Agile nonprofits are turning to virtual fundraisers to fill the fundraising gap. Limiting public gatherings to fewer than ten people has forced many nonprofits to postpone or cancel their annual events, which is a major problem for so many organizations that rely on spring fundraising season to generate a significant portion of their annual revenue.
A virtual event is any organized meet-up that takes place online rather than in a physical location. They can range from one-on-one meetings to large-scale events with thousands of attendees. Major benefits of hosting a virtual event include guests being able to attend from the comfort of their homes and organizations being able to reach an unlimited audience anywhere in the world.
Here are some tips to help you plan and optimize a seamlessly executed virtual event:
Develop a virtual event theme that aligns with your organization’s fundraising style.
Your event should reflect the work of your organization and have cohesive messaging across the board. If your organization usually does a walk, then make it a virtual walk. If your annual event is a gala, find ways to make your virtual event feel like a party, with entertainment and honored guests who contribute from their own homes. Perhaps send a suggestion of cocktail and hors d’oeuvre recipes to make in advance of the event. Giving your event a connection with past events will resonate with your audience.
Create clear and compelling content to keep attendees tuned in.
The guest experience is key to keeping attendees from leaving your event. Social Media Today suggests hosting a virtual panel discussion that features compelling speakers or shares high quality videos and slideshows. When reviewing the registration or guest list, keep in mind how you want everyone to interact with each other. Think about doing a meet and greet or question and answer forum with the organization’s leaders. If you choose a platform that allows people to break out into groups, prepare opportunities – like ice breakers – for guests to interact with each other. Ask attendees to submit reactions, photos or videos to post on social media using the event hashtag.
Make it easy to donate
For a virtual event, it’s important to create moments that encourage attendees to become donors. Directly ask for donations, give shoutouts to stewardship donors and sponsors, and show them in real time how their contributions are helping the organization. For example, show donation progress as a thermometer that reflects the money raised in a corner of the screen. With audience participation, a virtual event can feel like a physical event.
Research platforms with strong streaming capabilities
Searching for the right platform that fits with the event’s demands is crucial to the event’s success. The platform must be easy to use, dependable and secure. Make sure it can stream on social media, has video conferencing capabilities and has interactive elements. Some platforms can hold large groups of people or intimate behind-the-scenes events better than others. Many online hosting sites are holding webinars and demos so potential users can learn and ask questions. Take advantage of them.
Looking to solely stream on social media channels? Each platform has unique ways of notifying your audience you are now live. Examples include Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Twitter Live, YouTube Live and TikTok Live with TikTok for Good.
Loola.TV offers streaming on multiple social media platforms at once, including Instagram. The downside to this is that the platform doesn’t have a dual camera capability, meaning you can’t have guests pop into the event.
Vimeo and Streamyard.com have the capability to do a live video stream with featured guests on the event screen. The downside is that is that they stream on multiple channels except for Instagram. Churchstreaming.TV is currently offering a free trial for 3-months. It’s cost effective, plus it can stream live on video on multiple channels and social media platforms except for Instagram.
Zoom and Vimeo are great platforms for conferences and webinar events. They can host a large audience and have interactive elements right on the platform to ensure everyone is paying attention.
Spread the word about your event
Whatever format and platform you choose for your virtual event, make sure people know about it. Share the event details through your website, newsletter by email and on social media. Share registration event details beginning one month before the event. Don’t forget to share an event hashtag! This will help people promote the event and drive conversations online.
Executing a strong game plan can allow you to shift your in-person event strategy to virtual and enable your organization to generate revenue during this challenging time. Another way to think of this is you’ve now rewritten your company’s event playbook and replaced it with a modern, forward-looking one to which your audience and donors can adapt and embrace. You may even find that live streaming can greatly expand your reach and impact well after social distancing is part of our collective past.
