Event Fundraising Blog

How many emails do you get in a day? For most people, the answer is too many.

Email is still a great way to reach people, but you have to make your message loud and unique for them to listen. Let’s look at the success that Susan G. Komen saw when it revamped its image and restructured its email campaign.

In 2009, the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure became the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure, a name change that dovetailed Komen's expansion of breast cancer advocacy and awareness programs overseas. The race became symbolic of Komen's larger message of breast cancer as a global issue.

The March of Dimes’ March for Babies is a 30-year event fundraising program that raises funds to enable support of babies born prematurely, some of the most vulnerable hospital patients. Designed to be a vessel for hope, March for Babies is held annually in more than 900 different communities and boasts a prior participant list of more than 7 million. Money raised during these events is used to fund research initiatives that work to give babies a healthy start in life.

The American Heart Association and AAHPERD’s Hoops for Heart is a successful national fundraising program that focuses on educating children about the dangers of heart disease while raising funds for cardiovascular research, stroke research, and health education. Participating students and their schools raise money through a variety of basketball-related activities, and the funds raised are used to promote awareness and research around cardiovascular issues. Sponsor schools also receive a portion of the donated funds to enhance their own physical education programs.

Best Buddies’ Audi Best Buddies Challenge is a unique event fundraising initiative that combines traditional event strategies with high-level celebrity involvement and endorsement. At the heart of the Best Buddies program is the desire to promote leadership and development opportunities by facilitating companionship for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. To support its initiatives, Best Buddies hosts high-profile fundraising events around the country. Best Buddies’ Audi Best Buddies Challenge has become renowned for the level of commitment and notoriety achieved through its events.

In the world of event fundraising, finding your niche allows your event to stand out from the pack and make a true and lasting difference for your cause. The NF Endurance Team is unique, because it takes this principle a step further. Instead of trying to attract participants to its own separate events, it sends its own team to established events around the country. The set-up is simple and effective, and it allows the team to reach a wide range of participants in activities they are already enjoying.

Colon cancer and its preventative measures provide a unique challenge to patient advocacy groups, because the subject is sensitive and slightly embarrassing at times. This is where the Undy 5000 comes into the picture.

The Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run is a 26-year tradition that is designed to capitalize on the joy and enthusiasm of the holiday season to raise over $5 million annually for arthritis research and treatment. This event is a good example of using seasonal timing to maximize fundraising effectiveness. The holidays are a time of joy, love and an increased awareness of the struggles others face, making it an opportune time to connect with people around important causes in a fun and festive way. The Jingle Bell Run is held all across the country during late November and early December, and is met with eager crowds and exciting success.

Continuing our series on spotlighting unique nonprofit fundraising events, today we analyze the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Heroes program. The St. Jude Heroes program takes a unique approach to large-scale fundraising by providing individuals with all of the fundraising and training resources that they need to fundraise for any athletic event they want, rather than having St. Jude’s operate the events themselves.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is an event fundraising program representing the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported and that one day – cancer will be eliminated. The primary goal of a Relay for Life event is to build a sense of community among those individuals bound together by this life-changing disease while raising money to fund cancer research. The structure of the event maximizes the connections it creates by involving patients, survivors and supporters in each stage of ACS’s mission, while delivering an experience that resonates with participants and connects them with the cause.

Creating a unique concept for your fundraising event can encourage more people to donate and participate, especially if the concept involves an experience that is tied directly to your organization’s mission. Because people are emotional and intuitive, developing a brand through an experiential fundraiser can help you connect with more individuals, and form lasting connections.