Use a Mobile Fundraising Platform to Boost Events

Fundraising events can be extremely profitable for nonprofits if done right. From sub-events to gamification to inspire fundraising participants, there are tons of opportunities to make your events more successful. The mobile fundraising tools in Qgiv’s Mobile Suite package create more opportunities to raise funds at your organization. This mobile fundraising platform can also improve event communications and track progress toward your fundraising goals.

Read on for our best practices for incorporating text fundraising tools into your fundraising events. 

Use the mobile fundraising platform to send event communications

One of the simplest ways to boost the performance of your fundraising events is to spread the word about it. A mobile fundraising and messaging platform offers a great way to reach previous event attendees to invite them to upcoming events and even provide important information during your event. 

Outbound messages to supporters who have opted in are read quickly and can get responses in an instant! Want more registrants for your event? Reach out to your event contact list with a quick invite to your event and include a link to your online event registration form. Interested parties can sign up from their phone when they get your message. 

Have a sub-event taking place during your fundraising event? Get your guests to take part with an outbound text highlighting the event to participants. Similarly, you can attract participants to purchase tickets for your raffle or encourage fundraising with outbound messages containing fundraising goal updates to participants. 

Set up FundHub Live to track fundraising goals

This may come as a surprise, but Qgiv’s mobile fundraising platform includes a tool that makes it easy to track progress toward your fundraising goal. It’s called FundHub Live. This tool broadcasts your event’s fundraising thermometer to your guests so they can track progress toward your goal in close to real time.  

The thermometer updates every minute and will not only show fundraising progress in the thermometer, but also can include a recent activity widget to show donors their gift was counted toward the goal. Guests can even enter personalized messages of encouragement that will appear in the live feed! 

Additionally, FundHub Live supports donations made via text fundraising. You can display your event’s text fundraising keyword. Then, donors will text that fundraising keyword to make a gift. Once they’ve made their gift online via their smartphone, their gift will appear in the recent activity widget on your event’s FundHub Live. 

How adding FundHub Live helps your event?

Using FundHub Live adds a gamification element to your fundraising. People naturally want to reach goals set for them. When you display a fundraising thermometer and show donors how their gifts get you closer to achieving that goal, your supporters are more inclined to give again or invite friends and family to get involved. 

Not only that, but you give your donors public recognition that their gift was seen and recognized. This can give your supporters the warm-fuzzies! 

Create a text fundraising keyword for your event

Just because your event participants don’t bring cash or checks with them to your event doesn’t mean they can’t give! Almost everyone carries their smartphone with them wherever they go, and that includes to your fundraising event. That’s why having access to a mobile fundraising platform is so important. Give yourself greater fundraising potential by incorporating a text fundraising campaign into your fundraising event. 

Not only will setting up a text keyword help guests give without cash, virtual attendees can use your text fundraising keyword to give even if they can’t attend in person!  

How to choose a good text fundraising keyword

Simple keywords are always better, but the keyword should also be relevant to your nonprofit or event!  

One-word keywords work best because autocorrect is less likely to change what donors type in. 

Additionally, you’ll want to pick a word that’s easy to remember and easy to spell.  

We’ve put together a handy graphic to help you determine if your text fundraising keyword will be effective. 

How to incorporate a text fundraising campaign into your event

So, you’ve set up a keyword. Now how do you incorporate it into your peer-to-peer event?  

You have a couple options for this. First, you should include the text fundraising keyword on your FundHub Live page. Be sure to have this page on display during your event both to in-person and virtual event attendees. 

Next, be sure to include the text keyword in your event communications on social media and over email. Communicating about this giving option to prospective attendees is the fastest way to get the word out. Another benefit to sharing your text keyword over social media is that it’s highly portable. Your supporters can share your messages with their social networks and ask them to support your fundraiser too. Encourage this behavior in your participants and event staff. It can make a huge difference! 

You can keep the text fundraising campaign open even after your event ends. If you add stretch goals to your event or need a few more contributions to reach your full fundraising goal, include the text keyword with your post-event communications and ask supporters to share it with their friends and family. It may just be the push you need to reach 100% of your goal. 

Encourage participants to use built-in text fundraising tools

Another way to make the most of text fundraising tools is by encouraging your participants to use it themselves! Qgiv’s peer-to-peer platform includes a built-in text fundraising feature for participants. This tool is separate from the Mobile Suite package. Peer-to-peer participants can create a custom keyword and share it with their friends and family. Their supporters can then text their unique keyword in order to give directly to their personal fundraiser. 

This strategy is a great way to attract both in-person and virtual fundraisers and can make it easier for fundraisers to reach their fundraising goals.

Encourage participants to create text fundraising keywords

Just because guests will have access to this feature doesn’t mean they’ll use it to fundraise. Increase the number of participants who create a unique text fundraising keyword by preparing a handout for participants. This handout should walk them through the process of setting up their keyword and suggest tips to promote it. Once you’ve got your handout prepped, you can upload it into Qgiv’s peer-to-peer participant resource center to quickly make that information available to all your fundraising participants. 

Knowing the tool is available and how it works can inspire your guests to give it a go. You can incorporate this feature during participant performances or livestreams. Their friends and family can give directly to their fundraising campaign using their unique keyword before, during, and after the event so long as you’re still accepting donations. 

Conclusion

Whether you’re hosting a live, hybrid, or virtual event, text fundraising offers an opportunity to increase your event’s profitability. You can use Qgiv’s Mobile Suite to inspire your donors to give; use outbound messages to attract participants, remind them of the event, highlight your sub-events, and even send fundraising pushes to help reach your goal.  

Additionally, Qgiv’s mobile fundraising platform includes FundHub Live, a way to track fundraising progress as donors give to your text fundraising campaign.  

That said, your text fundraising efforts can only be as strong as the contact lists you reach out to. Check out this blog post on the 4 text fundraising opt-in best practices for nonprofits for our tips to building a better list of text fundraising contacts.