Virtual Corporate Fundraising
Most charities have already seen the benefits of virtual fundraising for Individual Giving and Events. But how can Corporate Fundraising teams also take advantage of this great way to raise money?
Before we can work out the HOW, we need to understand the WHY...
Why do companies support charities?
Usually there are several reasons why a company might choose to support a charity. If you can understand their motivations, you can offer virtual fundraising products to suit.
- They care about your cause and/or community
- An employee has been personally affected by your cause
- They share your charity's values, or have a similar mission
- They recognise that supporting your charity will boost their brand/reputation
- Charity partnerships help them to engage and retain employees
What other reasons can you think of?
How do companies support charities?
- Sponsoring projects, events or appeals
- Giving financial donations, or gifts in kind (ie. donating specific goods or services, instead of just giving the money to pay for these items)
- Forming strategic partnerships to work towards shared goals
- Nominating a charity as its chosen Charity Of The Year
- Encouraging staff to donate via their salary, through initiatives such as payroll giving
Traditionally, a lot of these activities have taken place offline. But as the world becomes more digital, it's time to involve your corporate partners in online giving... and Visufund is the perfect online tool to do this!
Using Visufund for virtual corporate fundraising
Sponsorship opportunities
Have you considered offering branding opportunities on your online fundraising page, in return for sponsorship?
For Christmas fundraising appeals, you could offer to share your sponsor's logo on the top star of your virtual Christmas tree.
You could also consider acknowledging your sponsor by adding their logo to the header of your page or incorporating some of their brand colours into the design.
Gifts in kind
Lots of companies like to support charities by donating items or services. But sometimes, a financial contribution is really what the charity needs, as this can be used wherever the need is greatest.
For example, lots of children's hospices are inundated with hundreds of chocolate Easter eggs every year, kindly donated by local companies and supermarkets. The only problem? Many of the children in their care have complex medical conditions, and they can't eat the eggs.
The solution? Ask for virtual Easter eggs!
Your corporate supporters make a financial donation to reveal a virtual egg on your visual fundraising page. They can even upload their logo, and share their message with customers through social media.
Charity Of The Year
Many companies like to choose a Charity Of The Year, which they support throughout the year with various events. For example, they might organise a cake sale in the office or enter a team of colleagues to run a marathon.
How can this work remotely? You could suggest that they create a visual fundraising page representing a virtual cake sale, and ask colleagues to make a donation to reveal a virtual cake. You could even turn this into a competition, by asking them to share photos of their lockdown baking skills, and vote for your Star Baker!
If the team is a bit more sporty, they might like to take part in virtual races and events. You could encourage them to create a branded visual fundraising page featuring their company logo or a photo of the team. If they use a grandstand template, everyone who donates can add a spectator to the crowd, so they'll see their cheer squad grow with every donation!
Employee Engagement
Companies can encourage their staff to engage with fundraising by making it fun and relevant.
For example, for hybrid and remote teams, an interactive visual fundraising page is the perfect alternative to sending birthday cards or Christmas cards. Colleagues make a donation to cover the cost of a gift or card, and they can leave a special message and photo on your team fundraising page.
Other benefits of using Visufund for corporate fundraising
- Companies can brand pages with their own logo and colours
- Fundraising pages can be easily shared via email, social media, or staff intranet
- Pages can be embedded on company websites
- Teams will enjoy seeing their page fill up as more donations and contributions are made
- Most importantly, it's a great way to generate income for charities!
Getting started
Before you can invite your corporate supporters to fundraise for you on Visufund, you'll need to have a Non-profit account with Visufund. It's free to create and only takes a few minutes to complete the onboarding process. Once your account is onboard, your supporters will be able to select your organisation from the Charities list and start fundraising for you, with all donations paid directly into your own Stripe account.