Bright Idea: Get Board Members Fundraising

Who they are

Snow City Arts, a Chicago-based nonprofit educating and inspiring hospitalized children through the arts, recently hosted a virtual event coordinated by two of its board members, Junelle Speller and Wayne Franklin.

This virtual event supported the organization’s virtual learning initiative so that they could continue providing their services to children in area hospitals despite not being allowed to visit them in person because of COVID-19.

What they did

Junelle and Wayne set up a creative event that was both educational and fund. The result was a virtual tour of Chicago’s historic south side neighborhoods. They tapped Chicago Detours, a highly reputable Chicago tour company to host their virtual tour event.

Participants were able to visit several neighborhoods to see the art, architecture, and character unique to them while also learning about the history of the area without leaving their homes. This event not only connects with the mission of Snow City Arts, it managed to do so virtually. Virtual learning was what this entire fundraising campaign was about!

The event saw great success. The organization raised 111% of its fundraising goal! Securing this funding made it possible for the nonprofit to transition their programming to a virtual learning environment to reach children in hospitals during the pandemic.

What you can do

Snow City Arts gave their board members creative control to run a fundraising event their way.

Your nonprofit can emulate this success by encouraging board members to fundraise using their own unique interests as the focal point for their fundraiser.

Junelle and Wayne used a topic they were passionate about and created a virtual event that their donors also appreciated with. Your board members likely share common interests with their social network and your donors. Creating a fundraising event that uses their hobbies and areas of expertise can elevate a fundraising event for participants. What is even more attractive to donors is when the event activities connect with the mission of the nonprofit. The virtual tour of Chicago’s South Side is a prime example of an event activity that matches the programming of the nonprofit. Can your board members translate their passion for helping your organization into a stellar fundraising event?

Set a meaningful goal with your board members and offer them resources and support to achieve that success. In the case of Snow City Arts, the development team created an event page using Qgiv’s peer-to-peer platform. They also included the director of development’s email address on the event page to handle all inquiries about the event.

With the right combination of support and creative liberty, your board members can host successful fundraisers just like Snow City Arts’ Virtual DeTour!