Canada WHO
Radius Child and Youth Services is a specialized community-based organization that provides clinical assessment and counselling services to children, youth and families affected by interpersonal abuse, neglect, or who have witnessed domestic violence.
WHAT
The Tournament of Hope was a charity golf outing with an integrated online auction. Normally this is one of Radius’ biggest golf fundraising events but with Canadian COVID-19 restrictions in place, it had become the only live event that the team could offer. Thus there was even more impetus placed on the success of the golf event with funds raised going to bridge the gap between funding and the ever increasing needs of the communities Radius serves.
HOW
This was the first time the Radius team had used an online auction platform but were quick to embrace the shareability of such sites and opened their auction a couple of weeks before the golf event itself. Doing this allowed for consistent promotion before the day of the charity golf tournament on social media platforms and through emails. The online auction was also left running for four days after the golf event to guarantee maximum engagement with supporters.
RESULT
Radius Child and Youth Services projected raising $30,000 from their Tournament of Hope but went on to raise a fantastic $43,000! The online silent auction was a vital part of this as the team were able to engage donors in ways that solely in-person fundraising does not allow. Moreover, the push notifications donors received updated them on the progress of the auction and, crucially, kept them consistently engaged with the charity throughout the campaign. Overall, the fundraising golf tournament exceeded expectations and performed
better than the organisation’s previous golf events.
TOP TIP
“Make sure to use the tools that are available to you and use the information pages wisely. Be as specific as you can with both your ask and your auction item descriptions. It is good practice to attach workable links to your items so that potential bidders can check out supplier websites seamlessly. Finally, communication and marketing is very important. Continually promoting to your network during the campaign will have a very positive impact, not only on the success of your event, but also in creating awareness for your cause and engaging prospective new donors.”
“Givergy makes online auctions easy and fun! Event participants seem to enjoy the auction and the automatic prompts to bidders helps raise more funds. The Givergy team is amazing to work with and if anything comes up they are quick to respond, helpful and attentive. I strongly recommend this platform for online events!”
