"We've started learning who these donors are, and thanking them. It’s opened our eyes to a whole new set of donors that we didn’t really know existed prior. With GiveSmart, it is so much easier. It’s made us so much more aware of our donors and trends."
Products
Key Features
Instant Buys
Peer-to-Peer
Donation
Ticketing
117%
A recent golf outing achieved 117% of its revenue goal
tewarding donors is a long-term strategy that, if done well, can help your nonprofit’s bottom line grow steadily and sustainably.Â
The overall donor retention rate is only about 45 percent. The amount of time and effort it takes to replace those lost donors is far more than the time and effort it takes to grow and nurture the relationships you already have.Â
Donor stewardship helps your staff save time and raise more!Â
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (RHMC Central Ohio) first started using GiveSmart in the Spring of 2018, solely to assist with their auction at one event. However, as their staff started using GiveSmart more and more, they found it so easy to use that they expanded its use into other fundraisers. And the insights gained from the reporting led to happier volunteers and ultimately helped RHMC Central Ohio raise more.Â
The power of tailoring your communicationÂ
Technology has made communication easier today, so it’s essential to keep your donors’ attention. Using this donor segmentation guide will give you tips and strategies to engage donors and tailor messaging.Â
Challenge & Solution
Let’s streamline Â
From the beginning, GiveSmart streamlined RHMC Central Ohio’s auction – eliminating paper, pen, and the heavy staff or volunteer needs that come with it, especially during closeout.Â
Now that they’ve used the technology for raffles, event games, and online donations, nearly all of their revenue funnels through a single channel. That keeps the data and reporting in a single system of record, making tracking much easier. And since everyone on their staff is well-versed with GiveSmart, they can all dive into the data-rich information to gain influential donor and bidder insights.Â
Expanded their reachÂ
In fundraising, your event’s net revenue must grow each year. But, depending on venue constraints, health and safety guidelines, and other limits, your organization can’t necessarily add more guests to the room to help you raise more.Â
GiveSmart helped RMHC Central Ohio grow even when its guest list couldn’t. And because their staff is so comfortable with the technology, they’re empowered to try new things, while thinking outside the box, they continue to gain a more in-depth understanding of donor and bidder behavior.Â
Virtual Auction Â
Having a virtually hosted auction was the answer to that question for RMHC Central Ohio. At first, they weren’t totally seeing the big picture. Of course, a virtually hosted auction was easier for staff, and it offered the added benefit of a real-time view of the auction’s performance from the admin dashboard.Â
Growth wasn’t limited to offsite guests, as RMHC Central Ohio also saw more bids from in-room guests after adding a virtual auction component. Guests could set automatic bids and didn’t have to go back and forth to the auction tables. It meant guests were more engaged with the program and mission.Â
When RMHC Central Ohio later sent its virtual auctions – from gala to golf outings – to itsentire distribution list, thousands of people gained access, whether they were inside or #OutsidetheRoom. Golfers could enjoy their game and bid throughout the day, without having to rush to the short dinner.Â
The organization was able to expand its reach beyond auctions as well.Â
Raffles Â
One revenue-enhancing measure they added that helped them achieve this success was a high-end alcohol bottle raffle at every course.Â
The odds were higher, which drove interest. And, past golfers and high-end alcohol fans from the donor database were able to get a chance, even if they missed the outing.Â
Because the raffles were all hosted online, staff knew the status of revenue for each element – raffles, on-course games, hole-in-one contests – from anywhere at any time. This meant staff could text volunteers to encourage them to promote specific opportunities that generate more revenue for the organization. RMHC Central Ohio staff could congratulate each other when their course hit its revenue target. The chair of the event knew that his and his committee’s hard work had literally paid off.Â
Results
Expanded ReachÂ
As RMHC Central Ohio expanded its auction and raffles to its entire supporter network, a trend emerged where people who were not at the event were giving and giving big! Names they weren’t familiar with kept popping up, and these generous donors were consistently winning items.Â
Paper bidding and physical raffle tickets lead to incomplete, manual tracking. With GiveSmart, each event staff member had firsthand, real-time breakdowns of revenue streams and donors. This opened the door to other conversations on how these donors can get more involved, which, in the long term, benefits the RMHC Central Ohio most of all.Â
Online DonationsÂ
Stronger donor relationships resulted in increased online giving. These particular donations were not tied to an item. Instead, RMHC became more creative and used GiveSmart more.Â
For one, they added mission ties to dollar amounts. For example, how much each load of laundry costs or each evening’s dinner costs for the House. This additional information inspired donations, and the mission ties were based on past supporter trends and involvement. If people gave $500 to offset laundry instead of a $500 general gift, that MEANS something.Â
For another, RMHC Central Ohio staff added a competition element to some of itsevents to increase online donations. With their recent successful golf outing, they pitted course against course to see who could raise the most in general event donations. This peer-to-peer element helped bring more donors into the event, too.Â
GiveSmart made the setup of these strategies, and others, easy, and staff were well-informed and able to access reporting at every turn. The setup and backend enable revenue growth.Â
Created with nonprofit staff in mindÂ
Nonprofits are grossly understaffed. Anything that makes workflows more efficient and easier for staff and donors alike to use adds significant benefit to a nonprofit, from the bottom line to the revenue raised.Â
RMHC of Central Ohio now has all its event revenue in one place thanks to GiveSmart. This means all staff have access to reporting in one place, and House administrators can export and import data as needed.Â
Beyond that, the RMHC Central Ohio staff have real-time access to information. A volunteer wants to know how their golf hole is performing compared to others. (S)he/They can get an immediate answer. A committee chair wants to know how their revenue enhancer idea is performing. (S)he/They can get an immediate answer. A certain raffle isn’t getting the donations as expected. Staff can talk to those volunteers to pump them up.Â
Event lead staff are empowered to set up and run their events from setup to wrap-up. There is a vast library of information, training videos, how-to guides, webinars on demand, and more that any GiveSmart administrator, staff or volunteer can accessÂ
And volunteers can support on the day of, on the backend of the GiveSmart platform. Additional training is available to ensure everyone feels confident. With 24/7 support just a chat or call away, RHMC Central Ohio rests easy when it comes to event time.Â
When they started using GiveSmart, RMHC of Central Ohio didn’t yet realize all of the benefits they would later see. From event set up to robust reporting to staff enablement, GiveSmart is the right partner to help revenue grow and better steward donors.Â