Health-related charities have been among the biggest pioneers in P2P fundraising over the past several decades. But the recent growth in ‘do-it-yourself’ fundraising campaigns is making it easier for charities with non-health missions to enlist supporters to raise money.
National groups like charity: water and World Wildlife Fund have proven that all charities have the potential to inspire supporters to raise money with a well-designed online platform and a smart communications and marketing strategy.
Local charities such as the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida are also starting to get strong results from online do-it-yourself campaigns.
The Orlando-based food bank has raised more than $250,000 over the past four years by hosting an annual virtual holiday food drive in which participants create online campaigns and encourage their friends, family, or co-workers to contribute. It has also been experimenting with a summer food drive campaign that raised about $14,000 in 2015.
Instead of simply asking for money, fundraisers ask for contributions that buy a certain type of food to feed the hungry in the community.
For instance, for a $15 donation, a donor can buy the equivalent of 180 pounds of carrots. For $100, the donor would buy 450 loaves of bread.
The charity’s online fundraising page includes a number of suggested donation amounts that correspond with a food item — a setup that makes it easy for donors to see the impact of their contributions.
Maria Shanley, the food bank’s digital marketing manager, says the approach offers a digital alternative to traditional food drives in which companies and individuals buy specific food items and donate them to the charity.
“It’s definitely been worth the time and investment,” Shanley says of the campaign. “(Running the virtual drive) requires a lot of communication and outreach, but it’s been great for us.”
The effort has been a big hit among Orlando-area companies, which use the food bank’s online platform to host food drives among their employees. Now that it has achieved some early success, Shanley said the nonprofit is considering ways to expand it.
“We think there’s an opportunity for us to turn it into a more competitive campaign, where companies can compete against each other, rather than raising money just on their own,” Shanley says.
Shanley will discuss the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s virtual food drive campaign during a live webinar on Tuesday, June 14.
She will be joined by American Brain Tumor Association advancement director Jennifer Sloan and Cathexis Partners account manager Christina Relacion to discuss how nonprofits of all sizes and missions can achieve success through do-it-yourself campaigns.