Canada OVERVIEW
The Women’s Foundation has chosen Givergy as their fundraising partner of choice since 2016. Since then, Givergy has supported twelve of their events, helping the charity keep funds coming in despite the pandemic adding challenge to the landscape in Hong Kong. Lisa Withey, Development Director, had worked with Givergy at previous organisations in London and in Hong Kong. When things had to go virtual, she knew we’d be the perfect fit to ensure fundraising efforts remained strong!
Since the beginning of our partnership in 2016, the Givergy platform has been used for all the major flagship fundraising dates. Excitingly, The Women’s Foundation have now become an Unlimited customer and is planning to run many more exciting events in 2023.
The Women’s Foundation has hosted both in-person and virtual events with the support of the Givergy platform, and we are thrilled that they have been nothing but amazed with the platform.
WHO
The Women’s Foundation is a leading catalyst in Hong Kong for collaborative efforts to drive women’s and girls advancement, and have been at the forefront of efforts to improve the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong since its establishment in 2004.
This period of change has brought much needed visibility to existing inequalities and hidden issues that women and girls have been grappling with for decades: disproportionate care giving responsibilities, mental health, violence, and biases.
The Women’s Foundation believes that we have the power to shape a gender equal pay recovery in which we can all thrive.
TWF aspires to conduct ground-breaking research alongside running impactful and innovative community programmes. They also engage in education and advocacy in the pursuit of the below main goals:
Challenging gender stereotypes
Empowering women in poverty
Advancing female leaders
WHAT
To help The Women’s Foundation bring in consistently high donations, they have used the Silent Auction, Pledge, and Event Staff features from Givergy. Across the breadth of events TWF has run, it is great to hear that the platform has provided complete and consistent support for their team!
The Silent Auction and Pledge features were beneficial during the pandemic and were successfully rolled out in a virtual format events when rules in Hong Kong took away the opportunity for in-person celebrations. In fact, the charity was one of the first in Hong Kong to run an online event, preparing for its first event in March 2019 in just six weeks. The event, which was due to be held in person, allowed them to be seen as leaders regarding NGO operations in the face of a global pandemic. The Women’s Foundation credits Givergy with helping them navigate this tricky time by sharing the latest updates and helping them think outside of the box.
When running in-person shows, TWF also chose to bring in tech support from the Givergy team to ensure everything ran smoothly. Some of the key purposes of the events are to connect supporters with their work through storytelling, as well as offering networking. The organisation places guest experience at its highest priority, so having the extra hands available to help things run without any hitches was greatly appreciated.
This is just the start for the NGO, which is looking to explore new fundraising techniques in 2023 with the support of Givergy Unlimited.
HOW
Reliability – Lisa Withey commented, “You know the Givergy platform is going to work as it should, which is a huge benefit. The security the platform offers, and the trust we have in it is critical in the lead up to our events”.
Support – The charity feels that they are always supported by both the Givergy platform and the team behind it. They commented that their event managers work long and sometimes late hours, and no matter the time or day, there is always someone on hand to answer questions. Knowing that someone is available when support is needed is what we aim to provide, as we believe this helps charities raise money more confidently.
Diversity – The range of features and fundraising formats has allowed The Women’s Foundation to differentiate how they raise money in a way that offers long-term sustainability.
Innovation – The charity also mentioned that Givergy gives charities the tools they need to innovate. From trying a new fundraising technique to building more established relationships with donors, Givergy provides the glue that brings campaigns together.
TOP TIP
Like many charities that took some losses during the pandemic, The Women’s Foundation now approaches fundraising much more confidently. As a large organisation with big ambitions, they feel it is important to apply the learning from this difficult time to future fundraising efforts.
The other top tips that the successful organisation have been able to harness thanks to the support from Givergy are the following:
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When choosing items for a silent auction, don’t choose too many items. The Women’s Foundation team felt that choosing a smaller number of Auction Items meant it was more likely that people would place a bid. It is all about finding the perfect balance that encourages competitive bidding whilst offering something for everyone.
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The company have also found that QR codes work brilliantly to share the brand messaging in different ways during event prep and on the night.
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It is also a good idea to engage with a fundraising host or someone who can bring passion to pledging, as audiences need to be excited and lively for big donations to come in.
“Thank you, Givergy, for providing support that has changed how we raise money. All staff, onsite, and on the support side of things, have always been amazing, and we are excited to explore more ways of raising money.”.
