Australia WHO
For over 60 years, the Maple Leaf Trust has helped Canadians residing in the United Kingdom to maintain a connection with their homeland and strengthen the partnership between the two nations.
As a leading British charity for the Canadian community, Maple Leaf Trust use their biennial Maple Leaf Ball to raise funds in support of scholarships for Canadians entering higher education in the UK. MLT also used this event specifically to raise awareness of the Canadian contribution to D-Day as a way of remembering on the 80 th anniversary of the event.
Fundraising Challenges
The Maple Leaf Ball is a classically orchestrated gala. Centred around enjoying the spectacle of the night and raising money for a worthy cause, the event has always been popular, attracting hundreds of guests every year. Hosting a pledge drive that matched the success of the overall event, however, had been a challenge.
The pledge drive at previous events had only been generating 5-10 in-room donations, raising between £5,000 and £10,000. The Maple Leaf Trust team knew that this crucial moment had more potential and wanted to explore it.
To boost their pledge drive appeal, they enlisted the help of Givergy and Tim Stansbury, Fundraising Host and Auctioneer. After multiple pre-event strategy meetings, a more ambitious target was devised and there was hope of raising £20,000 from the pledge moment. The plan was to channel excitement directly into the pledge, focusing on engaging the whole audience with numerous price points, plus a fun ‘table v table’ competition.
Event Highlights
It was a fantastic event (just watch the video!) and the newly crafted pledge drive was a knockout success. Aiming to double previous years and hit a £20,000 target, in the end over £40,000 was raised whilst Tim was still on stage! Donations increased from less than ten to over 100, a direct result of the strategy agreed pre-event.
The Live Auction was also a great success, the final item being a limited edition Print Edward Burtynsky print, selling for £18,000.
How Much Was Raised?
Overall the event raised over £150,000, a fantastic achievement for an amazing charity.
TOP TIP
Gamify the pledge drive to increase crowd engagement. Tim Stansbury communicated the table vs table challenge brilliantly, it engaged the room and focused on the number of donations being made.
I’d also say utilise the expertise of the Givergy team. The pre-event strategy meetings with Tim and Millie were a huge help to crystalize our vision for the night and ensured everyone was on the same page about delivery. It’s vital your fundraising host understands your mission but also the technology being used, this will ensure your pledge appeal reaches its full potential!
“We were focused on generating more money through the pledge, and with Givergy’s advice on run-of-show and process during that moment, everything came together fantastically well. Tim was brilliant on stage, he brought the energy but also the focus on what we needed the audience to do. I’d highly recommend the Givergy system for the donation moment and auction, plus Tim on stage to make it all happen!”
