough, the charity also gifts an exclusive dog lead to the top ten fundraisers at each event.
Cleverly Kit out your Participants
People participate in fundraisers for a multitude of reasons. Yet, one thing that everyone appreciates is free merchandise.. No matter how you plan your event, be sure to put together a branded kit for your hardworking supporters. Popular, crowd-pleasing options include branded t-shirts, water bottles, pin badges, sweatbands, and medals. What is special and meaningful for your charity? What would your supporters appreciate and use?
Take a note from the iconic Moonwalk London 2022 event, from breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, which takes place the night of 14 May. Participants walk either 15.1 or 26.2 miles through London to raise money and awareness. Everyone receives a branded bra to decorate, a bra t-shirt, a reflective cap, a medal, and more. Not only does everyone get great branded gear to wear long after the event ends, but the walk itself encourages everyone to sport their own carnival-decorated bra during the walk, which contributes to an inclusive sense of community and fun, and motivates more people to participate. Even non-participants can browse the Walk the Walk Shop to purchase other great gifts, like hoodies, bumbags, and training jackets.
What other fresh ideas do you have for your spring fundraising event? How will you promote your event to maximise participation and donations? And most importantly, how will you make it memorable and fun? We’d love to hear your ideas! Please get in touch with Rocket Charities today to start planning the perfect spring fundraiser.