{"id":18062,"date":"2020-06-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=18062"},"modified":"2024-05-08T23:59:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T23:59:39","slug":"customer-story-summit-assistance-dogs-wildly-successful-virtual-luncheon-on-causevox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/customer-story-summit-assistance-dogs-wildly-successful-virtual-luncheon-on-causevox\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer Story: Summit Assistance Dog’s Wildly Successful Virtual Luncheon On CauseVox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, hundreds of nonprofits were forced to scramble to adjust their plans for fundraising events<\/a>. Summit Assistance Dogs was one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their annual Unleash Your Love luncheon was scheduled for early May. After shutdowns and quarantine orders, they made the tough decision to move the event to a virtual platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But their experience of flexibility and virtual know-how is a great example of the ways that virtual can be even better than in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just over a month, Summit Assistance Dogs moved their event from in-person to virtual using CauseVox, and netted over $35,000 more<\/em> than the previous year at their in-person event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With just the tools of CauseVox\u2019s professional fundraising platform and some dedicated fundraisers, they were able to take a COVID challenge and turn it into an amazing success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Summit Assistance Dogs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Summit Assistance Dogs is an organization that pairs highly-skilled mobility service dogs with people living with disabilities These dogs retrieve items, open and close doors, turn switches on and off, and engage in a wide variety of tasks that help their partners live with greater independence and confidence. Not only that, but the program diminishes depression, anxiety, and loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donor Relations Associate Emma Kouguell shares that each year they host a spring luncheon as their largest fundraiser of the year. With 700 attendees, table captains, client stories, and more, it\u2019s a major part of their fundraising and their community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they faced the decision of what to do without an in person event, the organization struggled: they needed this fundraiser to continue their work. But how could they make the event successful without their usual luncheon? The answer was virtual peer-to-peer fundraising with CauseVox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raising More With Less Effort With Peer-to-Peer Fundraising On CauseVox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it became clear that an in-person event wasn\u2019t a possibility for 2020, Emma started looking for virtual options. A peer-to-peer fundraising campaign stuck out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was Summit\u2019s first time doing something like this and we chose this option because we felt that our donor base would be on board for something like this and it was also an opportunity to see how a virtual event would go for the organization,\u201d<\/em> she shared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"virtual-luncheon-causevox\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After just a short amount of time, it became clear that CauseVox was the right platform to support Summit Assistance Dogs: the ease of use, the robust customization options, and the strong customer support allowed Emma to build the ideal virtual event for her organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CauseVox Supports Peer-to-Peer Table Captains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most important elements of the annual luncheon was the Table Captains. These are fundraisers who went above and beyond to help recruit and organize other donors. Emma knew that the most important place to start was by moving these captains online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the first wave of communication and created a strong base of supporters to begin creating fundraising pages and reaching out to networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"virtual-table<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two important benefits became clear right away: hosting the event virtually allowed Emma to reach out to supporters further away, giving them more table captains than usual. \u201cIt was really great to be able to expand that reach,\u201d<\/em> says Emma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more important, CauseVox allowed Emma to build a default template for all of her fundraisers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can create a template on each page. It\u2019s a default template where if someone joins your campaign to do peer to peer fundraising, it is customized to what you want…an example for what you want people to use. They didn\u2019t have to do anything further if they didn\u2019t want to. It made it very easy for people joining the campaign.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fundraisers could join easily with less frustration and less clunk. Just a few clicks and their pages were set up with all the content that Summit Assistance Dogs had created. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This customized support was key to the success of the campaign. Not only did fundraisers feel confident when setting up their pages, Emma went above and beyond to create a fundraiser toolkit<\/a>, a user guide for CauseVox, provide one-on-one support to her fundraisers, and give personalized attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this was possible because she wasn\u2019t chasing after solutions to technical problems or dealing with clunky software. The seamless, simple nature of the fundraising pages let Emma and<\/em> her peer-to-peer fundraisers focus on creating beautiful stories and compelling messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think when the fundraisers have something to work based off of it\u2019s really useful for them to be able to be successful as a fundraiser,\u201d<\/em> she shared. \u201cA lot of people were really appreciative of the organization and support we were able to provide.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CauseVox Builds Community As a Virtual Space<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But CauseVox became something more than simply a fundraising platform: it became the community space that Summit Assistance Dogs usually found at their luncheon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically attendees at the luncheon get to meet and talk to clients to learn about the impact of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mirror this amazing connection, Emma used videos, pictures, and stories to highlight the voices and partnerships of clients and their dogs. Clients read letters they wrote to their dogs, or letters from those who participate in Summit\u2019s prison program training dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma took her program to the next level by using CauseVox<\/a> as the hub of all the content. Her strategy was to \u201cmake it personal. Show the impact the program has on people\u2019s lives, and the positive impact it has on our dogs. Making sure we kept that front and center for the day-of was really important.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What truly allowed Emma to bring those stories to the front was CauseVox\u2019s customization options. She used updates to keep people visiting the main page of the fundraiser, sharing photos and videos that drew people in (she did have the cheat card that her organization can post dozens of photos of puppies).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only that, but in the default template for fundraisers, Emma included links back to the main fundraiser page and information about watching the live program. At every turn, she sent her donors and supporters to the CauseVox page: through emails, social media, fundraiser pages, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the CauseVox page set as the virtual program space, Summit Assistance Dogs aired a video of their luncheon program on the same day the luncheon was set to take place. They had over 100 people watching live, and over 300 views since. CauseVox allowed them to directly embed their YouTube video on the fundraising page, putting people in prime position to make donations while being a part of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Converting Donors With Donation Forms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Emma found that one of the biggest benefits of using CauseVox was the way she could customize donation forms<\/a>. She did so much work to bring supporters to her page, but CauseVox helped her to convert them into donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her biggest takeaways?<\/p>\n\n\n\n