It’s party time as we prepare to close out 2023 and welcome 2024. To celebrate, we’ve compiled a highlight reel of organizations and fundraising campaign success stories from 2023. Grab some eggnog and venture with us through unique campaigns and organizations that made community-changing impacts.
Challenge to Conquer Cancer’s 2023 Ride to Maine
The organization Challenge to Conquer Cancer is “a tribe of passionate cyclists raising money for cancer research and survivorship.” For 16 years this group of cyclists and their supporters have raised over $2 million for the cancer community.
This group demonstrated their commitment to the fight against cancer by letting the rubber hit the road and hosting their annual “Ride to Maine” event. This year, the 2023 Ride to Maine raised over $175,000 eclipsing their goal by more than $25,000.
How they do it:
Utilizing our integration with Eventbrite, 2023 Ride to Maine participants register as riders or supporters. After registering, participants create individual fundraiser pages and invite their social circles to join the fight with a donation.
Registration and fundraising take place throughout the entire year. Not to mention the physical training! The relay-style ride covers approximately 1,300 miles from Greenville, SC to Lewiston, ME. The commitment to cycling and fundraising is a reflection of C3’s commitment to conquer cancer.
National Foundation for Transplants, Inc.
Helping is what they do. The “National Foundation for Transplants helps save lives by removing the financial barriers that delay or prevent organ transplantation within the United States.” In addition to fundraising for their ongoing programs, NFT also assists patients in raising funds.
These combined efforts resulted in over $1,109,000 raised by more than 4,260 donors through Mightycause!
How they do it:
After enrolling with the NFT, patients are guided to create their own individual fundraiser page on Mightycause. These pages allow them to tell their stories and humbly invite others to join in their journey. Since the fundraisers are virtual, gifts can come in from all over the world. With every donation made, these patients and their families are receiving support, encouragement, and hope. It’s more than a fundraiser, it’s a lifeline.
Aspiring Youth Academy’s 2023 Tax Credit Campaign
Tax credits can be tricky, but they can also be a real asset to nonprofits! The Aspiring Youth Academy knows this and created a campaign leveraging the benefits of their state tax credits to expand their fundraising reach and program opportunities.
In April of 2023, they wrapped up their 2023 Tax Credit Campaign raising just shy of $300,000. The focus of this event was to encourage Arizonians to take advantage of the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit program, and in turn, support AYA in “developing young entrepreneurs by delivering entrepreneur and leadership skills to Arizona High School Aged Youth through year-round camps, regardless of any student’s ability to pay.”
How they did it:
Aspiring Youth Academy has teamed up with Phoenix 20-30, Children In Need Foundation, Tonto Creek Camp and Arizona State University. The Phoenix 20-30 Aspiring Youth Fund is a 501(c)(3) Qualifying Charitable Organization eligible to accept donations under the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit program. This tax credit program allows donors to sponsor, at no cost to them, underprivileged youth participation in programs designed to teach youth how to become successful entrepreneurs and business owners.
This was a win-win for donors. According to Phoenix 20-30, the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit program was designed to allow donors to directly support programs that serve Arizona low income families at a net zero cost to the donor. The money donated is money that would have otherwise been sent to the Arizona Treasury in the form of state income tax.
Kilgoris Project’s Back-to-School Challenge 2023
Around the world, back to school means gathering school supplies and anticipating the possibilities of a great new year. The Kilgoris Project partners with the local community to educate and feed the children of a Maasai village in Southwest Kenya. They work hand-in-hand with local leaders and families to operate schools, provide daily food and clean water, and foster economic development.
For 10 years the Back-to-School Challenge has been a key part of the organization’s funding. The Back-to-School Challenge 2023 marked this milestone anniversary by blowing past their $200,000 goal to raise $218,180!
How they did it:
With a core group of returning fundraisers and the addition of new supporters, the Kilgoris Project presents a wonderful example of peer-to-peer fundraising. Using the Mightycause team page, fundraisers were invited to join the team and could use the fundraiser template provided to them to create their individual pages. The combined effort of each participant made for great success and lots of school supplies!
Hope for the City’s Hope For Kids 2023
Hope for the City‘s event, Hope for Kids, is an annual initiative held in partnership with the community, helping families and children in need during the holiday season and beyond. Their immersive drive-through holiday experience provides families with warm clothing, school supplies, a holiday meal, personal hygiene items, and toys, for a Christmas to remember!
Their in-person event is combined with a virtual fundraising event that raises funds to provide food during the holidays and year-round through their weekly food pantries.
How they do it:
Through the support of over 400 fundraisers and participants, HFK has raised over $240,000! By creating dedicated teams, such as the HFK Staff Team, they expanded their network while fostering healthy competition that spread their mission and holiday joy.
Help a Mother Out’s Please Help, Babies Need Diapers!
Sometimes our best-laid fundraising plans fall through. And when a nonprofit’s budget comes up short, our communities go without. Help a Mother Out was not going to let that happen when their anticipated funding was disrupted.
HAMO “works to improve baby and family well-being by increasing access to diapers for families in need.” They rose to the funding challenge and launched the Please Help, Babies Need Diapers! campaign in mid-October. Since the start of their campaign, they raised over 80% of their $250,000 goal! The best part, donations keep coming!
How they do it:
Their goal is bold, but so is their approach. HAMO is engaging foundations, federations, charitable funds, guilds, and individual donors. If there is funding to be had, they want it and are willing to work for it. Taking a multi-faceted donor approach requires intentionality and hustle. The payoff can be the difference between fully funded and almost funded.
In addition, they’re asking for big gifts and taking them any way they come: check, EFT, online, it doesn’t matter. Asking for large donations takes confidence. But when you believe in your mission and are willing to connect with donors, asking can lead to great donations and great donor relationships. HAMO is thinking outside the diaper box and going big.
Racing for ALS Inc.’s In Honor of Dave
In honor of David Lloyd, Jr, Racing For ALS holds top-notch racing events to help fund the fight against ALS and to assist others battling this disease. These events unite Dave’s passions for the ALS community and racing.
Among other racing events held this year, they returned to the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in July with their event, In Honor of Dave. And Dave was certainly honored as this event surpassed their goal of $250,000!
How they did it:
Drivers registered to participate in the racing event and committed to fundraising. Each driver set up a virtual fundraising page linked to the In Honor of Dave event. Non-drivers were also encouraged to create fundraiser pages and spread the word.
Racing For ALS provided clear race and registration information on their website and highlighted the need for fundraising. To make fundraising easy and simple, they created a fundraiser template, instructions, and a Fund Raising Lessons Learned document that shared helpful insights from previous top participants.
“Racing For ALS is about more than just fast cars-It’s about speeding to a cure for ALS!”
David Lloyd, Jr.
Looking Forward to Future Fundraising Campaign Success
Fundraising success comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, events, teams, fundraisers, and creative initiatives. We know that each organization on our platform holds a unique mission within their community. And funding that mission is not for the faint of heart! We celebrate our nonprofits and look forward to the impact we’ll make together in 2024!