4 Successful Fundraising Campaigns and Creative Events by Nonprofits Across the Globe

Fundraising Success Stories by

4 Successful FundraisingCampaigns and Creative

Events by Nonprofits Across the Globe

Monmouth Medical Center Foundation, New Jersey

Penang Adventist Hospital, Malaysia

River Valley Riders, Minnesota

A Bridge for Kids,California

Here are their stories…

Four nonprofit organizations from across the world

coupled technology and creativity to launch

successful fundraising campaigns & events.

Monmouth Medical Center Foundation

ROLL OUT THE RIBBONS CAMPAIGN

The Monmouth Medical Center Foundation is the charitable wing of the Barnabas Health network in West Orange, NJ. Monmouth Medical Center is the community leader in cancer care for children and adults and in 2013, they launched a cause awareness campaign called “Roll Out the Ribbons” that eventually won the 2014 Top Donor Pros award for “Most Creative Cause Awareness Campaign.”

Cause Awareness“ROLL OUT THE RIBBONS”

Their awareness campaign began with the direct mailing of a beautifully designed appeal letter sent by the VP of Development, Tara Kelly. The letter highlighted the excellent medical care and the medical personnel that have made Monmouth the best cancer treatment center in the region and one of the best in the country. Central to the appeal’s message is a request for the recipient to return a ribbon with a loved ones name on it. This letter does an excellent job of creating awareness and facilitating recipient engagement. It’s informative on the one hand and emotionally appealing on the other.

Appeal LetterHIGHLIGHTING EXCELLENCE

Perhaps the strongest element of the campaign was the “Roll Out the Ribbons” community interaction. It started in the local mall, where a Garden of Hope was built so that mall visitors could submit their messages of hope at the iPad kiosk and opt-in to receive cancer-related news from Monmouth. This brilliant strategy built their prospect list and reached mall-goers with cool technology. They built partnerships with a local high school, hosted a happy hour at a local bar, advertised with tents at community parks and even had a Ribbons Night football game at Shore Regional High School. This strategy lead to an explosion in awareness.

Community InteractionSPREADING HOPE

Coupled with an aggressive in-person and direct mail approach, Monmouth leveraged social media and a campaign website to drive people to events, encourage a social sharing environment, and raise online donations. The stats don’t lie…it worked!

Online Approach & ResultsMODERN FUNDRAISING

Penang Adventist HospitalSKIP A MEAL 4 CHARITY &

12 HOURS PUASA 2 SAVE HEART

PUASA=Fasting

Penang launched an 89-day campaign leading up to a 12-hour main event all centered around raising money for their Heart Patients’ Fund. The award-winning fundraising activity brought together local NGOs and groups along with large corporations and hundreds of individuals around one common goal…

Saving Hearts

Penang Adventist HospitalMOST CREATIVE FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY

During the campaign, participants chose the number of times they could afford to skip a meal, and they donated that money to the Fund. The campaign culminated when people gathered for a 12-hour fasting event which simulated the experience a heart patient feels when undergoing treatment.

Getting the Word OutTHE CAMPAIGN

To spread the news, press releases were published to cast a wide net in the local area. A local advertising company agreed to broadcast Free Heart Screenings on LED displays around town. Facebook was employed to spread the news about both the campaign and the event to the thousands of followers of Penang Adventist Hospital. Local community groups and corporations such as Intel also agreed to partner to boost awareness with their supporters and employees.Thousands of dollars were donated and DonorPro was used to track donations and send automated thank you notes to each donor.

Getting the Word OutTHE EVENT

After 89 days of competing for most meals skipped, supporters from around Penang gathered for the 12 Hour Fast 2 Save a Heart. The event featured games such as DIY BATIK, Mega Snakes, Ladders, bonding activities such as a balloon release, dancing, singing and a campfire, and medical health screenings.

Fantastic ResultsTHE NUMBERS

• 1,258 New Donors• Over $75,000 raised

River Valley Riders10th Annual Round-Up Dinner & Auction

At the end of another year of enriching the lives of special needs children and adults with equine activities and therapies, River Valley Riders gathered with almost 200 guests for their 10th annual dinner and auction. It had been a great year, with hundreds of volunteers dedicated thousands of hours to help with therapeutic horseback riding and carriage driving lessons. The event brought together volunteers and donors from around the Woodbury, MN area who enjoyed fine dining and bidding on 97 items up for auction.

Best Fundraising EventROUND-UP DINNER AND AUCTION

Ninety-seven items were included in the live and silent auctions because of the generosity of the community. These donations were tracked in DonorPro, creating the bid sheets, thank you letters, and receipts. The reports from DonorPro allowed the River Valley committee to analyze the results from the previous year to determine which auction items generated the highest values.

It was determined that gift certificates for restaurants, books autographed by the author, wine, and electronics were the most desired items. By using this information, they were able to increase the percentage of value of the silent auction items from 76% in 2012 to 93% in 2013.

Using Software for SuccessLEVERAGING DONORPRO TOOLS


New to the Round-Up Dinner for 2013 was assigned seating. A problem that happened at the 2012 event was that groups of late-arriving guests could not sit together but were split up to open seats at several tables. DonorPro helped them easily assign tables so this problem was not repeated.


Another very important improvement of the evening was the speed of auction check-out with the use of DonorPro. In 2012, check-out took over one hour with a very long line. In 2013, there was no more than a five minute wait in line and our guests were much happier. They used a mail merged form that was delivered to the guests at their table.

178 Attendees$58,744 Raised

11% increase from previous year17% increase in item value

ResultsSUCCESS BY THE NUMBERS

A Bridge For KidsCasino Night

A Bridge for Kids hosted it’s first ever Casino Night at the La Jolla Country Club on Saturday night, October 12th. Over 150 guests gambled the night

away for a great cause, raising over $110,000 for at risk teens. It was a party-like atmosphere from start to finish with Las Vegas style atmosphere

at all of the black jack, craps or roulette tables.

Bridge for Kids La JollaRISKING MONEY FOR AT RISK TEAMS

Catered gambling… that’s what happened at the La Jolla Country Club in Southern California as A Bridge for Kids rented out gaming machines and installed a temporary mini-casino inside of the club. They secured eight large sponsors to underwrite the prizes and help increase awareness.

The organization sent out these official invitations to a their constituents.

LogisticsGAMING MACHINES AT A COUNTRY CLUB

The Casino night featured both success stories and requests from 16 kids who had either previously benefitted from A Bridge for Kids’ care and support, or had ambitions or wishes that they needed funding for. These stories provided an emotional backdrop for the night of gambling and fueled the attendees as they took big risks for an excellent cause!

A live auction went on throughout the night where guests won vacations and other prizes.

Setting the StageSTORY TELLING LINKS DOLLARS TO DIFFERENCE

ResultsIMMEDIATE IMPACT

Thanks to the generosity of those attending Casino Night, the $110,000 A Bridge for Kids raised will go directly to help many deserving San Diego teens achieve their academic, athletic and artistic dreams. The money

raised will finance items such as laptop computers, college trips, SAT and ACT preparation classes, athletic gear, summer camps, clothes, school

supplies and much more.

DonorPro is proud to work with such creative nonprofit clients who innovate to make a

difference.

If you’re interested in planning forward-thinking fundraising events, but don’t know where to

start…we’d be glad to help. We’ve got a team of client success specialists that help nonprofits launch successful events around the world.

Email us at [email protected] or Call 866.935.8281

4 Successful Fundraising Campaigns and Creative Events by Nonprofits Across the Globe

Government & Nonprofit

Transcript of 4 Successful Fundraising Campaigns and Creative Events by Nonprofits Across the Globe