UK WHO
Snow Camp is a youth sports charity that celebrated 25 years of supporting young people in 2023. What started as a charity that specialises in giving young people a chance to experience the beauty of snowsports has since evolved to offer life skills training, qualifications and volunteering opportunities. By taking young people out of their existing environments and allowing them to enjoy everything snow sports offer, their horizons can be widened and their aspirations lifted.
Fundraising Challenges
Snow Camp cites two main challenges when raising money: rising costs and ensuring that services can be elevated in light of the ever-changing issues that young people face. Operationally, each trip has to start from scratch in terms of fundraising. This means that only limited spaces can be offered based on how much is raised. As the charity continues to grow in popularity, demand is higher than ever, meaning more funds are needed to support young people.
Also, as the people being supported are younger, case studies cannot be shared as many are vulnerable. Safeguarding is paramount, but it can be hard to build strong emotional connections with donors.
Event Highlights
The successful event saw vital funds being raised and young people getting an opportunity to connect and bond over shared experiences. The event is only run every five years, meaning implementing past learnings can be hard. However, with the support from Givergy, a good balance of auction lots was chosen, which appealed to everyone in the room.
With 310 people in the room, there was lots of buzz and excitement. This also made the Givergy technology useful, particularly for younger people who want to donate. The event worked well to raise money and awareness.
Experience of Using Givergy
The team at Snow Camp felt well supported by Givergy, commenting that everything was straightforward and simple to use. They also felt that the team were always on hand to offer advice and that the platform worked well for their fundraising needs.
Amount Raised
In total, £44,340 was raised from a total number of 48 donors. This consisted of £25,205 from silent auctions, £17,400 from the live auction and £1,735 was pledged both on the day and before the event.
TOP TIP
We asked Julia Smith (Event Manager) what her top tips were for using Givergy at an event of this size to which she commented:
- Emotional connections are almost as important as financial donations, so having past beneficiaries in the room is a great idea to bring the story to life.
- For cases like ours, whereby people are sponsoring young people, it’s good to outline the journey. This includes talking about why it’s an important cause, how the money is used, and the long-term benefits.
- Don’t be afraid to encourage direct donations. We have never tried that method before, but we did at this event, and people were more than happy to donate.