{"id":8005,"date":"2022-04-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=8005"},"modified":"2025-01-16T19:18:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T19:18:32","slug":"virtual-fundraising-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/virtual-fundraising-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"32 Virtual Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Online fundraising is on the rise, and it’s the perfect time to update your fundraising strategy to include more virtual fundraising ideas.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the latest M+R Benchmarks study, online giving increased 32% in 2020 and has been steadily on the rise in recent years. With the exploding popularity of virtual fundraising and the major shift to digital-first fundraising, we anticipate that it will only continue to grow well into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe your nonprofit hasn\u2019t yet developed an online fundraising plan. Or, you do fundraise online, but as we move out of COVID you know you need to revamp your plans. Either way, it\u2019s time to brush up on your peer-to-peer fundraising chops<\/a> and check out some virtual fundraising ideas that you can use to attract donors to your nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more inspiration, check out our massive list of fundraising ideas for nonprofits<\/a> after this post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a quick look at 3 of our top virtual fundraising ideas:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

32 Simple and Effective Virtual Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Peer-to-peer fundraising<\/a> (one of the big things you can do on the CauseVox fundraising platform) accounts for \u2153 of all online donations<\/a>, so it\u2019s one of the best virtual fundraising ideas out there. Encourage your networks to set up personal fundraising pages<\/a> through CauseVox and fundraise for your nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your donors fundraise for you, they build credibility for your cause and allow you to be human centered<\/a>. In fact, 1 in 4 solicitation emails from peer-to-peer fundraisers result in donations, compared with 1 in 1,250 emails from a nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c1 in 4 emails from peer-to-peer fundraisers result in donations, compared with 1 in 1,250 emails from a nonprofit\u2026\u201d<\/em> tweet this<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Climb Out of the Darkness is an initiative by Postpartum Support International that encouraged folks to set up their own personal fundraising websites to raise money for the cause. Each fundraiser\u2019s site features a personal appeal and social sharing buttons, which are great ways to spread the word about the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"cotd-peer-to-peer-fundraising\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Encourage your networks to set up personal fundraising pages and fundraise for your nonprofit. You can easily set up a place for them to do this using our online fundraising software<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peer-to-peer fundraising works incredibly well for any version of a fundraising event: fully online, in person, or hybrid. It\u2019s a great option if your supporters are still feeling out their post-COVID landscape. You can have fundraisers create online pages and complete a run, task, or challenge in their own time; host a livestream event; or culminate with an in-person event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how you can use peer to peer fundraising on CauseVox:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Learn More: Download the Ultimate Guide to Peer to Peer Fundraising (free)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip: Schedule a demo<\/a> with our team on how you can quickly start a peer to peer fundraising campaign for your virtual fundraising event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. One-Day Email Flash Fundraiser or Social Media Sharing Event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Email fundraising makes up \u2153 of online donations<\/strong>, and while your nonprofit may have already held an email fundraiser this year, it may behoove you to do a one-day email fundraising blitz. A giving day<\/a> if you will. Think Giving Tuesday but without all the clutter of thousands of organizations asking for money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose one day- a day that possibly has some symbol or importance to your organization (ex. Valentine\u2019s Day for victims of domestic abuse). You could even give it a cute name to draw people in. On the day of the blitz, send out a series of emails requesting donations. The emails should include an emotional story<\/a>, appropriate imagery, and a call to action that expresses urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your audience is one that responds more positively to social media, then you might want to try a social media sharing blitz. As we all know, social media is a great place to fundraise, so leverage the power of these platforms with a one-day social media<\/a> virtual event. Choose a day and actively encourage donations and sharing through all your social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember to set a dollar amount goal and periodically post updates throughout the day to let your supporters know how much you\u2019ve raised (and how close you are to your goal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider tying your giving day in with your end of the year giving. This is a great way to add urgency to the day, and remind people that it’s the perfect time to give. Faith in Action used online giving for their year end campaign and had great success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"year-end-online-fundraising-ideas\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For some inspiration, check out our post on how to plan a successful Giving Tuesday campaign. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Donation Matching Drive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Build on that one-day email fundraising idea by securing a match from a company or major donor and advertise the match in your email campaign. Donors love to know that their money was leveraged, and with matching gifts, they\u2019re essentially giving two gifts for the price of one. In fact, one of the main reasons why Millennials donate <\/a>is because they know their gift will be matched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"online-fundraising-ideas-matching-fundraiser\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matching gifts are also a great way to boost donations mid-campaign<\/a>. If you notice that donations are starting to taper off mid-day, try to introduce a matching gift to keep the excitement and momentum going. You can promote a match through all your frequent channels of communication whether it be social media, email, or a newsletter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"online-fundraising-ideas-matching-gift\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To securea matching gift, start with your closest supporters: your board. Ask them to see if they’d be able to pitch in for a matching gift, or leverage their relationships with businesses to ask potential partners to contribute to the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip:<\/strong> Leverage existing matching gifts from your donor’s employers as well. You can add these into your virtual fundraising campaign site on CauseVox as an offline donation to showcase fundraising progress!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Virtual Gala Fundraiser<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, galas and other virtual events look a little bit different from the way they used to. Ok, maybe quite a bit different.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as some areas are lifting stay-at-home orders, big gatherings are simply not an option for the foreseeable future. Here\u2019s where the virtual gala comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"virtual-gala-fundraising\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Summit Assistance Dogs found the benefit of this<\/a> when their Unleash Your Love luncheon had to be canceled due to COVID. 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

They follow some basic steps to move their normal in-person event to an online experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Take Stock of What You Typically Do: take a look at your normal project plan. Which parts of this can be moved online? What will not have a good ROI? Make some decisions about what to keep and what to chuck.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Set Up a Peer-to-Peer Campaign: Where an in-person gala would have tables, your virtual gala will have virtual tables aka peer-to-peer fundraisers.<\/a> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Sponsors: Sponsors can be a major source of income for an in-person gala, and you don\u2019t want to leave them behind. Luckily the virtual format gives you a lot of flexibility to make sponsors happy. You can add their names, logos, or links to your fundraising page on CauseVox. You can give them time during your livestream to highlight their organization. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Arrange a Program: Where you typically would have speakers, entertainment, food, and decor to plan at the venue, now you\u2019ll want to think about providing a seamless experience via a livestream. Think about highlighting your peer-to-peer fundraisers, mentioning your goals in real-time, and having some short speeches. If you were going to have food, consider providing a suggested meal for people to prepare at home.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Auctions: There are plenty of software options that will allow you to run your auction online, including CauseVox; you can use our custom fields and\/or ticketing feature to do so. Make sure you share images of each item and organize them clearly. It can also be a great idea to highlight different items on social platforms before the event.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Some organizations have even taken this a step further by hosting their event entirely online using the \u201cUnGala\u201d fundraising approach. The “UnGala”<\/a> is a new, trending fundraising style where instead of spending so much time and effort on a big fancy event, it’s basically just an online peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. An UnGala frees up your organization and staff, helping you focus your energy where needed most and raise a lot quickly, with a higher ROI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip: Schedule a demo<\/a> with our team on how you can quickly start a campaign site for your virtual fundraising event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Download your Virtual Fundraising Planning Guide and Template:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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