4 Tech-Savvy Strategies for Upgrading Your Fundraiser

Kelly Velasquez-HagueApril 16, 2019

4 Tech-Savvy Strategies for Upgrading Your Fundraiser header image

These days, holding a nonprofit fundraiser is about more than just stellar event management. You also need tech tools that can help you execute this fundraiser properly and make the most of every opportunity to engage your guests and donors.

Looking at your fundraiser’s use of technology is one of the key ways to safeguard your efforts from potential mistakes during the event planning process.

The best part of reviewing your event tech is that it’s fairly easy to identify areas for improvement by examining a few key points in your fundraising event management process.

You can, for instance, look at the ways your current tech aligns with your fundraising strategy and then adequately assess how this tech is meeting your needs. After that’s done, you can upgrade or change your technology accordingly.

It’s safe to say there are a number of methods you can use to improve your fundraiser through technology. For example, you can:

  1. Use an event registration and management platform.
  2. Involve your donors digitally.
  3. Target the right donors.
  4. Set up an event website.

These suggestions are great ways to ensure your fundraiser goes smoothly. For more details, here’s a deeper look into how they’ll accomplish this task.

1. Use An Event Registration And Management Platform

The first step to improving your fundraiser is to take a look at the tools you’re using. This includes any kind of digital tool, especially software platforms.

Allowing some of your event management and fundraising efforts to be handled through event software will make your nonprofit’s events smoother and more effective in the future.

When you’re looking at the proper event registration and management platforms for your fundraiser, remember to ask questions such as:

  • Can it accommodate peer-to-peer fundraising? Peer-to-peer fundraising takes place through individual online giving pages that your donors create in support of your cause. They allow your donors to tap into their preexisting social circles in order to expand your fundraiser’s exposure. Peer-to-peer fundraising is great for nonprofits who hold larger, community-based fundraisers like walkathons.
  • What are its event registration options? Does the fundraising event software allow you to collect the registration information that you want? For example, can you ask for professional status and employer if you need to? Perhaps you need to create a ticketing system to keep track of your registrants. You should consider these factors and more when you’re looking for the right event registration and management platform.
  • Does it offer mobile bidding solutions? If you’re looking for more effective ways to use your tech at your fundraising event, mobile bidding software presents a helpful alternative to in-person giving that could earn your nonprofit more donations in the long run. In this way, you create an added convenience for your attendees while making donations easier to manage.

Event registration and management software can make everyone’s lives easier. Additionally, these questions can help you select a software solution that meets your standards.

2. Involve Your Donors Digitally

As you might have noticed already, there are plenty of ways to create engaging nonprofit events, but you should always be focused on keeping your attendees engaged.

When it comes to fundraising events, your donors’ digital presence is often just as important as their physical one, and you can use their digital involvement to your advantage.

Involving your donors on a digital level isn’t hard. Just try to:

  • Improve your social media presence. By providing attendees with helpful but informative posts on social media platforms, you have another way of providing event instructions and itineraries while also bolstering excitement. If you’re worried about needing more tech to manage this, don’t worry. Some fundraising platforms can allow you to manage both your social media presence and your fundraising efforts at the same time.
  • Use text-to-give software. Besides mobile bidding, text-to-give options are a fantastic solution to providing your donors with another giving channel. During the fundraiser, give your donors easy-to-follow instructions as well as the information necessary for them to participate in the text-to-give process. It should create a more convenient giving option and allow more donors to participate in the process even if they’re not in attendance.

Having an upgraded digital presence makes your fundraiser more likely to earn donations, not to mention how much the extra convenience will be appreciated by your organizers and attendees.

3. Target The Right Donors

Besides the fact that knowledge of your fundraiser’s attendees creates a smoother registration process, it also helps you focus your efforts in more effective ways.

For example, if you need to identify potential top guests or major donors that you might want to attend, researching and targeting donors is a great way to accomplish this task.

But the process you use to understand your donors will certainly affect how you prioritize them in terms of stewardship and long-term major donor cultivation.

Use a combination of prospect research and event performance tracking to make sure that your fundraiser is hitting all the right markers for your event’s goals.

If you need some ways to get started on targeting donors, don’t forget to:

  • Track event performance.Collecting the right data from the registration and management process improves the effectiveness of your fundraiser in multiple ways. It improves follow-up and future event planning by allowing you to access how successful certain facets of your fundraiser were. It also helps you manage any upcoming obstacles to the fundraiser in real-time, such as having more attendees than expected or encountering registration difficulties.
  • Use prospect research. Whether you’re performing a follow up after the fundraiser or narrowing down the invite list, in-depth prospect research allows you to search out extra opportunities for boosting revenue that your fundraisers could be missing, such as matching gifts. By targeting donors who can maximize your fundraising results, you’re setting yourself up for a better fundraising event all around.
  • Understand your target audience. By examining your priority audience during the event planning process using techniques such as prospect research, you can better understand what kind of fundraiser you should plan. This way, you’ll have an improved idea of what your event’s priorities and schedule should be. For example, you might not want to auction off playground equipment to medical professionals.

Through an accurate assessment of your audience with the right software tools, you can improve your fundraising strategies for years to come. Take advantage of these tips the next time you’re at the drawing board to make sure your fundraiser’s demographic targets are airtight in the future.

4. Set up an event website.

A flawed online presence is one reason why donors abandon your cause, so don’t let that happen. Design a fantastic website for your fundraiser to attract donors and provide useful info on your event.

An event website for your fundraiser will bring increased efficiency to your management process while also giving your attendees a way to connect with your nonprofit’s brand.

Need some tips on how to make a great website for your fundraiser? Always remember to:

  • Create a donation page. If your fundraiser’s website doesn’t have a donation page, you should create one immediately. Make sure that it is mobile-optimized and easily readable. Remember that having a donation page gives donors more ways to give to your nonprofit, making your event as effective as it can possibly be.
  • Provide the right information.Ensure that fundraiser schedules and other helpful information can be easily reached on your event’s website. By doing this, you give your attendees a helpful source to reference in case they’re in need of extra information. There are event fundraising software platforms out there that allow you to gather this information during the registration process for added convenience.
  • Establish brand coherence. When you’re designing your website, take this opportunity to brand it to your nonprofit’s liking. Not only will you give your attendees a friendlier experience and anticipation of your fundraiser, but you’ll also make them more likely to connect with your nonprofit emotionally. These kinds of connections are what drive donors to give, so it’s important to foster them as much as you can!

Most major fundraising events can benefit from having their own dedicated website, so make the smart decision and set one up during the planning process for an optimized fundraiser.

Tech designed to help you fundraise can improve your efficiency and your management skills. With these ideas, you can get started on using tech properly so that your fundraiser and its attendees can benefit from a smooth and well-oriented event experience.

Schedule a live demo with our partner Bloomerang, and we’ll show you how easy it is to create and automate reports, utilize online and offline fundraising tools, quickly integrate and access all your data, and ultimately create more time to engage your donors.

Filed Under:   Fundraising