{"id":17351,"date":"2019-09-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=17351"},"modified":"2024-05-08T23:27:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T23:27:29","slug":"bowl-a-thon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/bowl-a-thon\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Run A Bowl-A-Thon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re planning a bowl-a-thon fundraiser for your nonprofit, you\u2019re probably hoping for a bunch of fundraising strikes, or at least to avoid a gutter ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what makes a peer to peer bowl-a-thon successful? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you make sure your event is a hit, instead of a ton of work for no results? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combining peer-to-peer fundraising<\/a> with in-person events<\/a> is a great fundraising strategy, but it has a lot of moving pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re chasing down registration data in one program, raising money in another, and tracking donors somewhere else, you\u2019re likely to get overwhelmed and spend too much time on admin instead of fundraising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at CauseVox, we\u2019ve seen some remarkable bowl-a-thons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior Achievement aims for $500,000 from their bowl-a-thon events, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas raised more than three times their fundraising goal in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, a bowl-a-thon can be a fundraising powerhouse…if you run it right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is A Bowl-A-Thon?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A bowl-a-thon is a peer to peer fundraiser that combines an online fundraising campaign with an in-person bowling event. Teams set goals, raise money online for the nonprofit, and then participate in a fun bowling event together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you wish you could talk to a bowl-a-thon expert? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look no further than Lauren Meltzer, Director of Development and Events at Junior Achievement of Washington DC (JA). The organization has hosted bowl-a-thons since 1985, working with corporate partners to run 20-25 bowl-a-thons a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a lot of bowling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, JA sets out to raise around $500,000 with these peer to peer events. How does Lauren keep all of these campaigns running smoothly and seamlessly? She uses CauseVox to streamline her fundraising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gone through multiple platforms and [CauseVox] is by far the most straightforward, easy to use one that we\u2019ve used,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"kpmg-bowl-a-thon\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the best results with your bowl-a-thon, you, too, will need a streamlined process that puts all your data in one place, saves you time, and is easy for participants and staff members alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Run A Bowl-A-Thon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Start With The Right Platform <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your online fundraising platform can make or break your campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s what makes the difference between a smooth and seamless giving experience and a weird, clunky one. It\u2019s what makes your supporters feel ready to fundraise, or confused about how it\u2019s supposed to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When looking for a platform for her bowl-a-thons, Lauren knew, \u201cWe needed to find a platform which would be user-friendly, attention-drawing look and feel, and that would help Junior Achievement to maximize our fundraising dollars \u2013 all while making each Bowl-a-Thon a successful, fun event for our participants.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your online fundraising platform is the home of your campaign, so look for one that is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

User-friendly<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Wrestling clunky software robs you of hours and hours you could have spent creating fundraising tools or rallying your supporters. It frustrates your peer to peer fundraisers, which will affect how much they raise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of all, it\u2019s completely unnecessary: bad software is not all that\u2019s out there. CauseVox makes peer to peer fundraising a breeze for you and your supporters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visually-Appealing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s one thing we\u2019ve learned observing more than a thousand CauseVox campaigns<\/a>: Donors like pretty things. A well-designed, visually-appealing campaign inspires more confidence, and donations, than a generic and bland one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that \u201clearn to design beautiful, branded online fundraising campaigns,\u201d is not at the top of your bowl-a-thon to-do list, so we\u2019ve taken care of that. With CauseVox, you can pick your own colors, add your logo, and keep your page on-brand without IT or design skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"JA
JA offers their fundraising partners a beautiful, branded fundraising page.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combines Event Registration And Fundraising<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Is running your bowl-a-thon more complicated than it needs to be? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re running event registration and fundraising on different platforms, the answer is, \u201cYes.\u201d The more programs you\u2019re using, the more complex managing it all becomes. Tidy up your event with a platform that does it all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren, who runs 20-25 bowl-a-thons a year on CauseVox, relies on this functionality to keep her campaigns running smoothly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCauseVox enables participants to register as individuals, join a team, and have all donations to the participant add to the total of the team,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Set Your Fundraising Goals <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like any fundraising campaign, you\u2019ll need a goal. Bowl-A-Thons are a great opportunity to set several: individual, team, and organization-wide goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Overall Goal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Goal-setting is different for every organization. It depends on your capacity, other fundraising, base of supporters, and many other factors. We recommend setting a SMART goal<\/a> that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individual And Team Goals<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your supporters can set ambitious or modest goals, but many bowl-a-thons have a minimum fundraising requirement to participate. Requiring all bowlers raise at least $150, for example, can help focus their fundraising efforts, and make it more likely for you to reach your overall goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ja-bowl-a-thon-fundraiser\"
A JA Team surpasses their goal!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Showcase Impact<\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your fundraising campaign isn\u2019t just about raising dollars, it\u2019s about making a difference. When people feel inspired and connected to your cause, they\u2019ll give more and\/or be excited to raise more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Center your organization\u2019s story in your fundraising video. JA uses this one<\/a> to show how young people benefit from their programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas highlights donor-impact in their bowl-a-thon appeal. They even give their supporters a special name, \u201cDefenders of Potential.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This puts the focus on how supporters are making a difference–much more inspiring than a plain \u201cdonate\u201d message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"BBBS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CauseVox makes it easy to tell your story and show your impact. It\u2019s easy to add an impact metric to your campaign, like this one, also from Big Brothers Big Sisters. In addition to dollars raised, they show how many children will be paired with a mentor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"bbbs-bowl-for-kids-sake\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"ey-bowl-a-thon-goal\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JA also uses impact metrics to show how donors\u2019 dollars make a difference for kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Rally Your Community <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fundraising, as you know, is hard work. Without your support, your volunteers may fade out before they reach their goals. Fundraising isn\u2019t their full-time job, and they\u2019ll need resources, encouragement, and tools to be successful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start your fundraisers off right by providing them with a toolkit<\/a> that includes templates for emails, schedules for outreach, fundraising strategies, and sample posts for social media, along with graphics, hashtags, and other campaign materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check-in with your fundraisers regularly. CauseVox\u2019s dashboard makes it easy to see how individual campaigns are going, so you can congratulate them on successes, or coach them through setbacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A weekly email with fundraising tips and an update on campaign progress can go a long way towards keeping volunteer fundraisers engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of updates, CauseVox\u2019s update and blogging features make it a snap to make announcements and share stories with all of your supporters, fundraisers and donors alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out these posts from Big Brothers Big Sisters, that share exciting news, congratulate teams, and build momentum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"BBBS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lauren and JA used friendly competition to generate more excitement around their campaigns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren worked with CauseVox to create a customized widget that \u201ctakes all data from the 20 to 25 separate events, and converts it into a \u2018Leaderboard\u2019 consisting of fundraising dollars (ranked), number of teams, and number of participants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced customization options<\/a> like this Junior Achievement\u2019s Leaderboard are easy to integrate on a CauseVox-powered fundraising website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Keep Going<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The nice thing about ending your online campaign with an in-person event is that you can continue to fundraise at the event itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it easy for onlookers and supporters to make a mobile donation by posting signage with your campaign information. Are you doing a short presentation at your event? Make your campaign info your last slide!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowl-A-Thon Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Choose a Fundraising Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n