"The pandemic has created an opportunity for nonprofits to think differently about their fundraising programs and how to use technology to strategically drive engagement and increase revenue. Technology has enabled us to broaden our reach for participation and fundraising. Just as we now serve clients who are not physically able to get to our center, we can also engage our supporters who have been previously unable to participate due to distance."
Products
Key Features
Donations
Peer-to-Peer
$300,000
total raised
237
fundraisers
$93
average donation
Each year, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center holds its Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer fundraising event. In 2020, the event’s 25th year, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center team was forced to cancel the in-person elements due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. However, with the Swim a Mile event accounting for one-third of the Women’s Cancer Resource Center’s annual budget, the team couldn’t forgo the fundraising event entirely.
Challenge & Solution
In 2020, the Swim a Mile event went virtual and was renamed Swim a Mile / Move a Mile for Women with Cancer, giving participants the option to swim, bike, or jog one mile or to choose their own adventure. To promote Swim a Mile/Move a Mile for Women with Cancer, the Women’s Cancer Resource Team used social media, email marketing, direct mail invitations, and made phone calls to supporters. The WCRC Team added new virtual components to the event, including:
- [GiveSmart’s] peer-to-peer fundraising pages
- A drive-by celebration to hand out swag
- A t-shirt design competition
- An online dance party
- A donor honor wall on a [GiveSmart] Event Page
- A competition for the best fundraiser to win a private swim lesson from an Olympic gold medalist.
Results
The Swim a Mile/Move a Mile for Women with Cancer event proved a huge success, raising over $300,000 for the Women’s Cancer Resource Centers’ free programs and resources. The [GiveSmart] peer-to-peer fundraising pages enabled the Women’s Cancer Resource Center to leverage its supporters’ social networks to expand its reach to new donors and communities. The online dance party created community engagement and a closer connection to other supporters than a traditional Zoom event. The donor wall on [GiveSmart’s] Event Page created an exciting giving environment where supporters could view their donations in real time. Despite challenges created by the pandemic, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center retained about the same number of participants, while the average amount raised per participant increased.