Revamp your website and online donation forms so they will load faster and be more easily navigable on mobile devices. We're sure your first question will be, "How much does this all cost? Simply go into the platform to monitor the progress of your online fundraiser. This way of fundraising allows organizations to raise money anytime, anywhere. Each program is assigned an Hour-A-Thon Fundraising Specialist to directly run the program with coaches. If you don't have a StoryJumper account, click "Sign Up" at the top of this page. Your next read-a-thon event can help you raise more money and acquire new donors when powered by expert coaching and premium tools. I plan to have the charity event in NC is TBD. Keep an eye on important metrics such as how many gifts you have secured, total donations raised, return on investment, and conversion and engagement rates for your online communications. You could even assemble students in your auditorium to create a kind of pre-fundraising pep rally. The customized shortcode that your donors will use to donate and the numbers they text it to should be short and easy to remember. Held daily challenges for students that included reading, STEM, community outreach, and exercising. Our dynamic fundraising platform was designed to help you simplify the a-thon fundraising experience for your organization, and your donors. When a supporter makes a pledge, they can indicate the maximum amount theyre willing to donate. We recommend that you invest in dedicated online fundraising platforms, like Read-A-Thon, which will more effectively track these key metrics and provide you with an accessible interface to organize your campaign. What kind of organizations use text-to-give fundraising? So creating an event team of organizers is vital to the success of your walk-a-thon fundraiser. We hope our ideas and insights will help you decide if text-to-give fundraising is the right method for you, and if so, that youll be able to get the most out of it. This Penny War Fundraiser Packet is a perfect way to end the school year. Otherwise, you might be overwhelming your donors. It's as simple as that. You can also use this as a way to start community partnerships with businesses and corporations. B. 5.0. This worry is understandable, with the United States literacy ranking 125th worldwide. A virtual fundraiser is an online fundraising event. . In addition to raising funds, the Draft-A-Thon will pay tribute to healthcare workers, first responders, and others on the front lines of the battle with. 2. These partnerships can lead to more event sponsorships and grants for your nonprofit. Set up a fundraising page with text, images and videos for your Text-to-Donate campaign. Our unique pledge-per functionality gives you the ability to assign any unit of measure to your a-thon! These are just examples to get you started. Read-A-Thon not only provides print marketing packages, but social media, text, and email marketing tools to help you maximize promotion for your online fundraiser. Then, they followed up with a Quarantine Read-a-thon to support their city's local economy. A book swap can be a great solution. Congratulations!! 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile devices. In an effort to navigate distance learning for the upcoming school year, schools are using funds for technology & other needs: St. Aloysius School, Willett Elementary, Cadence Park Elementary, & St. Michael School (among many others) held Virtual Jog/Move a-thons. Its probably the fastest way for donors to give. From auto-generated participant fundraising pages and leaderboards, to easy payments and instant collections PTFundraiser has what you need. Virtual gala and auction It's a classic for a reason! Usually, through word-of-mouth, through digital marketing means, or at an event/service, a donor is asked to give via text. We recommend using a multichannel approach when it comes to promoting a text code. Text giving is a fast and convenient way for people to make a donation that can help save the day for people in need. They dont even have to turn on their computers. For example, Overall, 76% of Haiti text donors say that their friends or family members did indeed make a contribution to earthquake relief using their phones. Take advantage of our outreach and marketing toolkit to spread the word about your Read-a-thon! We have secured a total of $7,500 so far, and we hope to reach $50,000. With Read-A-Thon's effortless online platform, you can raise thousands of dollars just by encouraging students to read. Promoting your text-to-give campaign is critical to your fundraising success. The keyword or the shortcode triggers the next step. This is great if you can keep your cost-per-acquisition low. That's how confident we are that your online fundraiser will be a success! Ask your volunteers to assist them whenever needed. For more tips, see our ultimate guide to Text-to-Donate in the Resource Hub (for members, but open to all). Remember me . Thanking donors is always important; so it is with text-to-give fundraising. For example, you can pair text-to-give with fundraising events to capitalize on the excitement created by in-person interactions (e.g. Collect Donations. Launch fundraising campaigns in minutes with beautiful, customizable and responsive donation pages. Nonprofit organizations will generally collect donors names, phone numbers, email addresses, and billing addresses. Optimized for on-the-spot giving by many simultaneous users, Custom text codes run as short as three characters and never expire, Donors receive link to contribute via a secure web page, Unlimited use of our five-digit short code, 44321, Multiple payment options including digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, Text-to-Donate page design inherits the look and feel of associated campaign, Progress meters can track and exhibit donations in seconds on Campaign Page and Live Display. Join a 30min Live Demo to see how Donorbox can help you reach your fundraising goals! A small thumbnail of your template will appear. The activity can be almost anything, from reading to running to bowling. -Ten half hour sessions during class, over two weeks. The following funds will go partly towards these kids and partly towards the next batch. Some of your contests can be in-person but mostly, kids will be participating remotely and collecting funds online. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development. Not to mention, these types of tools allow you to run everything online without having to deal with paper forms or track down people for payments. From that point on, you're free to customize or expand your virtual art class to best suit your specific group of participants. Volunteer opportunity: If you're passionate about mental health services and eager to support a great cause, we want you on our team! Remind your child to break out a book and record their reading time this Spring Break! Adapted annual Walk-a-thon to a Virtual Walk-a-thon. I would like to join the indigenous people of the country to say 'shuker' to you as a word of thanks for your gift. Traditionally, you have your supporters pull out their checkbook, envelope, and stamp to mail a donation. - 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile devices. (7) $3.75. Whether your campus is in person, virtual, or hybrid, Read-A-Thon is safe, secure, and simple to run. This has, however, been solved by modern-day text-to-give providers. Below is an example of a video and text for sample letters you and your child can cut and paste and use as templates when emailing out of town family and friends to ask for donations toward the Edison Read-a-thon. Sign up for free to kick off a virtual fundraiser that students, sponsors, and community members will be inspired by! Give Lively does capture and securely store some non-payment data about donors, for instance a donors first and last names, email address and donation date, among other data points. Learn how to make the most of Text-to-Donate on our Resource Hub (for members, but open to all). Could a pledge supporter be charged an unlimited amount. They are the people who will help you promote this page and raise more money. You can never go wrong with a Read-a-thon fundraiser. -Two week period, out of class time, etc. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to design your hit a then pledge form: Select the document you want to sign and click Upload. You can turn this event into a reading event for all community members by including some games and fun activities for parents and teachers as well. If you decide to plan this event yourself, here are some tips . Create user-friendly pages for fundraising-event ticket and sponsorship sales. $2 per-activity for Move-a-thon, $3 per-minute for Read-a-thon, $5 per-word for Spell-a-thon, $8 per-problem for Math-a-thon, etc). Be sure to clearly explain your fundraiser's purpose, impact, and mode of operation, as well as how your students will benefit from participating. That way, the system can calculate results and charge donors for their pledges. Other than a couple of hiccups with the system we were extremely happy!! We are extremely grateful to you for the recent gift you have provided to support us. The entire process only takes minutes to complete. Organizers. It applies the a-thon fundraising formula to the concept of a canned food drive. Also, share your text-to-give information in your direct mail outreach or your e-newsletters. With thorough planning and the right support, you can host a memorable fundraiser that could become a staple in your yearly fundraising strategy! Our simple-to-embed, customizable donation widgets make it easy to collect donations directly on your own website. Choose a theme Themes can make your read-a-thon more fun and give kids a way to get involved from the beginning. Ophelia's Place is is hosting a "Call-A-Thon" fundraiser on Thursday, March 2nd, from 6-8 pm, and we need your help! For a minimum donation of $500 your business's name and logo will be featured on all the Carlisle Football Lift A Thon Fundraiser 2023 webpages. Include a photo, drawing, or mention favorite characters or books. We want to help you run the best Reading Fundraiser possible. Yes. And surprisingly, the typical text-to-give user is actually a woman between 49-59 years old who has a college degree. To begin organizing a read-a-thon fundraiser, you should review your options with your organization. Due to the pandemic & financial hardships, VC Academy notified supporters that it was completely understandable if they wanted to withdraw their pledge. We the Parent . Join a 30min Live Demo to see how Donorbox can help you reach your fundraising goals! Smyrna Elementary is using funds to build an outdoor classroom. Read-A-Thon charges nothing to your institution upfront. 2. Make your donors feel valued by thanking them for their gift and celebrating their contribution. No matter what activity you choose, the premise is the same. Wilson High School students took a page out of Penn State's playbook and danced to help fight childhood cancer. Read-A-Thon Fundraiser. This makes it simple for family & friends to support them (which often doubles or triples the amount raised). When the campaign has ended, youll need to confirm that all activity results are in to finalize your a-thon. To help you pick the best possible online fundraiser for your school, consider the following points: Before you fall back on old habits with a cookie dough sale or pick a random idea out of a hat, be sure to weigh out the pros, cons, and finer details of the fundraising options you have available to you! This way, readers can give as soon as they read your letter or e-newsletter. 4. When organizing the faculty, staff, or volunteers that will make up your fundraising team, be sure to keep everyone informed about what is expected of them and how they can complete their tasks. Get a monthly curated round-up of our best posts and feature updates. Recipient of Society of Women Engineers Certificate of Merit, RIT Computing Medal, AP Scholar with Distinction, top 30 individually at Maine State Math Meet for class of 2021 in both 2017 and 2018 . 16 "Athon" Fundraisers To Try SPONSORED CONTENT Go beyond the typical school fun run fundraiser with one of these ideas to raise money and school spirit. Transitioned annual Jog-a-thon to a Stay-Fit-a-thon, where they invited students & families to complete a 20-minute fitness challenge at home. Donorbox also lets you accept donations from the event page. 7. Choose My Signature. 1. Find local businesses that cater to kids and families. A hit-a-thon fundraiser comes with a high profit vs investment in materials. Mobile giving is a simple and effective way to appeal to donors on the go and take advantage of the widespread use of mobile devices. However, most dont differentiate between the two terms and use them interchangeably, regardless of if the donation is made by donors giving on a mobile donation page or via their cell phone bill. All you need to do is promote your online fundraiser. Your organization can use individual peer-to-peer campaigns as signup for each kid. Donorboxs text to give feature went live in January 2021. With Read-A-Thon's effortless online platform, you can raise thousands of dollars just by encouraging students to read. Text-to-Give has numerous advantages when utilized in the right setting and fundraising campaign. Yes, if they choose that option. The GiveSmart subscription gives you the freedom to add a variety of fundraising elements to any of your events and campaigns, all powered by online fundraising. There are three variants; a typed, drawn or uploaded signature. Choosing the right donation platform is the first step to successful fundraising in this method. Hour-a-thon, which exhibited at the 2021 . Donorbox Text-to-Give is very easy and quick to get started And, theres no additional fee to participate in the trial! Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. Not only is this a simple process for your donors, for nonprofits it will take only a few minutes to get started. It started around 6 p.m. with a . Love how fast you guys are at responding to questions. You'll gain access to Fund-A-Thon fundraising campaigns, which will include your very own replication donation pages. So spreading the word about your online fundraiser to the student body should be one of your greatest concerns. The days of collecting cash donations from your school's bake sale table are now a thing of the past. This will vary from one service provider to another. Read-a-thons are excellent opportunities for your organization to get the entire community involved. Display a thermometer showing donors how close you are to meeting your fundraising goals to encourage even more giving! Read-A-Thon Reading Reminder! Here's a sample of what your virtual fundraising process could look like: Set up your fundraiser page with 99Pledges for free. Nonprofits can create as many unique text codes as needed for all their campaigns, events and more. The average donation size for text-to-donate fundraisers is $107. During your virtual event, have families email pictures & videos that you'll post on your organization's website or have them post on your community page (e.g. Also, remember to store donors information in your donor management system and use it to strengthen relationships with these supporters in the future. If shes not working, shes obsessing over coffee or cooking. Youll also want to find ways to excite students with the prizes and class competitions. Get unlimited creative control with PTFundraiser in your corner. Thank all kids and parents, not just the winners. sponsor sheet to place on envelopes for collecting jog-a-thon pledges. Please note that Text-to-Donate is not the same as "Text to Give. The latter is when someone sends a text message with a donation amount, rather than a text code, to a special short code. We heard from several students and parents about how much they have enjoyed this fundraiser. Running an a-thon online allows you to hold a "pledge-per" fundraiser without the need for paper forms or tracking people down for payments. The only requirements for your child to win books and awards is (1) READ and (2) submit those minutes through the app. CHESTERTOWN Sho'men Aquatics swim team for youth ages 5 to 18 raised nearly $7,500 in its recent fundraiser at the Casey Swim Center on the Washington College campus. The school district hosted a Mini-THON Friday night. Kids and families alone cannot do all the promotion themselves. Take a multi-channel marketing approach to ensure that students, parents, and the community are aware of your upcoming text-to-give campaign. 1. Getting Started with Read a thon Watch on Text-to-give donors are likely to encourage their family and friends to give online and usually do so in person. Include both the keyword and shortcode on all promotional materials, website content, and advertising that runs for the campaign. About the Author You'll no longer need to waste precious time and resources trying to set up an effective online fundraiser that might not earn its cost of investment. Furthermore, if youre not an emergency relief organization, a text-to-give solicitation may not be as compelling to the donor as an impulse donation in the wake of a tragedy is. They are using their funds to have Chromebooks for all students and new Virtual Learning Technology. Disadvantages of text-to-give fundraising, Text-to-give fundraising tips and best practices, Here is how you can sign-up and get started, recurring weekly, monthly, or annual donations, 12 Donation Form Best Practices to Inspire Your Online Fundraising, How to Set Up a Nonprofit Donation Page (5-Step Guide), 100+ Best Fundraising Ideas for Everyone (Quick, Unique & Easy) in 2023, How to Choose the Best Nonprofit Donor Management Software, How to Start a Nonprofit Organization [10 Step Guide] | Donorbox. These powerful features make your a-thon one-of-a-kind, Create a branded page for your a-thon fundraiser, Add teams, leaderboards and individual page functionality, Run any a-thon imaginable with unlimited participants, These built-in tools make it easy to maximize donations, Increase pledges with social sharing and dedicated links, Automate everything from pledge collections to emails, Inspire action with prizes attached to pledge goals. Our features are easy to set up, simple to use, and powerful enough to bring you results. You will also have a rough idea about how many kids will be willing to participate and how much funds you may raise. Additionally, these widgets also offer tips for students to find and attract sponsors, allowing them to funnel attention to their fundraising webpage and expand your network of supporters. The campaign raised millions of dollars, including $32 million for the American Red Cross, from a mass of $10 texts to the word Haiti.. Begin your fundraising campaign with a bang and generate as much support as possible by organizing a memorable kick-off! Everything was very easy to navigate. Can-a-thon. We make it super easy on you (as the coordinator), your students/parents, and your donors. Join 5,000+ schools around the world using Read-A-Thon. 99Pledges will donate 6 Kindle Fires to schools that raise $10,000.) Share your code Speak aloud, share on the web or social media, print on handouts or project it at events with Live Display. However, this may depend on what text-to-give software you choose. You'll gain access to Fund-A-Thon fundraising campaigns, which will include your very own replication donation pages. With the right text-to-give software, a transaction can be completed in just a few clicks. Enter the number of students in your school below to see how much you could raise. Effort: Medium . This increases security by reducing the chances of breaches. Be sure to indicate that you're a "Teacher" and follow the guided tour. Use Zoom to hold meetings with parents, check in for progress, and host online contests. This online campaign raised donations to help 200+ students with textbooks and other school supplies. Before starting your read-a-thon campaign, youll need to finalize the following details: Now you have all the details for your read-a-thon fundraiser. Results dont need to be recorded at the same time, which means that your participants can enter them when theyre done. In 1973, a small group of Penn State students held the first dance mMarathon, with 39 couples participating and raising $2,000. Here is how you can sign-up and get started! As with all Give Lively nonprofit fundraising products, Text-to-Donate is free. One of the participants completes a run during the 24H Blue MTN charity event, which has teams of skiers and snowboarders on the hill for . Golf Tournament. Regardless of how your organization decides to run the fundraiser, read-a-thons are an excellent way to raise significant amounts and encourage more kids to read. A typical Write-a-thon may run for 1-2 months, depending on computer availability at school and home. Take your donor experience to the next level! Think fun stuff like dancing, hula-hooping, and bowling! The goal is to create a memorable text code that increases a campaigns visibility and the likelihood of receiving donations. Here are 7 steps to help you plan a bowl-a-thon: 1. Nonprofits can create as many unique text codes as needed for all their campaigns, events and more. Now more than ever, we're seeing schools adapt their annual "a-thon" fundraisers to be 100% virtual. Virtual fundraisers can replace in-person galas, concerts, walk-a-thons, races, and more. Want to keep it super simple? An "a-thon" is a peer-to-peer style fundraiser that involves participating in a certain activity and gathering donations for participating in said activity. Cost: Low. Purchasing any sort of fundraising software can be a significant investment for your nonprofit. Watch a short video outlining what you need to know. 9th Sep, 2019. Remember to help kids and parents raise more money with any marketing material they may need. Additionally, create a guide of some kind for team members to reference with questions. Instead of texting a full phone number, donors text the keyword to a shortcode to donate. We would love for you to take these ideas and build upon them to make them your very own! In a matter of days, watch as hundreds of reading hours and thousands of dollars roll into your Read-A-Thon account, all for an activity that your students are already doing! Our intuitive, highly accessible platform takes no time at all to integrate into your school's normal fundraising activities, guiding you every step of the way to host a more successful and rewarding fundraiser than you could have ever imagined. But if you're looking for a youth sports fundraising idea that everyone will enjoy, a hit-a-thon fundraiser is a fantastic way to raise funds for your sports team that is pretty easy to plan and execute. Furthermore, since the opportunity to give is so immediate and the process so fast, donors are more likely to follow the initial urge and less likely to get distracted. Take the stress, surprise, and hefty investment costs out of your school's online fundraising program! - In the past year, mobile giving donations have increased by 205%. Then, the system automatically charges each donors credit card with the amount. 02. You will have access not only to your students' reading hours, but also key metrics like the number of sponsors and dollars you've collectively raised over the course of your Read-a-thon's sessions. Send us a message on Live Chat - click the blue circle at the bottom right, Downloadable Overviews to share with your fundraising team, 99Pledges Pricing: $0 startup cost & 0% platform fee, Customer References: Hear directly from our customers about their experience, Make any school fundraiser completely virtual & social-distancing friendly. Chabot Elementary raised $79K (close to double the amount from last year) with students reading an average of 1,300 minutes for a 2 week long Read-a-thon. These campaigns provide critical funding for your institution and you can't afford to invest time and money into campaigns that might not work. Percent Participation: 75% Average Donors Per Student: 5 Introducing Our Latest Disney Trip Winner Set a specific timeline and add a goal thermometer to your crowdfunding page. Try something New, Easy, Profitable and Educational! Encouraged families to post pictures and videos on their Facebook School Group page. Will all students follow the same measurements? This comes in handy if your a-thon runs for extended periods of time. The Best Fundraising Ideas Idea # 8 A-Thon-a-thon There are several ways to do an a-thon-athon, but the easiest way is to give supporters a series of tasks that they have to do in quick succession, like a triathalon (biking, swimming, and running.) Re-imagined their annual Rainbow Run-a-thon into a Rainbow ReCreate-a-thon. Text-to-Give Fundraising Statistics According to Nonprofits Source, these are essential text-to-give statistics: - 1 in 4 donors use mobile devices to discover nonprofits they were previously unaware of. This lowers the barrier to giving and opens the door to a whole new pool of donors. We are so excited for Johnny Grabowski from East Dover Elementary. Maintaining the support of this new generation of philanthropistsand immediate access to them via their phonesrequires restraint. The idea behind this fundraising type is to cast as wide a net as possible and gain a lot of support in a short amount of time. 99Pledges runs thousands of successful fundraisers every year. Challenges: Run/Walk/Bike, Jump Rope, Dance Tutorials, Kids Workout, & more. Another way is to hold a contest and ask students to brainstorm ideas for your theme. It is an active, fun event that can be organized easily and quickly. Check out Donorbox Premium get the following to ensure fundraising success: Explore tons of helpful articles, free resources, downloadable samples, and more on the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog. Unlike a fun run or a 5K fundraiser, you don't need to map out a racecourse or organize volunteers to man your event. St. Francis - St. Stephen School raised $5,352 with 99 students that went directly to their financial aid fund to support returning & newly enrolled students. Notably, Text-to-Donate is part of our Digital Fundraising and Event Fundraising solutions, and designed to work in tandem with all of our products.. Whether you are in the room or #OutsideTheRoom, at an event, or over a text-to-donate campaign, all donations go straight to your organization's bank account. This was our first time doing a Read-a-thon and we LOVED it! Activity ideas: Running, Jogging, Walking, Biking, Dancing, Jump Roping, Skipping, Playing Sports. PPTX. It consists of signing up, tracking your progress, sharing your fundraiser, and raising funds! From sip-and-paints for adults to arts and crafts nights for your young students, virtual art classes are a simple way for you to engage your different volunteers at little to no cost. Competition is fun, exciting, and an excellent way to entice more involvement in your read-a-thon. They can choose easy per-unit pledge or make a flat donation.