Throughout this past year we saw many organizations go above and beyond when it comes to fundraising. Although 2020 was a challenging year, many organizations persevered and even met new fundraising goals! We wanted to take a minute and shine light on organizations and causes that did amazing work on Mightycause in 2020!
Adapting to a Covid World
In 2020, charitable fundraising efforts were directly impacted by COVID-19. Many organizations had to radically change their scheduled campaigns and think of a new way to fundraise following COVID-19 restrictions. We saw many organizations that quickly adapted to this new COVID world by using Mightycause online fundraising tools.
Virtual 5ks
When COVID-19 came in March, no one would have predicted the cancellation of hundreds of Spring in-person fundraising events. Many organizations had to quickly head back to the drawing board to figure out a new way to fundraise. Utilizing the Mightycause Events and Teams fundraising tool, organizations like the National Accreta Foundation and Joseph’s House of Camden transferred their 5k to online.
Each participant had their own fundraising page on Mightycause that they could easily share with friends and family. Since in-person gatherings were no longer available, participants walked or ran in a location of their own choosing. They also shared their participation through social media photos and videos. A virtual 5K also allowed supporters who were not local to the nonprofit an opportunity to participate. It provided a new way to engage supporters that would not have been able to participate previously.
National House Pawty
Although many homeless animals found their way to new homes in a matter of days amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many animal organizations faced decreased donations due to cancelled fundraising events. The National House Pawty is a fundraising campaign hosted by several Saint Louis animal shelters. Prior to COVID-19, the campaign brought volunteers and staff members of animal shelters together for a national “pawty” inside the shelters. Participants crawled into kennels with adoptable dogs and cats for 24 hours to show the world what it’s like to be a shelter pet. To continue the support of Saint Louis animal shelters, the campaign this year went completely online. While people were cozied up and quarantined at home with their pets, the National House Pawty planned a fun day of virtual events and surprises for participants through Mightycause. Participants were able to support their favorite animal organizations from the comfort of their homes.
Working Towards a Better Tomorrow
This past year on Mightycause we saw many BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color) organizations doing amazing work to fight social inequalities and injustices. BIPOC communities are historically under-funded thus making the work of these causes that much more important.
Self-eSTEM
Self-eSTEM is a black led non-profit that provides young girls and women from under-served communities free equitable opportunities and programs to pursue and thrive in STEM fields. Their pledge and mission is to dismantle the systemic inequality and racism within STEM education and careers. Through the Mightycause Teams fundraising tool, Self-eSTEM created a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Companies, employee resource groups, member organizations, and individuals were invited to create a fundraising page and help support the cause. The team fundraising page laid out clearly how and why people could participate and donate.
Give 8/28
For the second year, Mightycause was fortunate enough to be the platform provider of Give 8/28. Hosted by the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute (YBGB), Give 8/28 is national day of giving for Black-led and Black-benefiting nonprofits. The mission of the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute (YBGB) is to educate, inspire, and empower black Gen-Xers and Millennials to invest in changing their communities through philanthropy. By participating in Give 8/28, organizations had the opportunity to win prizes and be part of a national day of giving black causes. Close to 500 organizations participated in Give 8/28 and over $250,000 was raised!
#FeedtheWest
#FeedTheWest is a food justice movement created out of the need for racial justice. Sponsored by Change Today, Change Tomorrow, the #FeedTheWest initiative ran a fundraising campaign on Mightycause to help continue their daily food program. The program provides free food to the residents of the West End area in Louisville, Kentucky. The campaign on Mightycause allows #FeedTheWest to continue fundraising towards their overall goal – to create a Black-Owned grocery store for West End residents.
Thinking Outside the Box
For many nonprofits, new and exciting fundraising ideas can be difficult to come up with and execute. But running the same old events year after year can get old, for you and for your donors. Mightycause is a platform designed for nonprofits and the world is your oyster when it comes to fundraising. This year, many organizations found new, fun, and exciting ways to fundraise on Mightycause.
GeeklyInc 24-Hour Charity Stream
The team at GeeklyInc hosted a 24 hour Twitch Live Stream to raise money for the Trevor Project. To promote the fundraising campaign, some of the most popular and favorite GeeklyInc podcasts participated in the campaign by appearing and playing games on the Twitch stream. This form of fundraising generates excitement, engages directly with donors virtually, creates a targeted CTA (Call to Action).
Wild Pants Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser
Thinking of a unique fundraising theme can be difficult, but the team at The Arc of Palm Beach County were able to come up with a fun and silly way to engage with their supporters. The Arc of Palm Beach County hosted a virtual “Wild Pants” fundraising campaign. Using Mightycause’s Event and Team fundraising tool, they encouraged participants to get out of your comfort zone and wear fun and silly pants for a good cause. Although an in-person fashion show was not available due to COVID-19, participants shared the fun through social media. After participants shared their “wild pants” online, people voted for their favorite pair through social media likes.
Toucan Rescue Ranch 2nd Call for Artists Fundraiser
Toucan Rescue Ranch ran their 2nd “Call for Artists” fundraising campaign on Mightycause. To engage with their supporters and donors, Toucan Rescue Ranch created this “Call for Artists” campaign so that anyone, regardless of age, could participate. Artists of all ages were encouraged to submit a design that captured the theme of this years campaign “YOUR WISH FOR WILDLIFE.” The winner of the campaign would have their art featured exclusively on a T-Shirt that would be sold by the organization after the campaign. The submitted art was featured in a “gallery” on the fundraising campaign. And then using the Mightycause dedication tool during the checkout flow, donors voted for the best design. This fundraising campaign is a great example of spreading the mission of your organization while engaging your supporters in a new, creative way.
