{"id":16844,"date":"2019-08-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=16844"},"modified":"2024-05-08T23:24:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T23:24:25","slug":"girl-scout-fundraising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/girl-scout-fundraising\/","title":{"rendered":"Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois Take Their Fundraising Over The Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you think about Girl Scouts fundraising, your mind probably goes straight to cookies. But these successful fundraisers from the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois go beyond the Thin Mint. Speaking of mints, look how much they\u2019ve raised with CauseVox!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About GSNI<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before using CauseVox, the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois (GSNI) struggled with using clunky peer to peer fundraising software. Today, they use CauseVox to raise more with less effort. For the last two years they\u2019ve run peer to peer and #Giving Tuesday events on CauseVox, raising more than $133,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GSNI provides programming to 15,000 girls in 16 northern Illinois counties as part of their mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The council operates six Resource Centers and four camps.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy Ramos, Annual Giving Manager, is part of a 5-person development team. She oversees fundraising events and special campaigns and has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/peer-to-peer-fundraising-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">run peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns on CauseVox<\/a> for the last two years.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Campaigns<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16860\" src=\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/screen-shot-2019-08-15-at-5-10-32-pm.png\" alt=\"girl-scouts-causevox\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\"><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the Edge<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over The Edge is a peer to peer fundraising event. Participants raise money, and if they reach their $1,000 fundraising goals, they get to rappel down a 16-story building.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Go Over the Edge 4 Girl Scouts!\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eFCiKkuAf1Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sounds exciting, right? Nancy agrees, \u201cWhen 11 and 12-year-old girls tell their friends and family that they\u2019re going to rappel down a 16-story building&#8230;it\u2019s pretty easy to engage people.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fundraisers include both Girl Scouts and the adults who support them. They use CauseVox\u2019s online fundraising tools to raise money, along with their own off-line ideas, like bake sales and car washes. The money they raise supports GSNI\u2019s programming.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2018 GSNI raised $63,296, and in 2019 they raised $64,963.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving Tuesday&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GSNI also runs their Giving Tuesday campaign on CauseVox. In 2017 they raised nearly $4,000 in a single day, and in 2018 raised more than. $5,000. CauseVox\u2019s fundraising tools made it easy to update supporters about why Girl Scouts matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16861 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/screen-shot-2019-08-15-at-5-13-55-pm.png\" alt=\"girl-scouts-updates\" width=\"1109\" height=\"854\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why CauseVox?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy chose CauseVox for her peer to peer fundraising because:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CauseVox Is Easy For Fundraisers To Use<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy hadn\u2019t had a great experience with her previous peer to peer software. \u201cFundraisers could never get it set up,\u201d she says. \u201cEven when I walked them through it, it was difficult.\u201d She switched to CauseVox because of its ease of use.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16862\" src=\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/screen-shot-2019-08-15-at-5-19-12-pm.png\" alt=\"girl-scouts-personal-fundraising-page\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, some of Nancy\u2019s fundraisers are eleven, and they\u2019re not likely to spend hours wrestling clunky software.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCauseVox has been so easy for everyone to use,\u201d Nancy says. Fundraisers set up their pages quickly and painlessly. They can put all their efforts towards their ambitious fundraising goals, not trying to figure out how to set up a page.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CauseVox Makes It Simple For Donors To Give<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy wanted a fundraising platform that was simple for everyone who used it&#8211;including donors. She says, \u201cIf it\u2019s hard for their donors to make a donation, then they\u2019re just going to forget about it, leave the page, and move on. CauseVox makes it so simple for the donors and for my fundraisers.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With CauseVox, donors don\u2019t have to open a PayPal account or fill out endless forms. Making a donation is fast and without frustration.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CauseVox Is Affordable, Functional, And Fundraiser-Focused<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other peer to peer platforms are expensive and contract-bound, but not CauseVox. Nancy was pleased to see that its affordability didn\u2019t mean a loss of function. CauseVox had the features she needed at a price that worked with her budget.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With CauseVox, Nancy could set up her campaign easily, without struggling. \u201cHonestly, it could take 10-15 minutes to set up if you already have the content and graphics you want to use,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CauseVox\u2019s team was always ready to answer her questions. When she had new ideas for adding even more functionality to the platform, she found that they always took her seriously. \u201cThey\u2019re always trying to improve the platform and make it what their fundraisers need and give us the tools that we need,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CauseVox Simplifies Events<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Events like Over the Edge can get complicated quickly. If you\u2019re fundraising on one platform, running registration on another, and then asking people to email you their t-shirt size, you\u2019re likely to get overwhelmed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With CauseVox, you can<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/fundraising-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> run your fundraising event<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in one place, saving time and effort by tidying up your fundraising. Forget annoying ticketing forms&#8211;participants can choose their registration tier and pay in one step. Then, they\u2019ll instantly be directed to a pre-filled personal fundraising page, all ready to go. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you run your peer-to-peer event on CauseVox, all your data is in one place. You can track your fundraisers and donors and keep an eye on fundraising progress, all from your easy-to-use dashboard.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tips From GSNI<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay In Touch<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During Over the Edge, Nancy communicates with her peer to peer fundraisers a lot. \u201cThe goal is to keep them fundraising and give them different creative ideas,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every week, she posted to a private Facebook group for fundraisers and also emailed them the content. She gave them graphics and text to share on social media, along with campaign updates and fundraising tips.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy used CauseVox\u2019s tools to cheer fundraisers on. \u201cThe nice thing about CauseVox is that you can see when people are fundraising,\u201d she says. When alerts like, \u201cAnnie just got six donations!\u201d popped up on her CauseVox dashboard, Nancy made sure to check in Annie to congratulate and encourage her. \u201cKeeping in contact with your peer to peer fundraisers is the biggest thing,\u201d Nancy advises.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engage Fundraisers With Each Other<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GSNI serves 16 counties, so the participants were spread out and didn\u2019t all know each other. To help them interact and get acquainted, Nancy created a private Facebook group for fundraisers to share ideas.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This had three advantages. First, it kept fundraisers inspired and made them feel like part of a community. Second, fundraisers could benefit from lots of different ideas and share their own, rather than only hearing from the organization. Third, at the real-life event, people felt like they knew each other. \u201cThey\u2019d say, \u2018Oh! You\u2019re the girl who made the key lime pies!\u2019\u201d Nancy noticed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reach Out Into Your Community<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When searching for corporate sponsors, Nancy looked to GSNI\u2019s vendors. Their bank and insurance company were both happy to come on board. She even found partners in the companies whose products troops sell in the fall&#8211;the companies sponsored the top sellers of the fall fundraisers to participate in Over the Edge as an incentive. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16863\" src=\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/screen-shot-2019-08-15-at-5-21-18-pm.png\" alt=\"girl-scouts-sponsors\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\"><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prepare Ahead<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, Nancy makes good use of the lulls between campaigns. She creates most of her fundraising messages and materials ahead of time, so she doesn\u2019t have to do it during the active fundraising period. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That way, she can spend her time running the campaign, encouraging fundraisers, and actively fundraising, instead of scrambling to create content.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy makes fundraising page templates for fundraisers to customize. Even if they don\u2019t, each personal fundraising page has a message explaining the campaign and the impact a donation will have. With CauseVox, Nancy doesn\u2019t need her supporters to create content.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CauseVox\u2019s automation tools make distributing content a lot easier. An automatic welcome email goes to everyone who signs up for the campaign, and campaign updates are easily shared.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn more about Nancy&#8217;s fundraising experience by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/nonprofit-panel-july-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">watching our recorded Nonprofit Leader Panel<\/a> as she chats through insights learned from her Over the Edge campaign!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Our Honor, We Will Make Your Fundraising Easier<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just like Girl Scouts have the Girl Scout Law, CauseVox has our own set of principles we operate by.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We believe in the good you do in the world, and want to give you better tools to accomplish it by helping you waste less effort on administration and less time fighting clunky software.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can raise more for your peer-to-peer fundraising event with less complexity and frustration. Find out how much you can raise, and how much time you can get back with CauseVox.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/admin.causevox.com\/signup?plan=standard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign Up Today<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/explore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Watch A Demo<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/fundraising-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn More About Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Events<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you think about Girl Scouts fundraising, your mind probably goes straight to cookies. But these successful fundraisers from the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois go beyond the Thin Mint. Speaking of mints, look how much they\u2019ve raised with CauseVox! About GSNI Before using CauseVox, the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois (GSNI) struggled with using [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":51898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16844","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\/girl-scouts-fundraising-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/girl-scouts-fundraising-600x492.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Olivia Hosey","author_link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/author\/ohosey\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16844","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\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}