Spring fundraising season is here! And for many nonprofits, that means it’s time for competitive fundraising. Walk-a-thons, marathons, art-a-thons, write-a-thons … they’re all happening now. The ways you can achieve team fundraising success on Mightycause are as diverse as the causes on our platform. And we’re highlighting five of the best team fundraisers we’ve seen on Mightycause so far this spring.
We hope these successful team fundraisers will help inspire your own spring team fundraising campaign, or at least give you some new ideas you can use to push your existing team across the finish line!
1. Capital Area Food Bank’s 12th Annual Legal Food Frenzy
Capital Area Food Bank is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that addresses food insecurity in D.C. and surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia. They’ve teamed up with the Office of the Attorney General, Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association, and the Virginia Federation of Food Banks for the Legal Food Frenzy’s 12th year.
They raised more than $47,000 in two weeks.
Keys to Success
- Community Engagement: The Capital Area Food Bank worked to engage legal firms and businesses working in communities and concerned with food insecurity. This not only helped generate interest and enthusiasm for the fundraiser, but help them build and nurture relationships with community partners.
- Power in Numbers: Their teams were groups of individuals (legal firms, in this case) instead of people on their own. One person can be effective at generating donations — but the more people you have spreading the word, the further it can travel! This strategy helped the Capital Area Food Bank reach more people, and receive more donations.
- Urgency: The Legal Food Frenzy lasts for two weeks. Having such a brief fundraising window lended urgency to their campaign and the importance of donating now.
2. Thrive By Five Giving Day
Mightycause’s team fundraising tool is very flexible. So flexible, in fact, that nonprofits can use it to run their own giving day!
Thrive By Five Giving Day was hosted by the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, based in Indiana. Their Thrive By Five initiative supports the needs of young learners and helps advance early childhood education in their community.
They raised over $70,000 for early childhood education.
Keys to Success
- Clear, Community-Centric Messaging: The Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe counties stuck to simple, effective messaging about helping kids in their community.
- Giving Day: By framing this as a giving day, the Community Foundation inspired urgency to donate. They reaped all the benefits of a giving day using our self-serve team fundraising tools!
3. Art-a-Thon 2018
Art-a-Thon is a competitive fundraiser for ArtSeed, a San Francisco, Ca.-based nonprofit providing art education and training to underserved youth in the Bay Area. Their Art-a-Thon is in its 10th year.
Art-a-Thon is an in-person event during an Earth Day walk-a-thon. Artists test their endurance by creating art from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Leading up to the event, participating artists join the Art-a-Thon team, ask their social network to sponsor them, and raise money for ArtSeed’s art education programs.
This year they quickly blew past their $9,000 goal and raised more than $11,000.
Keys to Success:
- Prepping Team Members: ArtSeed is successful at team fundraising because they provide materials for their artists. After registering by joining the team, members must download a registration packet (created by ArtSeed) that contains helpful tips, rules, and resources that set each team member up for success.
- In-Person Event: While it’s certainly not a requirement for team fundraising success, having an in-person event helps build excitement! During the Art-a-Thon on April 21st, there was live music, food, and fun. Good times with a purpose is always an excellent way to pique participants’ interest!
4. 2018 Cycle Across Illinois
Cycle Across Illinois is an annual event that benefits the Illinois chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), a nonprofit that provides aid and support to the families of fallen police officers.
This is always a successful event, and this year, they’re off to an amazing start! With four months to go, they have already raised more than $12,500 for their cause. They’re well on their way to their goal of $50,000!
Keys to Success:
- Physical Challenge: There’s a reason bike-a-thons and charity runs are so successful. Athletes are always looking for a good reason to stretch their capabilities and take on new endurance challenges! Having an athletic goal combined with a fundraising goal is often a perfect recipe for team fundraising success.
- Messaging: The Cycle Across Illinois team page lists the names of the fallen officers whose loved ones benefit from their fundraising efforts. This build an emotional connection to the cause, making the ride even more meaningful to participants and donors.
- Familiarity: This is a long-running event. The familiarity of the event means participants are ready to join and know the drill each year, while donors are ready to offer their support for each event!
5. Angiosarcoma AS-Kickers
This successful team is nearing its end, and is so close to its goal of $80,000! The team is running in a local 5k to benefit a nonprofit called Angiosarcoma Awareness. Angiosarcoma is a form of cancer that affects the inner lining of blood vessels. The group of runners chose this cause to support a member of the community who was diagnosed with this cancer; the individual’s wife is competing in the 5k.
Keys to Success:
- Existing Event: This team fundraiser is a great example of how you can run a team that is tied to an existing event, without having to go to the trouble of organizing a 5k on your own. (As nonprofit professional who has organized a charity walk can attest, it is no easy task!) This allows you and your team to focus on fundraising and raising awareness, while letting someone else handle permits and logistics.
- Personal Connection: It’s true that people can rally around causes, but what’s more powerful is people rallying around other people. By having a family affected by angiosarcoma involved in the fundraiser and demonstrating the need for awareness and research, the team members have a personal connection, and donors know that their support is helping a real family.
The ways our team fundraising tools can be used to further a cause are endless! This is just a sampling of some great teams we’ve seen on Mightycause.
Learn More
Want to learn more about achieving team fundraising success? Download the Mightycause Guide to Team Fundraising! This ebook dives deep into what makes a team successful, how to keep team members motivated, and real-world strategies you can use to turn your team into an unstoppable force for good.
If you’re in need of more team fundraising ideas, be sure to check out our list of 20 awesome ideas for teams!
Ready for Team Fundraising Success?
Ready to get your team fundraiser built and on the path to team fundraising success? Get started here!