Managing fundraising events can be challenging — we get that. There are so many things to keep track of. Any setback can feel like it could jeopardize the whole event.
At ClickBid, we’re dedicated to helping nonprofits overcome their challenges. Since 2002, it’s been our focus to help nonprofits raise awareness, strengthen donor relationships, and enable year-round giving opportunities to raise more money.
But how does ClickBid enable nonprofits to make it to the million-dollar milestones?
Introducing, Success Stories — stories from nonprofits and charities just like yours on how they’re successfully managing their auctions, reaching more people, and raising more money.
Here’s one of their stories.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 33.8 million people live in food-insecure households. With food as a human necessity, that’s a big issue.
Those at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin see this issue every single day and strive to put an end to hunger in their community. As a part of the national Feeding America network, their organization is the largest food bank in the state, serving 35 counties.
Acting as a primary hub for local food pantries, they provide 33.3 million pounds of food, logistical support, transportation, over 36,000 volunteer hours, and staffing throughout their community. However, none of this is possible without funds from generous donors.
But how does the organization generate the funds to provide for neighbors in need? We sat down with Jessecca Miller, Events Manager at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, to learn how ClickBid is helping them raise more money, implement new revenue sources, and create more user-friendly opportunities for their staff, volunteers, and donors.
Generating 40,000 Meals for Kids
Each campaign that Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin plans starts with determining fundraising goals. However, each event is unique and is approached differently based on their goals.
“The pandemic really put a lot of us in check. There shouldn’t be a manual for what we do. We should really address each situation, each event with fresh eyes. A lot of our online tools give us the flexibility to do that,” explained Jessecca.
That’s where using ClickBid has helped generate new revenue sources unique to the events that Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin hosts.
“Our summer campaign is traditionally a TV telethon and big on using direct mail,” said Jessecca.
An NFL player also joined their campaign as a spokesperson, and even autographed merchandise for the campaign.
“Rather than just sit on it until our next annual event, [we wanted] to put this to work… [With ClickBid], we were able to on a whim throw together an auction that generated $10,000,” said Jessecca.
“It may be small in comparison to other things, but for $10,000 that we didn’t have, [we were able to] reach our audience in a new way. It was awesome.”
What is the impact of the $10,000 raised? For every $1 that is raised at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, 4 meals are provided.
“Specifically for our summer campaign, we focus on summer hunger. With school being out, for kids — especially if your main access to food is through the school’s breakfast and lunch program — summer is a scary time when you don’t have access to that. $10,000 provided 40,000 meals for kids,” stated Jessecca.
Partnering with Community Corporations to Raise More Money
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is also able to impact the community and raise more funds by partnering with local corporations as beneficiaries of their events.
“We had a corporation that reached out about making us the beneficiary of their golf outing,” said Jessecca.
Traditionally, the golf outing incorporated a paper silent auction. But upon partnering with the corporation, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin showcased ClickBid’s silent auction software as an avenue to help organize the auction and generate more funds.
At this, the corporation was blown away by the capabilities that the software provided.
“For us to come in and not just be the beneficiary, but to be productive and make the event better, it really strengthened our partnerships. We’re not just a charity that you write your check off to. We’re a partner,” Jessecca explained.
Using ClickBid not only made the corporation’s golf outing fundraiser simple and easy to organize, but it also enabled Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to receive donations and donors into one system. Doing this provided them more opportunities to expand their network and get their word out during post-event email communications.
A Focus on Raising Funds
When it comes to successful fundraising, there’s a lot involved. Having competent volunteers plays a big part in creating that success.
As most Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s events are volunteer-run, using a system that is user-friendly is vital.
“We do a half-hour training with the volunteers… but for the most part, [ClickBid] is pretty self-sufficient where you can set someone in front of it and run,” explained Jessecca.
“That makes a world of difference. Otherwise, we would have to dedicate a staff member to it and disrupt the process. It’s a huge benefit to have a user-friendly platform.”
Not only does ClickBid make it easy for staff and volunteers of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, but making it easy for donors to use is a top priority as well.
“The people who designed [ClickBid] have experience and listen to feedback and really make the customer experience easy for us,” Jessecca continued.
ClickBid also provides an extensive knowledge base center, along with dedicated advisors to help organizations navigate their auction setup, auction open, event check-in, event bidding, event close, checkout, and post-event reconciliation.
“That’s the other thing we really love about this platform is the dedicated support — not just like a chat box that you have to explore. There is the knowledge center if I need help and have time, but if I’m short on time, I [just reach out],” Jessecca said.
Now, Let’s Go Change the World
Millions of people face hunger each day. ClickBid is proud to partner with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to help raise more money to put an end to food-insecurity.
For more information about Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, please visit their website.
Is your organization ready to start raising more funds, delighting more donors, and changing the world? Click here to get a personal demo and learn how ClickBid can help.