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How The Humane Society of West Michigan Launched Their Virtual Event in Just 5 Days

Humane Society of West Michigan is a 100% donor funded organization working to build a more compassionate community where all animals are given the care they deserve. They rely on events like Paws, Claws, & Corks to help better the lives of the more than 3,000 animals that enter their shelter each year.

“The reason we went with OneCause and online is because we needed as many resources as possible and OneCause seemed better than any other as far as simplicity for users, as well as the back-end and what we were able to do.” – Megan Ellinger, Events Coordinator

Online Fundraising Activities

Humane Society of West Michigan took their in-person Paws, Claws & Corks event online with fundraising activities, including:

Online Auction
Raffles
Online Donations

What Made This Event Unique?

Click here to view the Humane Society of West Michigan’s Giving Center!

Humane Society of West Michigan went fully virtual in just 5 days for their annual Paws, Claws, & Corks event by utilizing Facebook Premiere to craft their virtual event and engage supporters. They opened their auction to the public to maximize donations, and promoted their event on local media through virtual news interviews.

Virtual Fundraising Strategies

With the right approach, Humane Society of West Michigan was able to adjust their fundraising strategy to fit the virtual world, expand their reach, and highlight the importance of their mission. Their strategies include:
Make it happen

Make it happen.
Open online auctions to the public
Promote going virtual on social media
Send emails to segmented supporter email lists
Utilize local news stations to promote event via virtual interviews
Run the online auction for 2 days after event
Have team members film individual videos and edit them together to create a program video to broadcast on FB Premiere
Use Facebook Premiere for a strategic live experience for your supporters

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Download the Humane Society of West Michigan One Sheeter!

The Humane Society of West Michigan shared their takeaways for going virtual. Here’s what they suggest:

Take action, fast
Consolidate the program
Raise minimum bids
Skip Buy-now prices to maximize the donation amount
Virtual Wine pull – sell as an item and do the blind pull for them, virtually
No contact pick-ups using signupgenuis.com to schedule 15-minute block

Results

Going virtual in just 5 days, The Humane Society of West Michigan wasn’t sure what to expect. Nonetheless, their Paws, Claws & Corks event results were amazing:

1,032 Total supporters
582 Attendees
326 Bidders
315 Max bids confirmed
160K Event Proceeds

Connect with a Cause

You can learn more about Humane Society of West Michigan and support their mission by visiting their website.

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