USA WHO
Special Olympics PEI is a non-profit organization located in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Special Olympics PEI is dedicated to enriching the lives of those with intellectual disabilities through sport. By increasing opportunity and accessibility to sport, Special Olympics assist those with intellectual disabilities to be all they can be.
Special Olympics PEI’s Enriching Lives Gala is their yearly signature fundraising event that brings in roughly 1/3 of the yearly operating budget. Over 550 people attended this year’s gala, including athletes, families and volunteers, demonstrating how incredibly important the event is for both the organisation and the community they support! To fundraise Special Olympics PEI hosted a silent and live auction, sold tickets and ran a live pledge moment. The silent auction and pledge appeal were done through the Givergy platform.
Fundraising Challenges
As is the case for many non-profits right now, the fundraising landscape remains challenging as many organizations are seeking financial support from the community. For Special Olympics PEI , the challenge was continuing to grow their event and connect with more folks in a competitive fundraising climate.
Key to overcoming this challenge was maintaining clear communication and focusing on effectively showcasing the tangible impact of donor contributions. Sharing the silent auction component of the gala in advance and building anticipation through their online fundraising site played an important role in enhancing communication and engagement.
Event Highlights
Special Olympics PEI always ensure their Enriching Lives Gala creates the best atmosphere possible for giving, starting with the pre-reception – this year they had oysters and local island music waiting to greet guests whilst they networked and perused auction items stationed around ballrooms at the Delta Hotel by Marriott Prince Edward the venue!
However, Special Olympics PEI noted the event highlight in 2024 was seeing the mission moment speaker. A parent of a school athlete shared their experience of the difference Special Olympics made in their life – this highlighted the real impact of the organization to supporters and touched the hearts of those in the room.
Results:
Prior to the night Special Olympics PEI knew they wanted to raise more than the year before and connect with more supporters. Well…They didn’t just reach their goal but smash it!
In total, the night raised $414,000 – over $100,000 more than last year! The Silent Auction exceeded target and the number of attendees was higher than anticipated! All in all it was a fantastic night that demonstrated the spirit of the organization perfectly.
TOP TIP
“Follow the advice of the experts. We’ve been with Givergy since 2018 and when our account manager made suggestions, we listened and achieved results. Practically you need to include clear Calls to Action CTA’s to donate or support on your fundraising website, by using a digital platform you can also connect with a larger audience. But make sure every time you are communicating out to your database you draw attention to your online fundraising tools, whether that’s your auction or raffle!
We also found that during our live auction, accepting items coming from the floor was a gamechanger. We had a live auction donor in the room, and during the lives auction they upgraded their package, which brought in more money than we originally anticipated. This also created much excitement in the room! I’d definitely recommend exploring this.”
“We have used Givergy since 2018 and are confident that it is the most responsive, most aesthetically pleasing online auction site for our donors to use. It’s seamless and makes it easy for our donors to engage with our campaigns!”
