Are you a nonprofit organization that has had to cancel a fundraising walk, run, ride or another type of in-person event during the pandemic? You may have found that the fundraising scene has now changed – virtual fundraising events are now a large part of many nonprofits’ annual fundraising plans.

During the pandemic, we talked about hosting a virtual fundraising event instead. Participants are still looking for something to look forward to and rally behind virtually. Many are asking themselves – how can I help?

Here’s what you can do to empower your supporters:

HARNESS THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA

• Keep your event at its regular scheduled time and go live on Facebook! During your virtual event, have a local celebrity or representative walk the route and engage Facebook viewers along the way.

• Encourage your P2P teams and participants to post photos or videos of their activity using a clever hashtag that you provide for your virtual event.

• Create a dedicated Facebook Event page and share it in your email communications with your participants and supporters. Encourage them to invite others to virtually join.

• Are you using Facebook Fundraiser for your event? If so, take some time to go through the currently registered participants and see if they’ve connected their fundraiser to Facebook. If they haven’t, ask them to do so or provide assistance in getting them set-up.

MAKE IT FUN

• Consider setting up a central location for participants to pick up their t-shirts with a goody bag that includes some of the non-perishable food items that would have been handed out at the event such as granola bars, chips, and fruit snacks.

• If teams and participants reach a certain level of fundraising or self-donate, offer to mail their t-shirts, prizes and goody bags ahead of the event. Encourage them to wear their t-shirts and post their fundraising activities on social media for friends and family with a link to their online donation page.

• Run contests for most creative activity, best walk outfit, fundraising incentive prizes, etc.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

• Let everyone know that your event is a flexible, engaging, virtual event.

• Provide video messaging from sponsors, celebrities, and team captains about the importance of participating virtually.

• Check in with team captains and provide tips and tools for communicating with their team members about virtual event participation.

REMEMBER YOUR SPONSORS

• As an act of stewardship, call your sponsors to let them know how your virtual event planning and execution are going.

• Think of new ways to advertise sponsors who will lose visibility at your in-person event. Perhaps it’s a video in an email or posting a ‘thank you commercial’ for them on social media.

Need help setting up your virtual fundraising events?

Get in touch with one of our Senior Fundraising Consultants and we can chat with you about software tools available in the marketplace, building a microsite to support your campaign, and virtual fundraising strategy to maximize revenue.