Hosting virtual fundraisers for your sports team that excite donors just as much as in-person events takes some creativity. Ideally, these fundraisers should inspire not just participation in the initial fundraising push but continued support long after.
To help your group earn the revenue you need from supporters nationwide, this guide will explore four fundraisers that can easily go virtual, the fundraising platforms you’ll need to run them, and how you can use them to generate ongoing support.
1. Product fundraisers
Lots of supporters appreciate an extra incentive to donate, which is where product fundraisers come in. Supporters will be more inclined to give when they can buy a fun present for themselves while supporting a good cause.
To run a successful product fundraiser online, follow these steps:
- Choose a product that appeals to your audience. The key to a successful product fundraiser is selecting a product that your supporters are excited about. Consider longstanding favorites, like cookie dough and popcorn, or vendors that put a unique twist on their products by offering fun flavors.
- Select a fundraising platform. Choose a modern fundraising app or website that offers free, personalized online stores and ship-to-home delivery. This way, participating team members can easily conduct the whole fundraiser online without worrying about going door-to-door or managing inventory.
- Set a deadline. To fundraise in a timely fashion and ensure your supporters aren’t left waiting for their orders, set a deadline or fundraiser end date. This will also motivate your team members to sell items quickly, creating a friendly sense of competition.
To generate long-term support, encourage your team members to follow up with supporters they sold to. These messages should confirm the supporter got their order, thank them for helping out your team or group, and let them know the impact their contribution had.
2. Pledge drives
Sports teams can thrive by hosting active fundraisers like fun runs, athletic challenges, and a-thon style events that rely on a pledge fundraising model.
Through this fundraising method, friends and family support participants by promising to donate based on their performance. For example, a parent might pledge $5 per lap the participant runs. No matter the goal, it makes for a memorable spectacle and encourages team members to challenge themselves.
For instance, Team Butter’s fundraising ideas for sports teams guide suggests creating a long-running, online pledge fundraiser with a virtual fitness challenge. Through this fundraiser, participants set their own ongoing goals, such as running a mile or exercising for at least 30 minutes every day. This is healthier for participants than one big push during a set event and helps you earn donations over a longer period of time.
Before your pledge drive, prepare virtual pledge cards. These are message templates supporters can fill out to confirm their commitment to donating a specific amount at the end of your fundraiser. Include the following elements in your pledge cards:
- An explanation of your fundraiser
- Pledge amount
- Payment method
- Donor contact information
- Statement of thanks
Additionally, provide details about what happens after a pledge is made. This helps virtual supporters follow your campaign and know when their gift must be submitted by.
3. Auctions
In-person auctions bring supporters together to bid on a range of prizes. These events can be highly profitable but are hard to plan due to logistics like event space and item distribution.
Fortunately, you can take your auction online! With mobile bidding tools, you can create an online, interactive auction catalogue that supporters can use to browse items and place bids at their leisure. You can even create a quick auction preview to drum up excitement before the event!
Online auctions encourage bidding wars and can rack up high final bids by stretching out over days. Encourage supporters to set up notifications during your event so they can act fast whenever they’re outbid or as the auction is about to close.
Then, when your auction ends, your nonprofit or group can ship out winning items over the course of a few days, rather than in a chaotic few hours at an event site.
4. Peer-to-peer fundraisers
For sports teams and schools full of eager students, peer-to-peer fundraisers are a go-to way to raise money online. These fundraisers leverage your team’s individual networks, allowing you to access prospective supporters who might otherwise not know about your campaign.
Peer-to-peer fundraisers involve each participant creating their own online fundraising page. This way, their friends and family can give directly to the person they know and care about. To enable your team to create custom donation pages, you’ll need the right software, and there’s a wide range of peer-to-peer tools on the market.
Double the Donation’s peer-to-peer fundraising software guide highlights a few features to look for when assessing vendors:
- Accessibility and user-friendliness. Peer-to-peer campaigns thrive when you have as many participants as possible. To ensure everyone on your team can participate, select software that is accessible and intuitive, enabling your team to get their fundraising pages up and running quickly.
- Payment processing capabilities. If your peer-to-peer fundraising software can process multiple types of payment methods, you’ll receive more donations.
- Integrations. Select a peer-to-peer tool that integrates with the rest of your tech stack. This ensures data collected through your peer-to-peer fundraiser gets transferred automatically to your central database, improving your ability to follow up with supporters after your campaign.
- Vendor support. Make sure any software products you purchase have readily available vendor support, so if you encounter technical issues or have questions about using your new platform, you can quickly get your questions answered.
- Matching gift capabilities. If your group qualifies, give your fundraiser a boost by prompting supporters to check if they are eligible for a matching gift. Matching gifts are donations corporations make when their employees donate to charitable organizations, like nonprofits and schools.
To solidify new donors’ support after your peer-to-peer fundraiser, reach out to thank them for their contributions. Send them information about your group, share the impact they made on your recent campaign, and invite them to future fundraising activities.
Virtual fundraisers are an accessible way to engage your entire supporter community and earn revenue online. If you need help turning your virtual events into stable fundraising opportunities, consider working with a fundraising consultant, especially one who specializes in strategic management and development.