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 on how they’re managing their auctions, reaching more people, and raising more money.
Here’s one of their stories.
Meet The Riverside Foundation
The Riverside Foundation is the nonprofit arm of the Riverside Health System. Established in 1915, it has since expanded to make healthcare more accessible to the local community. Its mission is to care for others as they would care for those they love — and it’s that mission that drives them to support so many health, education, and community programs.
Because the Riverside Foundation is a nonprofit, it relies on philanthropic support to attract and retain the best physicians and clinicians, invest in cutting-edge technology, and continue serving the community.
So we recently sat down with Morgan Leary, an Annual Giving Officer at the Riverside Foundation because she is the one responsible for planning, organizing, and managing the organization’s fundraising activities.
Keeping Track of the Million Little Things
The Riverside Foundation first used ClickBid in 2020, which was before Morgan joined the team. Over the past few years, Morgan and her team used the platform for many events — including their annual RemarkaBall event — their biggest annual event. The black-tie affair is also its most significant fundraising effort every year and hosts more than 500 attendees.
Despite the event’s scale, Morgan and her team meticulously organized and tracked every detail, no matter how small, to ensure a flawless donor experience.
Morgan said that ClickBid has become the reliable “source of truth” for her team because it made tracking sponsorships and managing guests easy.
“The old way of emailing back and forth with donors, finding out which person dropped out, or which people are swapping tables was slow,” Morgan said. “Being able to provide each sponsor with their unique link to make edits at any time was a real game-changer for us and saved us a lot of time. In reality, all those little things matter. They’re very important, and having ClickBid provide us with the most up-to-date information is what my team needs when we have a million other things to keep track of,” explained Morgan.
Communication Truly is Key
The one thing that makes Riverside’s fundraising events extra challenging is that many guests are healthcare providers. They all have very tight schedules. That means it is essential for Morgan and her team to take extra care when assigning tables and managing event timelines. That’s where Morgan said she found the real value in ClickBid’s software.
“When our donors are highly specialized doctors or a member of the leadership team, we need to be clear and efficient on what we are asking of them since their time is so valuable. I mean they are literally saving lives,” explains Morgan.
The events team at Riverside uses ClickBid’s texting and messaging features to quickly and efficiently communicate key event details with their donors. They can segment specific groups, enabling their donors to receive personalized messages.
“It’s really helpful that ClickBid makes it easy for people to stay informed, whether it’s their first event with us or they’ve been a supporter for years,” she said.
“We not only want to keep our donors informed for their own purposes but also because they are great ambassadors for the health system. If they are informed, they’ll tell their friends, and it starts to create new pathways for us. It’s great for us to get the word out about new programs so we can better serve our community.”
Transforming Patient Care, One Event at a Time
In 2022, the Riverside Foundation raised more than $6.5 million for different Riverside Health System programs. These raised funds impacted Riverside patients and their families, Riverside providers, the Riverside Health System as a whole, and the surrounding communities.
The foundation also contributed more than $400,000 in scholarships to students at the Riverside College of Health Careers.
The Riverside Foundation’s partnership with ClickBid is a great example of how nonprofits can leverage technology to engage more donors and raise more at their events.
“Philanthropy plays a vital role in health care delivery and together (with ClickBid), the Riverside Foundation is stronger in its mission to care for others as we would care for those we love,” Morgan said.
ClickBid is proud to partner with Riverside Foundation in their fundraising efforts providing comprehensive, high-quality, state-of-the-art healthcare for individuals in the Eastern Virginia region.
For more information about the Riverside Health Foundation, please visit their website.
For more information on how your nonprofit can implement mobile bidding to strengthen donor relationships and streamline your fundraising efforts, click here for more information.