Five innovative ways technology can boost nonprofit events

When putting on a fundraising or other nonprofit event, there are usually two goals: the event should be enjoyable for attendees and should raise funds for the nonprofit. As with other industries, incorporating technology into events is a strong way to ensure it generates as much revenue as it can. Technology can improve every element of a nonprofit event, from marketing to payment processing and all the donor engagement opportunities in between. Here are five ways technology can help you host more engaging events.

1. Level-up event promotion

The average person sees between 4,000 - 10,000 ad messages each day. With so much media competing for attention, it’s important to promote your event in a creative, engaging way to cut through the noise and stand out.

Get personal with digital invitations

Technology can help with this by generating engaging event invitations. With tools like digital card software, digital invitations are quick and easy to design and brand to your nonprofit.

By leveraging email automation, invitations can be easily personalized by connecting attendee details from your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, such as their communication preferences and list of past events they attended. Plus, guests can’t misplace their digital card or spill coffee on it – it’s searchable in their inbox and can be synched up to their digital calendar.

Even your post-event communications can be greatly improved with technology by quickly identifying those who attended and donated, making it easy to send them personalized notes.

Draw them in with video

Outside of directly messaging guests about your event, video editing platforms can be helpful in creating promotional social media content. Most people need to see a message at least seven times before they commit it to memory, making a combination of promotional efforts a stronger strategy. Mix up how you market by promoting your event across different platforms to make sure your message lands with your audience.

Here are a few creative ideas to promote your event through video:

• Sizzle reel: Post highlights of last year’s events with clear information about the current event; this helps your audience see what they can expect, including dress code, crowd size and activities. 
• Talking head: Record a founder or leader from your nonprofit as they share information about the event, including ways it impacts the community and why guests should be invested.
• Behind-the-scenes: A peek behind the curtain can generate excitement among potential attendees. Show your team preparing for the event – this could include packing swag bags, gathering the auction items and even decorating the event space. People enjoy feeling like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, and an inside scoop on your event could boost attendance.
• Thank-you message: If appropriate, post heartfelt thank-you messages from the people your nonprofit benefits; it can be truly inspiring for donors to see the kind of impact their gift can make.

2. Add gamification elements

With the help of technology, nonprofits have plenty of opportunities to host fun, creative events. Excite attendees by adding gamified elements, such as:

• Fundraising challenges: A little friendly competition can make fundraisers more interesting while also boosting revenue. For example, track the highest bidders with a digital leaderboard, or use your auction software to track the most revenue per bidder, most revenue per table or the last person to bid.
• Leaderboards: When using mobile auction software, instead of tracking bids on paper, you’re able to have guests track real-time auction activity. Many platforms include real-time leaderboards that you can display at events, so this is a great way to keep guests engaged and participating in the action – even if they’re not actively bidding.  
• Live fundraising thermometers: You won’t need your red marker for this fundraising thermometer. A digital fundraising thermometer allows you to track real-time progress as you raise funds through the auction. Visualizations can help inspire attendees to give generously, generating the satisfaction of seeing the bar close in on the goal. 

Most nonprofits are doing very serious, sobering work in the community. But when you can bring in an element of light-hearted fun with gamification, people will cut loose a little bit and be inspired to “play” for a good cause. 

3. Energize auctions

Silent auctions can sometimes be hum-drum, but technology can level up these typically slow-paced events by increasing bidding speeds.

Mobile bidding, and more specifically outbid notifications, can generate excitement and spur fast-paced bidding wars. Imagine this scenario – an attendee places a bid on an item, then walks across the room to chat with an old friend. His phone dings with a notification telling him that he was just outbid, triggering him to fire back with a new bid. Now his friend is also drawn in and emotionally invested in him winning this bid.

Without the outbid notifications, this attendee may have talked to his friend for another 20 minutes and the item would have stayed at the same bid price. But when bidders can respond in real-time, the prices for items can drive up, raising more revenue for the organization. Guests can engage from anywhere in the room and stay up to date on their bids.

4. Engage with remote attendees

Virtual and hybrid events (half virtual, half in-person) are a common format in today’s event space, offering plenty of benefits for your nonprofit. One of the biggest challenges, however, is engaging the virtual attendees on the same level as your in-person guests; once again, technology is here to help solve this challenge. 

Event software can help build relationships with donors by personally connecting with them virtually over livestream. Depending on the software, different platforms come with different capabilities. Check to see if yours includes a chat function or ways to make announcements to your virtual guests during the livestream. 

For example, if you’re hosting a hybrid silent auction, make sure that virtual guests are getting open/close notifications as well as any outbid notifications you wish to send to help increase the revenue on the bids.  

Plus, event software helps you send virtual attendees personalized thank-you emails, conveying your appreciation and the impact that their gift will have on the community you serve. In-person gatherings are fun, but you’ll never be able to recreate that level of detailed follow-up without holding people at the door and asking them some awkward follow-up questions.

5. Improve accessibility

With virtual and hybrid events hosted via online event platforms, anyone can participate from home. The most obvious benefit is that this option makes the event accessible for everyone who wants to attend, regardless of their ability to travel to attend in person. 

With event livestreams, captions can often be auto-generated, letting virtual guests adjust their systems to accommodate their preferences and abilities. Online donation platforms also accept multiple payment types to level the playing field for donations, such as credit, debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay and more. 

When events are more accessible, more people can attend, therefore improving supporter relationships and increasing revenue generated.

The benefits of embracing technology

While it may feel intimidating to learn and implement new technology for your next nonprofit event, it’s worth the effort because it will simplify your life as the event organizer and your volunteers' lives. And, most importantly, leveraging technology will help you focus on what matters so that you can help better serve those who benefit from your organization.