With the state of the world ever-changing, it can be tricky to know which fundraising events to hold and when. What precautions are needed? What will attendance look like?
The good news is that virtual events are still excellent alternatives for in-person events and have become a more prominent, accessible way to gather a crowd to fundraise. Plus, most of your donors are now pros at navigating online event links, invites, and virtual calls.
Of course, the fatigue of virtual events is real, but the key is variety! Give your donors something new and engaging to do, all while benefiting your cause, and they’ll be on board!
If planning and hosting events are critical to your success, then you may want to have a website calendar to help bring people together virtually. Not only will it organize all of your upcoming events, but it’ll give your audience a reason to keep checking back in.
How to Host Virtual Fundraising Events on Your Website
First, your website needs an events calendar. If you’re looking for the best wordpress calendar plugin, we recommend “The Events Calendar.” Essential features for this plug-in are included with the free version, though upgrading to premium is easy and cost-effective. With the Events Calendar, you can easily show off your next event, collect RSVPs, promote attendance, and even integrate third-party events as well as ticketing.
Make sure you also optimize your calendar for virtual events. This adds a Zoom integration so you can make sure your attendees have everything they need to arrive at your virtual fundraiser. It also allows you to connect multiple Zoom accounts, add alternative hosts, and auto generate Zoom links right in your WordPress dashboard.
Add a Donation Form to Your Events
Adding a donation form to your event pages gives people an additional option to give and it connects an event to a cause. It’s especially useful for those who can’t attend, but still want to contribute.
To add a Give donation form to an Events Calendar virtual event, you’ll head into the Events Settings in your Events Calendar plugin and check Activate Block Editor. Then, head to your event and search for the GiveWP block options. Click on the donation form, and you’ll automatically have your form ready for donations for your event!
10 Engaging Virtual Fundraising Event Ideas
What kind of virtual event should you host? You’ll want an event that will not only engage donors but most of all, inspire them to give.
When planning your virtual event, make sure you’re thinking like a donor. You don’t want to overlook key things that donors look for before they give, like an inspiring brand story or ways to get involved post-event.
Ready to plan an awesome virtual event? Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Game Night or Game Show
Simply one of the most entertaining ways to engage donors virtually is by playing a game together. We’ve written previously about how to host a virtual charity game night to drive donations. Hosting a game-driven event that lets people feel like they’re having a night out will get you enthusiastic attendees who are grateful for the chance to let loose.
When planning your game night, or putting on a game show, make sure to consider factors like time zones, streaming platforms, and games that will keep crowds entertained, like Jeopardy, Charades, Jackbox, or Among Us.
2. Charity Auctions
Auctions have always been a reliable way to raise funds. In many ways, a virtual auction is even easier to host than a live or silent auction. There’s no need to rent a space or cater the event! Now, you can set up an auction easily with the GiveWP form grid or using additional software.
Set a date and time for the auction to go live, and entertain attendees with engaging live-stream activities (you can even try your hand at playing auctioneer!). Or, you can coordinate bids beforehand and then announce the winners through a virtual event.
3. Virtual concert
If going to a concert isn’t a viable option yet, you can still put one on virtually for tons of fun! Bring musicians together for a live show or mini-festival benefitting your organization. If you know musicians who are supportive of your cause, their passion will inspire donors to give during the show.
Plus, you can use The Events Calendar ticket functionality to sell tickets and hide the livestream link behind the ticket price. You can even encourage an encore by hitting a donation total!
4. Community Dance Party
Why not inspire your local community to dance the night away from the comfort of their own homes? That’s what the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) did last October in their virtual fundraising event.
Like many organizations, NVRH felt the impacts of the pandemic and had to cancel some of their usual fundraising events. Instead, they planned a virtual event that combined elements of their in-person events and called it “A Party with a TWIST: The first ever community-wide dance party.”
Leading up to the dance party, donors made donations to request a song on the local radio station between 6 and 9 PM. The event was live streamed with guest DJs from the local station, with shout outs live on the radio to the donors before their request played. The event was a huge success! NVRH exceeded their fundraising goal, and donors loved dancing along at home to the live stream or radio as their requested song played.
5. Peer-to-Peer Competition
Another fun virtual event you can host is a peer-to-peer fundraising competition. Open up your WordPress donation forms for supporters, letting the community create unique, individualized forms for team fundraising. Personal fundraising pages help build credibility and tap into your supporter’s networks.
There are a few different virtual peer-to-peer events you could host to raise money. One of the best events would be to host a social challenge. Teams can recruit members to their cause and race each other to raise the most funds before the event ends. Think of a weekend-long challenge, like a push-up or total steps challenge, or a social media sharing campaign. You could even host a scavenger hunt and let teams explore their neighborhoods to find common items. Peers can donate towards the team they think may win or challenge teams to do more with each new donation!
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6. Friendly Weekend Competition
Another way to host a weekend-long event could be to put on a friendly competition with another nonprofit. For example, The City Mission organized a weekend competition called The Blitz Against Homelessness in 2019.
Two charities from different towns set a goal to raise $10,000 with a deadline to race the other to the total. Donors simply donated towards one of the charities and received a raffle ticket incentive. In the end, The City Mission won with an impressive $45,620 in 16 hours. A little bit of friendly competition, especially for a short event, encourages supporters to give towards the overall goal.
7. Virtual race
Walk-a-thons, marathons, and ride-a-thons can all be made virtual. Virtual races help your cause while getting a good workout at the same time, all while staying safe and social distancing.
In your virtual event invite, you could ask people to donate in proportion to how many miles they’ll walk, or set a flat entry race fee using The Events Calendar ticket plug-in. Encourage them to send in pictures or videos of them completing their activity and share those on social media.
You could give your attendees several days to complete the challenge at a time of their choosing, or encourage everyone to head out on their respective routes at the same time, like 9am on a Saturday.
8. Virtual cooking class
Pull out your best recipe and apron for a live cooking class. If you’re a star in the kitchen, all you need to lead this fundraiser is a few kitchen webcams and attendees. Or,if you want to leave the cooking to someone else, invite a professional chef to donate an hour or two for the class and charge a small admission fee.
Attendees will like the interactive aspect of the class. Additionally, you can encourage attendees to share their creations – masterpieces or disasters – with a specific hashtag for social media (think #NailedIt).
9. Viewing Parties
A viewing party is a relatively simple but engaging way for supporters to all feel connected. Is there an inspiring documentary tied to your mission? Is there new footage of your nonprofit out in the field?
You can use a variety of streaming platforms to share the video with attendees, with a gentle ask for donations as you watch together. Keep the chat interactive to keep watchers engaged. Consider leaving time after the film or video to share thoughts, inspiration, or for Q&A.
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10. Webinar or talk
As you probably know, a webinar is a great way to educate an audience and keep them up-to-date on the latest in your field. If you haven’t hosted one in a while, now is a great time to schedule your next one.
In addition to being informative, webinars and talks can also be powerful fundraising tools. Find expert speakers and community leaders to share insights or to teach about a new topic related to your cause. They’d donate their expertise and you’d charge your supporters a small fee to access the webinar.
Ready to Host a Virtual Event?
As you’re getting ready to plan your next virtual fundraising event, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Market your event widely. With the Events Calendar Plug-in, advertising your event on your site is a breeze, but you still need to get the word out! Make sure to share your event on your social media feeds, keeping in mind all of the various strategies to convert clicks and increase interest.
Also, be creative! If you’ve hosted a talk or game night recently, try out a different idea on the list, like a competition or cooking class!
Stay as connected as you can to close the “virtual” gap! Share behind-the-scenes photos of your team putting on the event for an intimate feel.
Finally, make it easy to give! Make sure your donation forms are easy to find and to use.
Don’t forget to check out The Events Calendar Nonprofit Program, which provides free licenses for The Event Calendar Pro to approved nonprofits. Check your eligibility today!
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