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.
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.
Background: The Hope Project
In West Michigan, girls and women who have survived sex trafficking need more than awareness. They need real, consistent support. The Hope Project provides exactly that: case management, advocacy, therapy, recovery coaching, support groups, and residential housing for survivors. They also work to prevent trafficking through mentoring, education, and community task forces across two counties.
“We started as a small team serving whoever came through the door,” says Sara Johnson, Executive Director, who began at the organization as a volunteer 15 years ago. “Now we’re in schools, we’re training law enforcement, we have a healing home. The need keeps growing.”
For the Hope Project, growth depends on donor relationships. Their signature fundraiser, the annual Masquerade Ball each November, has been the centerpiece of that effort for a decade. But for years, the event had a ceiling it could not break through.
Opportunity: A Great Event with Untapped Potential
The annual Masquerade Ball had strong bones: 200 to 300 attendees, a cause people cared about, and a community eager to show up. But several things were holding the event back from its fundraising potential.
- Lack of engagement: Because there was no centralized giving moment, donation envelopes left on tables failed to generate any real excitement or drive for contributions day-of.
- No live auctioneer: Without someone to orchestrate the room, there was no momentum. Donors gave what they planned to give, not what the energy of the room could inspire.
- Storytelling without structure: The mission was compelling, but it had not been shaped into a giving moment that moved people to act with their wallets.
The team knew something had to change. They needed a platform that could bring everything together, and a partner willing to help them figure out how and support them through all the growing pains.
“It used to be a party and a social gathering without much story behind it. Now we’ve taken a very philanthropic approach. What’s most important is sharing why we do what we do and what their money is actually going towards.”
Jennifer Gowings, Operations Coordinator
Solution: A Partnership Built on More than Software
The Hope Project began using ClickBid in 2022. They found not only a local West Michigan company with a platform and features to help, but also a team willing to work alongside them and invest in their mission to make a greater difference.
A Platform with all the Right Features
By moving silent auction bidding, fund-a-need donations, monthly giving signups, and event tickets and sponsorships onto a single platform, the friction of multiple giving methods disappeared. Donors could bid, give, and commit to recurring gifts from one familiar place, year after year.
Not only did adapting mobile bidding allow their organization to open their auction items for early bidding and attract a higher number of bids, but it was an easier and more engaging process for donors receiving instant outbid texts and updates about the event.
They also increased their sponsor benefits by letting sponsors gain logo placement on the event website, a concrete perk the team could actively promote to new partners.
A Live Auctioneer Who Knows the Mission
Adding a professional auctioneer and keeping the same one year over year changed everything about the fund-a-need moment. Because the auctioneer understands where the money goes, he can make specific, emotional asks that talk about all elements of our mission, from equine therapy, utilities for our healing home, and support for recovery groups. This type of acknowledgement gets paddles in the air.
“I have a friend who came to the ball and afterwards said, ‘I need to save money for this event next year, because I wanted to raise my paddle but I didn’t have enough.’ Before, with an envelope, he would have given whatever he’d planned to give and had no visibility into what others in the same room were contributing.”
Sara Johnson, Executive Director
Strategic Advice From a Team That’s Been There Before
ClickBid attends the event every year and does not just watch. Not only does the team provide onsite help for check-in and other day-of-event activities, but they also provide recommendations to make the event stronger each year.
When the Hope Project left an ask on the table, the team flagged it: “You could have included a special moment to ask for donations versus leaving optional envelopes on the table, and more people would have given.” That feedback directly shaped what they did the following year.
“That’s part of how we grew 326%. We took ClickBid’s advice because they have real event experience. And when I’ve given feedback in return, the turnaround has been fast.”
Jennifer Gowings, Operations Coordinator
Results: Philanthropy that Pays Off
326% Net Income Growth Since Adoption
130+ Clients Served Annually
Multiple Counties Served (recently opened a satellite office)
From 2022 to today, the Hope Project has grown its annual fundraiser income by 326%! Their donor pool has grown in both size and average gift. Attendees now plan their giving in advance, raise their paddles, and sign up for monthly recurring gifts. The event has become something people look forward to all year and are eager to attend year after year.
Seamless guest experience.
From mobile bidding to a streamlined checkout, donors leave impressed and ready to come back next year.
Year-round donors.
Monthly giving options through ClickBid let supporters stay connected between events and pledge a recurring amount.
A dedicated team.
A dedicated donor relations role now focuses entirely on meetings, personal thank-yous, and long-term relationship stewardship.
This November, the Masquerade Ball turns 10. The team is going all in on a diamond theme to mark the milestone, and the energy around it is already building months in advance.
New auction packages, expanded fundraising games, and fresh ways to get donors involved are all in the works as it sets its sights on its biggest event night yet.
The growth does not stop at the gala. The Hope Project recently opened an office in Newaygo County, where demand for its services has grown faster than anyone expected.
A new community fundraising event is in its planning stages, shaped around what the community actually wants. And a new healing home for youth survivors is opening its doors, adding another layer to the care and support the Hope Project has spent a decade building.
“Don’t be afraid to make the transition. Look for a platform that treats you like a partner, one that shows up, gives honest feedback, and celebrates your wins with you.”
Sara Johnson, Executive Director
To learn more about the Hope Project and how to get involved, please visit their website.