Welcome back! In the first blog of this three-part series, we started exploring the top reasons why nonprofits who have grown their fundraising with our classic mobile bidding software may want to consider making the switch to the OneCause Fundraising Platform.

In Part 1, we covered the value of configurable Event & Giving Sites, integrated Ticket & Table Management, and our fresh approach to Sponsors & Sponsorships.

And with everything we’ll cover here in Part 2, you’ll see why more nonprofits are upgrading to the OneCause Fundraising Platform to take their fundraising to the next level. Let’s dive in!

4. Golf Events

The new OneCause Fundraising Platform gives you a much easier way to manage both the event logistics and fundraising of your next golf event with a built-in golf event management solution.

• Attract & Sell Corporate Sponsorships. From selling sponsorships online to tracking sales and invoicing your corporate partners, the platform makes everything so much easier. And with integrated ticketing, organizers can assign tickets, while golfers can claim their tickets, purchase mulligans, and make donations in one, easy process. On the day of your event, players can quickly check in by scanning their QR code, tapping their credit card, and heading straight to their first tee!

Note: If you missed our take on Sponsorships and Ticketing in Part 1, be sure to check it out!

• Manage All Golf Logistics. Forget the days of multiple spreadsheets to keep track of the details. And there’s certainly no need to buy a separate subscription for golf fundraising software. The platform makes it easy to:
  • Auto-create teams based on ticket type and owner.
  • Manage it all from golf scrambles to shotgun starts.
  • Support single or multiple-course events.
  • Assign players their course, starting hole, and cart number.
• Incorporate Powerful Text Messaging. Golf events are a perfect opportunity to use our preset and custom text messaging. For example, after a participant has registered,
  a text message is automatically sent to inform players of
  their cart number and starting hole.

• Track & Display Scoring. Participants can enter their scores quickly and easily as they move through the course. These individual and team scores are aggregated in real-time and can be displayed on a golf leaderboard (scoreboard).

• Elevate Your Fundraising. Beyond managing the details of your golf event, you’ll have access to the same, powerful fundraising tools you use for other campaigns. From fixed-price items and raffles to auctions, personal fundraising pages, and more creative donation options (we’ll cover these in Part 3), it’s all included.

5. End-to-End Auctions

Since 2008, nonprofits have inspired us with the silent, live, and online auctions they’ve hosted using OneCause. So, when we built the new platform, we were committed to finding new and innovative ways to make auction management easier, more effective, and more profitable for nonprofits like yours.

Here are just a few of the ways we’ve delivered:

• Simplify Item Procurement. Building an auction is so much easier with our reimagined item procurement process. Whether a supporter uses the new Item Donation Form or your auction chair assigns procurement tasks to volunteers, the platform gives you a clear view of each item’s journey—from initial commitment to final receipt. Real-time tracking ensures every item is accounted for, giving nonprofits peace of mind and more time to focus on fundraising success.

• Improved Image Functionality. The platform eliminates the hassle of hosting images separately. You can easily upload and manage multiple photos directly within the auction setup. With drag-and-drop ordering, arranging images is a breeze, ensuring auction packages are polished and engaging. Plus, bidders can zoom in on high-resolution images for a more engaging experience.

• Maximize Revenue with “Last Chance” Auctions. This feature enables nonprofits to quickly package, promote, and sell items with no bids at a discount before the silent auction closes. Simple to use, this tool helps drive proceeds by ensuring every auction item gets a shot at securing a winning bid.

• Leverage Data-Driven Insights. Tracking auction performance has never been more insightful. Our enhanced reporting tools provide deeper insights into individual bidder activity, auction performance, and revenue trends, helping you make data-driven decisions and optimize future fundraising efforts.

Note: While some reports will have a new look, you’ll gain access to a robust analytics dashboard and a suite of new, configurable reports.

With these and many other powerful auction capabilities, the OneCause Fundraising Platform is designed to make your auction fundraising easier, more engaging, and more successful.

6. AI-Driven Fundraising

More nonprofits are quickly embracing OneCause AI™ because it saves time, reduces effort, and drives more revenue —all without the need for coding or programming. Here’s how:

• AI-Powered Description Generators. Crafting compelling descriptions for your auction items, raffle tickets, fixed price items, and event stories used to be tedious and time-consuming. Now, you can leverage AI in the platform to automatically generate engaging descriptions. This saves hours of time and effort, and motivates guests to bid, buy, and give more.

• Recommended Lots & Suggested Sort. These auction-based AI features work behind the scenes to analyze past auction data, item descriptions, and a donor’s bidding behavior to serve up the items they’re most likely to view and bid on. By prioritizing these items, AI innovations like Recommended Lots & Suggested Sort have shown to increase auction engagement and revenue by up to 25%.

• Event Readiness. AI insights assess what your event needs to stay on track for success. By providing recommendations, this tool ensures that key milestones are completed on time to avoid last-minute challenges to your event’s success.

• AI-Driven Support. Our AI Guide™ is your 24/7 virtual fundraising assistant, offering in-platform support, best practices, and data-driven insights. Whether you need assistance setting up your tickets for the first time or guidance on your event or campaign strategy, the AI Guide™ is always ready to help you navigate the platform with ease.

7. Express Check-In & Checkout

When we built the Check-In and Checkout capabilities in the OneCause Fundraising Platform, we were sure to carry over all the value from our mobile bidding software. At the same time, we folded in new solutions for registration, item pickup, and everything in between.

Minimumizing Lines at Check-In

• Monitor Check-In Readiness. Now, you can quantify how ready your guests are to check into your event. The platform provides a single view of who’s ready, who’s missing key details (such as a name, phone number, or credit card), and who needs a nudge.

• Capture Ticket Information. And when more information is needed, the platform prompts your sponsors, ticket owners, and attendees to enter any missing information prior to arriving at registration. Here are two examples:

• Adequately Staff Volunteers. Guests missing key contact details often take longer to check in, especially at a sponsor-heavy event. Based on Check-In Readiness data, you can more accurately predict how many volunteers you’ll need to successfully manage registration and create a positive experience for everyone.

• Scan QR Codes. Instead of searching for ticketed attendees, volunteers can the QR code on a guest’s ticket for a quicker check-in experience.

• Leverage the Event Admin Tool. On the go? The Event Admin places event tools directly in your hands. Need to search for a guest? Scan an attendee’s QR code? Sell a ticket? Tap a credit card to gather payment info for the evening? Whatever the need at check-in (or throughout the event), these and other functions are quickly accessible!

New Innovations for Checkout

A smooth check-in helps make a great first impression, and a smooth checkout is just as important. The OneCause Fundraising Platform includes several features designed to ensure your guests leave with a positive experience—of your event and your organization. Here’s a few:

Self-Driven Checkout
Of course, the platform enables supporters to close out payment at the end of the event, but it also gives them the opportunity to select a preferred time-slot for checkout avoiding bottlenecks.

Packing Lists
These help checkout runners gather items marked for pick up (e.g., from silent auctions, live auctions, fixed-priced items, and raffle prizes) ensuring they are accounted for and organized at the end of the event.

Digital Delivery
In contrast, items marked for digital delivery (such as electronic gift certificates) are shown as delivered by email, simplifying checkout logistics and reducing line wait times for those picking up physical items.

Wrapping Up

The OneCause Fundraising Platform is designed to help you elevate every aspect of your fundraising—from seamless check-in to powerful auctions, AI-driven fundraising, and beyond. With innovative tools and a donor-first approach, you can host engaging events that drive greater impact and help you raise more!

Let us know if you’re ready to learn more? Otherwise, stay tuned for Part 3 of our blog series, where we explore even more ways to maximize fundraising success!