{"id":10772,"date":"2018-06-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=10772"},"modified":"2024-05-08T21:42:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T21:42:03","slug":"peer-to-peer-event-fundraising-ccan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/peer-to-peer-event-fundraising-ccan\/","title":{"rendered":"How CCAN Used Peer-to-Peer Event Fundraising To Raise Over $128,000"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In their mission to fight the impacts of climate change in some of the most vulnerable communities, the<a href=\"https:\/\/chesapeakeclimate.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN)<\/a> works with policy experts and community organizers across the Chesapeake region to promote progressive climate policies. The heart of their work is \u201drooted in community organizing,\u201d according to Kelly McLaughlin, Director of Donor Engagement for CCAN.<\/p>\n<p>With such a strong focus on the \u201ccommunity,\u201d it may not come as a surprise that their largest annual fundraising campaign relies on that same community support. Each year, CCAN hosts the <a href=\"https:\/\/chesapeakeclimate.org\/event\/13th-annual-keep-winter-cold-polar-bear-plunge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Annual Polar Bear Plunge<\/a>, a fun and engaging <a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/peer-to-peer-fundraising-primer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">peer-to-peer fundraising<\/a>\u00a0event that helps raise money and awareness for the work they\u2019re doing to educate, inspire, and mobilize community leaders to advocate for a more sustainable future.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly, the organization\u2019s only full-time fundraiser, is not only passionate about what CCAN does, but is also determined to help broaden the organization\u2019s donor base and expand their operating budget.<\/p>\n<p>This year, she knew that in order to meet the organization-wide goal of increasing their individual donation amount $45,000 from 2017, she needed to make a few changes to this signature campaign. Thankfully, after powering this already-established fundraising event using CauseVox, CCAN flew past their campaign goal and exceeded their own high expectations.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke with Kelly about some of her biggest takeaways from the event and wanted to share some of the highlights with you.<\/p>\n<h2>Campaign Snapshot<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10773\" src=\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/CCAN-1.jpg\" alt=\"CCAN\" width=\"658\" height=\"415\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Campaign goal: $100,000<\/li>\n<li>Total raised: $128,825<\/li>\n<li>Number of personal fundraisers: 237<\/li>\n<li>Fundraising staff size: 1.5 FTE (one full-time, two that added up to one part-time)<\/li>\n<li>Location: Takoma Park, MD<\/li>\n<li>Length of Campaign: 3 months<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About CCAN &amp; The Annual Polar Bear Plunge<\/h2>\n<p>CCAN is an established nonprofit located in the Chesapeake region. With the help of 15 staff members spread throughout four offices in the area, they advocate for fewer fossil fuels and more clean energy solutions. Kelly works out of the CCAN headquarters in Takoma Park, Maryland, along with a team of communications and administrative professionals, as well as two other part-time fundraisers.<\/p>\n<p>In the current political and social climate, organizations like CCAN sure do have their work cut out for them. However, that hasn\u2019t stopped CCAN from setting ambitious goals. Kelly explained, \u201cIn the upcoming year, CCAN has set its sights on doubling a renewable energy mandate in Maryland, stopping offshore drilling and promoting coastal adaptation measures in Virginia, and passing a carbon fee-and-rebate policy in Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, all these goals take money, which is why they ambitiously set out to raise $100,000 for the Polar Bear Plunge. This amount, combined with individual donations, will help CCAN raise upwards of $340,000 for the 2018 fiscal year.<\/p>\n<p>At first glance, The Polar Bear Plunge already has all the elements needed to ensure a successful campaign. The event relies on eager, selfless participants who believe in supporting CCAN\u2019s efforts enough that they\u2019re willing to raise enough money to jump into the icy Potomac River at National Harbor to prove it. \u201cIt\u2019s both our biggest fundraiser and a major education opportunity,\u201d Kelly told us.<\/p>\n<p>Fundraisers include the organization\u2019s activists and other supporters, each of whom uses the event as a chance to raise funds and talk to their own networks of friends and family about fighting climate change.<\/p>\n<h2>The Plunge: Finding the Right Platform Fit<\/h2>\n<p>2018 was Kelly\u2019s first year running the Polar Bear Plunge, which tends to net anywhere between $85,000-100,000. In past years, CCAN didn\u2019t have a dedicated, full-time fundraiser to handle this campaign and other fundraising activities.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, they relied on their flexible employee-base to handle the many different aspects of the campaign. For example, one person managed the \u201cplungers\u201d (personal fundraisers), while another was in charge of the website, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>Although the campaign was successful year after year, Kelly was eager to change their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/peer-to-peer-fundraising-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">peer-to-peer fundraising software<\/a> to streamline the process of her end and to more thoroughly meet the needs of the plungers.<\/p>\n<p>In her search for a new platform, she wanted one that met the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Easy to use<\/li>\n<li>Supported multiple fundraising teams<\/li>\n<li>User-friendly backend\/dashboard<\/li>\n<li>Custom fields<\/li>\n<li>Some automated functions<\/li>\n<li>Quick response time\/high-level of customer service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After looking at multiple platforms, Kelly chose to power her campaign with CauseVox. \u201cThe ease of use of CauseVox and your quick response whenever we needed help was really great and it made coming over to your platform a really obvious, easy choice,\u201d Kelly explained.<\/p>\n<h2>CCAN\u2019s Keys To A Successful Campaign<\/h2>\n<p>After choosing CauseVox, Kelly still had to make some changes to optimize the campaign experience&#8211; for her and her team, as well as the plungers themselves. Below, you\u2019ll see the areas that she believes made the biggest impact in helping them surpass their goal.<\/p>\n<h3>Spending Time Where It Matters<\/h3>\n<p>In years past, CCAN employees spent the majority of their campaign-related time with technical support issues. Kelly told us that CCAN used up all their time \u201chelping people sign up on the site, set up their plunge page, and troubleshoot issues they had in setting up their teams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But by using CauseVox, which is designed to take the chaos out of the fundraising experience, employees were able to spend more time supporting the plungers\u2019 fundraising efforts, and not just the technical aspects.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly utilized features like CauseVox\u2019s custom fields to capture valuable information such as T-shirt sizes, sign waivers, and contact information. \u201cWe learned retroactively that we had to fine-tune our custom fields,\u201d she explained, but she was able to do so effortlessly. From there, she could easily pull donor data and even use built-in mail merge features.<\/p>\n<p>The CCAN team also benefited from having a staffer who was tasked with working on only the plunge. \u201cEven though she only worked 10-15 hours per week, since she had no other priorities or responsibilities, she kept the rest of us (and especially me) on track with deadlines,\u201d Kelly explained.<\/p>\n<h3>Capturing Advice From Long-Time Plungers<\/h3>\n<p>Kelly also made sure to get the advice of long-time plungers, who informed her that they were interested in learning new ways to fundraise. They also mentioned wanting to learn skills such as content creation so they can effectively share their message with friends and family on social media.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10774\" src=\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/CCAN-2.jpg\" alt=\"CCAN\" width=\"632\" height=\"517\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then, Kelly mobilized these same fundraisers by recruiting them to once again participate as either a plunger or team captain.<\/p>\n<h3>Providing Education<\/h3>\n<p>From there, Kelly and her team implemented new strategies to help educate and inspire past and potential plungers to get involved for the 2018 event.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the key strategies included creating and distributing the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A recruitment video including interviews with past plungers<\/li>\n<li>A fundraising toolkit with information about CCAN, climate change, and fundraising best practices<\/li>\n<li>An outreach planning worksheet to help plungers pinpoint who to reach out to<\/li>\n<li>An outreach toolkit with emails, phone call scripts, and social media posts<\/li>\n<li>Weekly coaching emails with tips from fellow plungers and information about bonus challenges.<\/li>\n<li>A video that explained all the new resources listed above<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you can see, CCAN understood that there\u2019s no such thing as too much information when you\u2019re preparing a team of personal fundraisers.<\/p>\n<h2>A GREAT Takeaway For You, Courtesy of CCAN<\/h2>\n<p>With a great campaign under the belts, Kelly and her CCAN team are pleased with their results are ready to expand their efforts again next year. We asked Kelly what her biggest takeaway from this campaign was, and she offered some great advice we wanted to pass on to you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>\u201cI think our main take away is that when it comes to crowdfunding, you have two options to expand. You can either recruit more fundraisers, OR you can empower the fundraisers you have to raise more money.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>CCAN never hesitated to recruit new fundraisers in years past, but aside from losing plungers from year-to-year, they also found that first-time fundraisers weren\u2019t always successful. So this year, they put their focus on fundraiser retention. \u201cWe focus on\u2026 giving them excellent support and tools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, they were more successful than ever before, and even with just a few more plungers than in years past, they raised significantly more funds. \u201cWe feel like because they had more fun and felt more supported, we\u2019re likely to retain more plungers next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In terms of peer-to-peer fundraising, CCAN\u2019s Polar Bear Plunge is proof that a well-planned approach goes a long way. They used best practices, such as recruiting past participants, creating and sharing toolkits, and using the tools they were given to soar past their goal. We\u2019re so happy to have gotten the chance to work with Kelly and CCAN\u2019s dedicated plungers, and we can\u2019t wait to see what 2019 brings to the challenge!<\/p>\n<p>CauseVox makes it easy for you to manage relationships with your supporters and create personalized fundraising sites, peer-to-peer campaigns, and donation pages, all in one place, while also providing a remarkable giving experience your supporters will love.<\/p>\n<p>With CauseVox you get more than a tool. We combine powerful fundraising tools with best practices and an experienced team to guide you to success.<\/p>\n<p>You can get started for free and upgrade as you grow. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/schedule-a-demo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Book a demo<\/a> to learn more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In their mission to fight the impacts of climate change in some of the most vulnerable communities, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) works with policy experts and community organizers across the Chesapeake region to promote progressive climate policies. The heart of their work is \u201drooted in community organizing,\u201d according to Kelly McLaughlin, Director of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":51355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/polar-bear-plunge-fundraiser-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/polar-bear-plunge-fundraiser-600x474.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Candace Cody","author_link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/author\/candace\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}