How Raising a Reader Massachusetts Sparked Generosity with Online Giving

Background

Background

Reading is a vital developmental practice in a child’s education—and yet, 1 in 3 children in the US enter kindergarten unprepared to learn. Raising a Reader Massachusetts aims to close the literacy opportunity gap among children in under-resourced communities by helping families develop and practice shared home reading habits.

Their team provides age and culturally-appropriate books to children from birth to age 6 to take home and read with their families. Paired with workshops for their caregivers, these programs are built to help children learn to read with confidence.

Opportunity

As a OneCause customer since 2022, Raising a Reader Massachusetts was already taking advantage of the OneCause Fundraising Platform every spring for their annual Dinner with an Author Gala, but wanted to maximize their use of the platform’s fundraising capabilities to bring in more revenue. To tap into their supporter’s generosity and spread the word about their cause, they decided to launch an online giving campaign.

Thanks to the support of Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., one of their corporate partners, Raising a Reader Massachusetts would receive a generous gift of $10k. The team saw this as an opportunity to encourage their supporters to match that gift in an online giving campaign to raise more during June.

Solution

Solution

Nina Norfleet, Raising a Reader Massachusetts’ Development and Communications Manager, was excited to use their software for more fundraising outside of their annual gala. She knew OneCause would provide the support her team needed to meet their goal within their one-month timeline.

“Our software made it easy for us to track our campaign so that we knew what we were doing every step of the way,” Nina says. “OneCause provided support, offered many resources, and invested in helping us reach our goals. It was a wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience.”

Thanks to their dedicated team and the robust features of the platform, Raising a Reader Massachusetts launched an online matching gifts campaign to spark generosity! The keys to their success included:

  • A User-Friendly, Personalized Online Giving Site
  • Flexible Ways to Donate with Digital Wallet
  • Accurate Reporting and Real-Time Analytics
  • World-Class Support & Consulting Services

A User-Friendly, Personalized Online Giving Site

First impressions matter and can often make or break a donor’s choice to give. To make their campaign a success, the team needed to create a wow-worthy site with high-impact visuals and persuasive messaging.

Nina says in the past when they used other fundraising software, it was challenging to create an engaging giving site. With OneCause, the setup was intuitive and user-friendly, allowing their online giving site to be up and running in minutes. This streamlined experience put more time back in Nina’s day, helping her focus on the mission of children’s literacy.

“The event website looks very clean and professional,” Nina says. “We were able to add our pictures and information easily since everything was already built out. It looks high-end, which drives donor excitement and makes people more inclined to give.”

Thanks to the personalized branding options for colors, customizable text, and logos, the team felt confident Raising a Reader’s brand was represented professionally on the page. It maintained its sleek look when shared on social media and drew in new donors to their cause!

“It looks like I spent hours on it, but really, I was able to set it up in maybe 30 minutes or less which is great,” Nina says.

Flexible Ways to Donate with Digital Wallet

Recognizing their donors wanted flexibility in online giving, Raising a Reader Massachusetts took full advantage of the digital payment options offered in the platform. Donors were able to give seamlessly from their phones with Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, and ACH.

“We’re in the age where people don’t really carry around their wallets anymore because it’s all on their phones,” Nina says. “Offering digital payment options shows that OneCause has a pulse on how the world is giving and how to make it seamless.”

Once supporters made a donation, they were immediately recognized by name on the right side of the Raising a Reader Massachusetts online giving page. It was the perfect way to showcase gratitude for supporting the organization’s mission.

“Nonprofits have to remember that what we are doing is most likely what our donors are doing,” Nina says. “If we’re pulling out our phones to use Apple Pay or to scan a QR code, nonprofits also need to offer multiple ways to give. It’s nice to know OneCause already has that built in, so we didn’t need to figure it out ourselves.”

Accurate Reporting and Real-Time Analytics

With an ambitious goal on a tight timeline, Raising a Reader Massachusetts needed to keep a close eye on their donations to know how close they were to hitting their matching goal. The platform’s reports and real-time analytics kept them up to date on their donations, giving them the full picture of their campaign as it unfolded. Nina says her team was delighted to see their impact recognized in unique ways on the page, such as through the donation thermometer.

Once their campaign was over, the team could use reports to inform their board, reach out to their supporters, and continue engagement.

“The reports are easy to extract and put into our CRM software,” Nina says. “All our information is there with just one upload.”

World-Class Support & Consulting Services

When planning a fundraiser, it’s good to know your software provider has got your back. Over the many years working with OneCause, the team at Raising a Reader Massachusetts knew they could count on the support team for any help.

“The support team is our built-in cheerleader. They want to help us reach our goals,” Nina says.

With expert fundraising experience, the consulting team also provided suggestions on how Raising a Reader Massachusetts could better utilize the platform’s many features to get the most return on investment. “It’s nice to know we have support from a platform that is listening and focusing on what nonprofits really need,” Nina says.

During their galas in the past, too, Nina says the on-site team was there to offer a helping hand to ensure the evening went smoothly. “Knowing you have an extension of your organization committed to your success is so valuable, and that’s what OneCause provides,” Nina says. “They are a true partner.”

Results

Results

Thanks to the support of the OneCause Fundraising Platform, Raising a Reader Massachusetts raised 94% to their goal!

Nina is also excited to incorporate the full suite of online fundraising tools such as Personal Fundraising Pages and Text2Give in their future fundraising efforts. “We’re always trying to strategize on how best to reach out to, connect with, and grow our network, and these features are perfect additions to our strategy,” Nina says.

Connect with a Cause

To learn more about Raising a Reader Massachusetts, please visit their website.

Wrapping Up!

More fundraising resources are just a click away.

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