10 Ways to Use Your OneCause Fundraising Platform Subscription

What does your typical fundraising calendar look like? A capital campaign kickoff in January, a gala auction in March, a golf tournament in July, and a Giving Tuesday campaign in November?

The world of nonprofit fundraising moves incredibly fast, so it can be tempting to stick to the status quo of what you know. But to power your world-changing mission, you need the right strategies all year round.

The OneCause Fundraising Platform was built to power your mission 365 days a year, not just on event day! You have powerful tools, features, and functionality at your disposal. We’re here to help you tap into their full potential. Here are 10 ways to use your OneCause Fundraising Platform subscription this year.

  1. Charity Gala
  2. Silent, Live, & Online Auction
  3. Fundraising Appeal
  4. Raffle & Fixed Price Items
  5. Competitions & Voting
  6. Personal Fundraising Pages
  7. Virtual Event
  8. Giving or Awareness Campaign
  9. Embeddable Donation Form
  10. Text2Give® Campaign

Let’s get started!

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Charity Gala

Hosting a charity gala is the perfect way to bring in significant revenue, connect with major donors, share updates about your mission, and rally your supporters around your cause.

With the OneCause Fundraising Platform, you have access to an all-in-one event management platform that saves you time and empowers guests to take an active role in your event.

Streamline the guest experience from start to finish with these tools.

  • Integrated ticketing: Create custom ticket types, group packages, and promo codes – and empower supporters to manage their tickets and donor profile.
  • Express check-in: Event attendees can “skip the line” with their QR code ticket and check in to your event prior to arrival. That means spending less time at registration and more time connecting with your cause.
  • Table management: Manage table assignments with ease! View seated and unseated guests at the event, group tables by captains, sponsors, and VIPs, and boost engagement with real-time fundraising analytics by table and individual.
  • Sponsor management: Sponsorships are key to your event success. With the platform, you’re able to create customizable online sponsorship packages, track engagement to demonstrate sponsor ROI, and maximize your event revenue.
  • Revenue drivers: Whether your fundraising activities consist of a silent auction, live auction, fundraising appeal, or raffle, the platform elevates the experience for you and your guests.
  • Express check-out: To end the night on a high note, the platform offers self-check-out options, pre-arranged item pickup time slots, and guest notifications when items are ready for pickup.

OneCause also offers the option to have award-winning staff onsite to help execute your event.

Silent, Live, & Online Auctions

Silent and live auctions are a staple in the fundraising world. They’re successful for several reasons. You can adapt your auction to fit any audience and venue — from a casual event to the swankiest party and anything in between. Plus, you can make your auction one of several fundraising activities at your event or make it the star of the show!

Here are a few of the features and functionality within the platform that make hosting an auction easy.

  • Procurement: The platform makes auction procurement a breeze! Auction item donors can submit item details via an online form. When an item is donated, an item record is automatically created using the information provided by the donor.
  • Item management: Save time and build efficiencies with item management tools, including the ability to assign which items you want each volunteer to solicit as well as filters to find missing data and fill in gaps in your auction.
  • Auction AI™: With the power of AI, you can create descriptions for your auction, fixed price, and raffle items, saving you up to 8 hours of prep time. Plus, the auction item recommendation feature uses AI to dynamically showcase items to your bidders, boosting proceeds from sold items by up to 25%.
  • Revenue boosters: The OneCause Fundraising Platform makes bidding more dynamic, competitive, and fun! With outbid notifications, max bids, buy-it-now options, countdown clocks, and more, you have the tools needed to spark a bidding frenzy.
  • Analytics: To help you determine which item packages were successful and which will need tweaked in the future, the platform includes the following metrics: total number of bids and bidders, average number of bids per item, number of max bids placed, percent of auction goal, percent to value, as well as items sold, paid, and picked up.

The platform was designed to help you easily build your auction while saving time, streamlining processes, and delivering an unparalleled guest experience.

Fundraising Appeal

You have everything you need to artfully craft and successfully execute a memorable appeal and raise more from your in-person, hybrid, and virtual audiences.

With the platform, you can…

  • Plan an open appeal or set giving levels.
  • Pre-assign paddles or assign at check-in.
  • Manage pre-seeded donations.
  • Text supporters a direct link to donate.
  • Recognize donors with real-time scoreboards.
  • Call out paddle numbers and display donors’ names.
  • Tap into gamification donate-to-vote and table contests.
  • Accept credit cards, digital wallet, ACH, or checks.

Your appeal is the center of your fundraising event. Make it count!

Raffle & Fixed Price Items

A common, easy, and fun way to raise money for your mission is by executing a raffle or selling fixed price items. These can be part of a stand-alone campaign or added to an existing event to drive additional revenue.

Let’s break it down!

  • Raffles: With the OneCause Fundraising Platform, you can create multiple raffles per event and each raffle can be drawn multiple times for multiple prizes. People love the opportunity to support your cause and have a chance to win a big prize. You’re sure to generate a lot of excitement and support!
  • Fixed price items: You can also set up the sale of fixed price items – think wine pulls, signup parties, drink tickets, branded merchandise, etc. Items can be purchased on the event site or sold at your event by volunteers using the Event Day Tool.
    • Will your upcoming event be open to in-person and virtual audiences? The platform even allows you to indicate who can view and purchase each item. For example, you can make drink tickets only available for your in-person guests.

With high level of engagement and relatively low cost, raffles and fixed price items may be just the right fundraising elements to add to your next event!

Competitions & Voting

Did you know the OneCause Fundraising Platform offers a donate-to-vote feature?

Donate-to-vote is a great way to increase revenue for your organization, introduce some friendly competition, and give supporters a voice. Here’s how to get started:

  1. Create a prompt (e.g. Vote for next year’s event theme).
  2. Create multiple options (e.g. The Roaring 20’s, 1980’s, Casino Night, Under the Sea).
  3. Allow supporters to donate towards the option they prefer.
  4. Announce the option with the most dollars at the end of the night!

For this to be successful, be sure to send out text reminders via the platform. You can also have your emcee give updates on which option is in the running to spark the competitive flames.

Personal Fundraising Pages

Personal fundraising pages leverage your most loyal supporters and turn them into active fundraisers for your cause. They’re a great way to extend your fundraising impact beyond galas, live streams, auctions, and events. Plus, they’re especially quick to set up!

With a well-thought-out Ambassador Fundraising strategy, your nonprofit can:

  • Engage top supporters before, during, and after your event.
  • Connect your event to a larger social audience.
  • Add gamification, excitement, and competition.
  • Create new engagement and revenue streams before your event even starts!

But to be successful, you’ll need the right tools. The OneCause Fundraising Platform offers Personal Fundraising Pages that are sure to help you amplify your fundraising impact with select supporters.

Your ambassadors will love the easy-to-use tools, including…

  • The guided online tour for how to personalize their ambassador page.
  • Easy-to-use, built-in tools and tips to fundraise.
  • Milestone messages and leaderboards.
  • Ability to upload and share photos and videos to spread the word.
  • Text alerts when donations are made.
  • Automatic thank you messages right from their mobile phones.

Empower supporters to create their own fundraising pages and share them across their personal networks leading up to your next event. You’ll be able to work towards your goals months in advance, boosting your revenue and growing your donor base all at once!

Virtual Event

Fundraising events don’t only exist in lavish ballrooms! You can easily host a virtual event that’s just as engaging, satisfying, and unforgettable for your supporters.

Simply leverage the virtual event capabilities within the OneCause Fundraising Platform and begin planning an epic fundraiser. You can even add other online fundraising activities into your event, like auctions and personal fundraising pages leading up to the big day, to level up your revenue generation.

Just make sure to strategize how your virtual supporters are informed, engaged, and donating. Here’s how the platform can help.

  • Sell tickets to participate in the virtual event (position it as a suggested donation!)
  • Generate an event website to serve as the central virtual “venue.”
  • Showcase pre-recorded and livestream video content.
  • Build community through breakout rooms and live chat.
  • Enable remote bidding, allowing participants to bid from anywhere.
  • Automatically process invoices and credit card payments.
  • Analyze your event’s performance and generate data reports.
  • Incorporate sponsor shout-outs into your event’s digital materials.

If your nonprofit wants to expand its reach and revenue, start exploring virtual fundraising options! There are tactics suitable for nonprofits of any size or mission.

Giving or Awareness Day

Giving or awareness campaigns are any time-bound, strategic campaign aimed entirely at increasing public visibility and donations for your cause. If your nonprofit wants to grow its audience and expand its base of support, it’s the right move for you!

The first step is to choose a day, week, or month. Your campaign doesn’t have to sync up with a national awareness month, but it can help. For example, Breast Cancer Awareness would be the perfect time for an organization that supports breast cancer research to do a campaign. Then, through a multi-channel marketing approach, begin to spread the word about your mission, explain why it matters, and show supporters how they can get involved.

Did you know 67% of donors reported that they were more likely to give to a campaign if the giving process was easy? Donating to your organization should be an intuitive process. OneCause provides an easy-to-navigate platform with robust functionality through:

  • A branded giving experience: Add your organization logo, color scheme, and campaign imagery so your donors can associate your donation page with your nonprofit’s brand. This simple step builds donor trust and reduces any friction in the giving experience.
  • An intuitive interface: Because the platform makes donating fast and simple, supporters can give to your cause with a few simple clicks – and you can hit your goals faster.
  • Payment processing and data: With full PCI compliance, OneCause provides a secure giving experience for both your donors and your organization’s information. When you’re done, seamlessly export your data and easily upload it to your donor database.

With a solid plan and powerful fundraising software at your fingertips, you can develop and execute a highly effective giving or awareness campaign that meets and exceeds its goals.

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Embeddable Donation Form

Your mission matters 365 days a year – not just during your big event or campaign! That’s why it’s essential to have a year-round donation form where you can capture the hearts and support of your donors.

But just because they land on your form doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll give! The OneCause Fundraising Platform can help you…

  • Bring your mission to life: With the platform, you’re able to share information about your cause, highlight beneficiaries, and shine a light on the impact you create each day!
  • Create an easy giving experience: We know donations are the lifeblood of your organization. That’s why the platform was designed with a frictionless giving experience.
  • Convert more donors: With suggested giving levels, targeted achievements, and impact statements, not only will you convert more donors, but it will help your donors know exactly how their donation will be used to make a difference.

Setup within the platform takes just minutes — you’ll be changing the world in no time.

Text2Give® Campaign

As the world has become more digital and mobile, nonprofits are able to gather donations from supporters anywhere, at any time— making Text2Give® a huge advantage for your cause!

OneCause has supported thousands of nonprofit customers over the years with our Text2Give® solution. The donation experience is seamless. Supporters have the option to:

  • Choose their own donation amount.
  • Allocate their donation to a specific fund or event.
  • Donate anonymously, as an individual, or as a company.
  • Opt in to cover the costs of credit card processing.
  • Become a recurring donor or make a one-time donation.
  • Monitor the Scoreboard to see the progress made towards your goals.

Each Text2Give® campaign comes with a customizable keyword that can be used year-round to collect donations. The keyword can then be tied to your fundraising event to provide an additional way to capture gifts. This allows your organization to leverage the power of text-based fundraising outside of a singular campaign or event!

Wrapping Up!

Interested in learning more? Reach out to one of our fundraising experts on how to get the most out of your OneCause Fundraising Platform subscription or visit our library of resources. We’re here to help.

Eager for more fundraising tips and tricks? Check out these additional resources:

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