9 Most Effective Virtual Fundraising Event Ideas

Carol Sobers
9 min readDec 15, 2020

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If you are looking for the best virtual fundraising event ideas for your events so you are at the right place. The virtual event has been on the hype in the recent past. Be it a seminar, workshop, trade shows, or non-profit events, getting virtual is the rising need of all marketers and event organizers.

So, if your non-profit organization wants virtual fundraising event ideas, then this blog will definitely help you boost your event and accomplish your target.

What Is A Virtual Fundraising Event?

A virtual fundraising event is simply an event taking place on any digital platform to help non-profit organizations raise funds.

Instead of meeting in-person, all the supporters of the organization gather on a common virtual platform using technologies like videos, live streaming, etc.

Irrespective of the geographical locations, all the supporters can attend the event from their own place.

Not only live-streamed, but some virtual fundraising events are also pre-recorded and are available to the attendees to watch when they are free.

9 Most Effective Virtual Fundraising Event Ideas

For making your event successful and memorable we are giving amazing and creative virtual fundraising ideas below.

1. Virtual Auction

While auctions and fundraising both have been offline events, conducting them online has become more easy and comfortable. Just because it can generate a wider reach and create more awareness and an urge to participate amongst the audience.

Virtual Auction

Few virtual fundraising event ideas that you can apply to make the virtual auction hit are;

  • Organize a talent show
  • Sell used books
  • Organize a contest
  • Hold a party based on some theme
  • Conduct a competition among brands

2. Virtual Tours

Since real-life tours have been impacted tremendously, conducting them virtually is the next best available option. Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have billions of people using them. Conducting a live stream on these channels will not only make walking and talking easy but also will be able to fetch more attention.

Virtual Tours

Be sure of making strong appeals to get more donations. This kind of event idea is best suited for old age homes but most definitely needs some twist, maybe some behind-the-scenes?

3. Multi-Day Virtual Conference

Who doesn’t like talking about things? Discussing them? And having feedback on the opinions that they hold of a thing? Hardly a bunch. So, what not incorporate a virtual conference as a part of your fundraising idea?

Multi-Day Virtual Conference

Moreover, isn’t it the perfect way to tie your supporters and also facilitate discussions that are important? You can set up a page or form a group to get registrations from the supporters.

It is true that these events need an investment of time and technology. But, it will most definitely support your goal, make an immense impact, and ignite interactions within the community. This is also probably the best way to bring people together in a time when it is the biggest task.

4. TED Talk-style Virtual Event

Ted talk is probably the most sought-after thing when it comes to boosting the mental and emotional knowledge of individuals. Hence, making it easy a platform that can generate audience engagement easily. Fundraising event ideas that can also invite guest speakers, who can, in turn, ignite inspiration in the minds of the people can be a big hit.

TED Talk-style Virtual Event

Conduct a Livestream presentation where the speaker can conduct the talk in the comfort of home, while the audience can join in from anywhere and everywhere. Include links of call-to-action, which will make it easy for the audience to also provide for an online donation to your NGO.

5. Virtual Talent Show

If your organization actively supports creative arts communities, a virtual talent show is a perfect way to gather crowds into a setting, entertain them through arts, and raise funds.

Virtual Talent Show

All that you need to do is, simply seek out advance registrations, then provide a virtual ticket and a link to allow them to access the talent show.

6. Virtual Happy Hour

Don’t happy hours make you happy? Then how can they go wrong with fundraising events? These are some of the simplest virtual fundraising event ideas to be able to organize. All that you need is a sign-up form, a topic to conduct the live stream around, and a platform where virtual conferencing can happen. You are all set.

Virtual Happy Hour

These event ideas work best for supporting small fundraising events which can be conducted weekly or monthly.

7. Virtual Book Club

Book clubs are the best when it comes to building a community among your audience. For this virtual fundraising idea, you do not even need a setup to conduct a book club fundraising event. All that you need is a book that would resonate with the audience or donors.

Virtual Book Club

Then, you can set up an online discussion board that facilitates sharing of thoughts and suggestions. This will also let them connect with one another and as for you, it will help you gather more donations

8. Virtual Discussions

A live event that focuses on discussions relating to problem-solving can potentially bring the community together and keep them engaged in the cause that they are passionate about. You can also try to give them more time to spend with each other, people love it.

Virtual Discussions

You can make different rooms for discussions on meeting platforms like Zoom, Google meets, etc and welcome everyone who wants to join the conversation via the link, and do not forget to attach the contribution link.

9. Virtual Open Mic Night

Open mic idea is the best way to engage audiences, by making them laugh until their stomachs hurt and their head is blown.

Virtual Open Mic Night

Create a meeting link and share it with your audience and let them host the open mic by sharing ideas and the content created by them. Give a new topic each time and have a flow of unified thoughts, set, and words. This idea can make a fundraising event more fun and interesting.

Best Tips to Make Virtual Fundraising More Effective

Here are some tips that can help you host a virtual fundraising way in a simple yet creative way.

1. Determine The Type & Purpose Of Event You Want To Host

Before applying your creative virtual fundraising ideas you must pay attention to host a virtual event is the purpose of the event and the types of virtual event that you want to host. The first step is to define the intent and objectives of the event.

Pen down all the causes and motives that you want to promote with this event. It will help you set clear goals for your event.

2. Set A Fundraising Goal

Goals help you plan your virtual fundraising event ideas in a better and effective way and focus on the target of the event. It is hence crucial to establish a well-defined financial goal to work towards.

To generate more funds, you can even communicate your fundraising goals and the urgency or motive of raising funds to the attendees of the event.

Set A Fundraising Goal

You can even display live leaderboards during your event to appreciate the fund donors and to encourage more of the attendees to drive more funds.

3. Define Your Target Audience

With virtual event ideas, you can now reach more people as compared to in-person events as virtual events are not limited by geographical barriers.

Defining your targeted audience is the major part of hosting a virtual fundraising event.

Define Your Target Audience

It will help you choose the date, time of the event according to the country/region of the targeted audience.

Also, different audiences use different online platforms, so it will help choose the one that will drag more crowd towards your event.

4. Choose The Best Suited Online Tools

As compared to in-person fundraising events where the major tasks are decorations, food, venue, etc. the virtual events just need online tools to get their job done.

Some of the basic tools that can be used are

  • Streaming tools such as Zoom, Youtube, Facebook live
  • Text messages, Emails, Calls, Facebook invite to send the invitation to the attendees
  • Fund donation tools such as Paypal, donations pages, Google pay, etc.

Based on the fundraising event goal, targeted audience, and motives of the event, it is vital to choose the most preferred tool that aligns with the above factors of the virtual fundraising event.

5. Draft A Proper Timeline For The Event

Many of the virtual events fail due to chaotic and improper execution. It is, therefore, necessary to plan the event and create a proper timeline much before the commencement of the event.

Draft A Proper Timeline For The Event

Make a list of all the work that needs to be done, assign it to the team members, and schedule each phase of your event.

Also, splitting the work among your team will ensure a proper flow of work and better execution of the event.

6. Use The Power Of Social Media To Promote The Event

Before the commencement of the event, it is vital to promote your event and get in touch with the audience that might be interested in attending the event. The best way to do it is by leveraging social media.

Social media, with almost 45% of the world’s population using the platform, is a highly engaging and creative way to promote your event to a large audience.

7. Display Social Media Walls

One of the best virtual fundraising ideas to engage the attendees and encourage them to participate in the event is by displaying Social media walls during the live-streaming of the event.

These social media wall displays can be created using social media aggregator tools such as Taggbox. With Taggbox, you can collect content or UGC from over 15 social platforms and curate it into a single feed known as Social Media Wall.

Display Social Media Walls

Moreover, you can display your hashtag wall by curating a feed using a specific hashtag and display it during the live streaming of the event. It will enhance attendee participation and interaction with the organization and will make your fundraising event a success.

8. Make Sure To Do A Test Run For Your Event

Before the event starts, make sure to check the proper functioning of the tool to have a hassle-free virtual fundraising event. Doing a test run for your event will help you detect any technical issues that might occur with the working of the online tools and their integration.

It will also help you provide the best attendee experience for your event and provide them with a comfortable interface to join up.

9. Don’t Forget To Follow Up

A thank-you note to all the participants, donors, and teammates will surely dignify the image of your nonprofit organization and will encourage them to participate in the next coming event of your organization.

Don’t Forget To Follow Up

Also, you can ask them to leave feedback to help you improve your performance for the next event.

Conclusion

To host a virtual event does not need any specialized ideas anymore. The new rising virtual event platforms have made it all easy for you to convey your message to a wide audience in an effective way.

With the above-mention tips, you can skyrocket your creative virtual fundraising ideas and can easily achieve your targeted goal with just a basic understanding of the technology and of course some dedication.

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Carol Sobers

I am an enthusiastic content curator with a zeal to write anything and everything about content marketing and related domains