Each year, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County hosts a fundraising breakfast for its donors and partners so it can build affordable housing for families in Orange County. This year, its annual breakfast got derailed due to COVID-19 and California’s stay-at-home orders forcing it to turn to a virtual fundraiser.

The organization pivoted to developing an online giving day, which it would later call the Building Dreams Drive. Much like a telethon and pledge-drive hybrid, the virtual giving day campaign relied on social media and email to drive people to donate – which required creativity and a clear strategy in order to work.

Mixte helped the marketing team develop a day-of strategy and timeline, and ensured the team-best utilized its resources and relationships. We also developed a social media toolkit for Habitat OC to share with its ambassadors and partners to spread the word about its giving day.

With just a few weeks turnaround, Habitat OC raised $292,073 out of its goal of $300k. You, too, can pull off a virtual giving day with these five tips in mind.

Have a clear goal, with an idea of how your virtual fundraiser will get there

Part of the success of a virtual giving day comes from the weeks leading up to the event. It’s important to have donors lined up to ensure you know where money will come from so you can reach your goal. Success begets success.

• Have a trustworthy host who can bring the fun to your virtual fundraiser

When building your campaign, think through who you want to have as the face of your campaign. For Habitat OC’s giving day, we used the organization’s senior vice president because we knew he was respected by the community, and he knows how to bring his fun personality to the table.

• Secure incentives before the giving day

We’ve found that people are way more inclined to give money if there’s something in it for them. Line up prizes or incentives before your giving day, which can be as simple as a pin from your organization or as lavish as gift baskets from partners. For its giving day, Habitat OC secured prizes from its sponsors like an In-N-Out meal card.

• Use videos of personal stories to further drive your message

Habitat OC knew the way to people’s hearts was through the inspiring stories of its families and staff, so it pre-recorded videos to release throughout the giving day. The videos bring out the human element to your campaign and provide an opportunity for people to engage with the organization throughout the day.

• Utilize all communications channels during the day — and we mean all day

On the day of its Building Dreams Drive, Habitat OC utilized all of its communications channels to spread the word and solicit donations. The day began early, and the team coordinated its communications through late evening. After all, the day doesn’t end after 11.59 p.m.

Throughout the day, the organization sent e-blasts, went live on Facebook, posted videos and graphics to social media and were ready by the phones in case people wanted to offer their donations that way. When creating your virtual fundraiser, think through all the communications channels you can utilize to update your followers on the campaign so you can reach your goal.