Summer is the time for family vacations, relaxation, and a break from the hustle and bustle of the school year. But for those who run Booster Clubs, it also brings a challenge: fundraiser fatigue. Everyone is so worn out from the school year – and people are scattered thanks to getaways, making traditional events harder to coordinate – that planning a fundraiser can be pretty stressful.
But there’s a practical solution: virtual fundraising.
Virtual fundraisers are online events that raise money for your group without the logistical and financial burdens that come with in-person gatherings. They offer numerous benefits, including cutting costs on food, decorations, and venue rentals. You might even find them less stressful.
Virtual events also allow you to reach a broader audience. They transcend geographical limitations and encourage participation from families no matter where their summer travels take them. This inclusivity fosters a sense of community, making members of the community feel more connected and involved in your Booster Club’s activities.
By now, we all know how to use virtual meeting technology like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. These virtual tools provide a familiar and accessible way to host these events, which may lead to higher participation rates and a more engaged audience. This potential for increased engagement can make school administrators feel optimistic and hopeful about the success of virtual fundraising events.
Even better, these events are easy to produce. To get you started, we’ve put together a few suggestions for virtual fundraising events.
Walk/Run/Thon: Most of us have participated in one of these events. However, when you add a virtual component, they become much more straightforward. Participants can use a digital sports watch like a Fitbit or Apple Watch to track the miles they walk, run, or bike or log them on a site such as Map My Run, Runkeeper, or Strava. For the online auction, you can offer a variety of items for bid, from gift cards to unique experiences, and use a platform like Betterworld or eBay for Charity to manage the bidding process.
Despite being online, this virtual model also creates a sense of community and competition, as families and teams can share their progress via social media. You can even set up a virtual leaderboard for prizes or bragging rights. This not only encourages participation but also fosters a sense of camaraderie and fun, just like in traditional in-person events.
Online auction: We’ve all been to a silent auction. But have you ever offered items for bid online? By using a platform that allows for real-time bidding and promoting the event through your social media channels, you can create an easy-to-run and dynamic auction.
Here are some suggestions for online auction sites that partner with charities:
OneCause: This site will host the various items you have up for auction, as well as a countdown clock to let people know when the auction begins. It also enables you to share your auction via social media.
Snowball Fundraising: This service creates fully customizable and simple to use donation pages, as well as online, email and smartphone payment methods.
ClickBid: With just one clickable link, potential bidders can easily be part of your online auction. Plus, they offer a Fund-A-Need display that allows you to track and display total bids.
https://clickbidonline.com/mobile-bidding-silent-auction-software
betterworld: This group’s goal is to “ensure nonprofits are never hampered by their budgets in the pursuit of doing good.” Use their completely free site to create beautiful, simple, and effective online fundraising tools.
Givebutter: This site’s 100+ free tools are customizable, embeddable, and completely mobile-optimized and there are zero platform fees, subscriptions, or add-ons.
Your online auction is an exciting opportunity to support small businesses and local teams, particularly ones that have worked with your group in the past. This will not only support your fundraising efforts but also help them gain exposure.
If you want to get the highest bids possible, here are a few tips:
- Sell what’s on sale: Write an engaging description of each item, fully listing why it’s exciting, any specifications (sizes, measurements, expiration dates and any other instructions), and who donated it.
- Show what you’ve got: Take sharp photos that showcase the items up for auction.
- Make it fun: Consider a personable host that can make your auction seem more professional and move quickly.
- Be diverse: Have plenty of different things up for bid. Don’t stick to just one type of item.Consider gift certificates or cards, wine, classes, event tickets and gift baskets. After all, variety is the spice of life!
- Consider the cost: What should your starting bids be set at? Experts say to start at 25% and 50% of their market value. Make sure to include shipping in the cost.
Virtual raffle: A raffle is just as simple to organize online as an auction. You can choose the live-streaming platform of your choice and sell tickets online in advance. Then, encourage people to share their excitement about what they win on social media, which can promote your group’s activities.
Virtual workshops and classes: Your group – and the school you support – are filled with experts with skills that many people would love to learn about. Why not offer their expertise online for donations? Another idea is to present “TED Talks” with your experts and have them speak about exciting ideas and subjects to themselves and your community.
Online concerts and performances: If your Booster Group is for a choir, band, or stage group—or if you just have some talented people who can participate—a live-streamed virtual concert or show can allow viewers to send virtual donations while enjoying the performance.
You could also hold an online talent show with your group members and ask viewers to purchase votes in exchange for a donation.
Ensuring success before, during, and after your event.
Focusing on interaction and personalization is essential to keep your virtual events engaging. Here are some tips:
Thank returning families: Acknowledge those who have consistently participated in your events in person and virtually. After all, a simple thank you can go a long way in building community spirit and encouraging ongoing support.
Leverage social media: Create a unique hashtag for your event and encourage participants to use it. Ask them to tag your booster club in their posts during and after the event to increase visibility and engagement. For example, during a virtual auction or raffle, they can post what they’ve won and encourage others to buy tickets.
Engage parents and their children: Plan activities that are fun for both adults and kids to ensure that everyone remains interested and invested in the event’s success. Keeping everyone engaged—even if they aren’t there in person—is essential.
Wrapping Up
Virtual fundraisers offer a versatile and effective way to keep your booster club’s efforts alive during summer. By embracing these digital solutions, you can overcome the challenges of fundraising fatigue, geographical limitations, and busy vacation schedules. However, it’s important to note that virtual fundraising does require some technological proficiency and may face challenges in attracting high participation rates. But with the right planning and execution, these challenges can be overcome, leading to a successful start to the new school year.
Remember to keep your events fun, interactive, and inclusive, and always show appreciation to your supporters. With thoughtful planning and a touch of creativity, your booster club can turn the summer season into a vibrant period of fundraising success. Virtual fundraisers can be just as exciting and engaging as in-person events, if not more, with the added advantage of convenience and accessibility.
Just because these events are virtual, they still have a liability or risk for your group. There is still the chance of embezzlement, stolen auction items, or directors and officers being sued for mismanagement, misrepresentations, dissemination of false or misleading information or inappropriate actions.
AIM is here to help. We offer affordable insurance programs – specifically tailored to the needs of parent teacher groups like yours – that will protect you from potentially catastrophic financial losses.