FundRaiser Blog
Interest in the Total Eclipse Boosts CASA Major Donor Campaign
For this month's total eclipse, Missouri is one of the prime viewing spots. Local media are in love with the eclipse, and one nonprofit group is using that to boost their fundraising campaign. The 37th Judicial CASA, who are FundRaiser Select users, have created an entire campaign around the eclipse, called Eclipse Child Abuse with Child Advocacy.
The campaign has three efforts tied to it:
- a major donor campaign
- sale of NASA approved eclipse-viewing glasses
- a big community Eclipse Viewing Party, where people will use the glasses they purchased from CASA for an enjoyable evening outside
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"It is going very well. This is one of those rare events that someone else is doing the work for you -- mentions of the eclipse are everywhere so we're taking advantage of all that publicity. So far, we've had two front page articles in our local paper about the campaign," says Autumn Shirley, who is a CASA volunteer helping with the campaign, as well as CEO of FundRaiser.
The popularity of the eclipse-viewing glasses is helping increase the visibility of CASA, too. "It's a way to raise awareness in our community. People buying the eclipse glasses aren't donors. They just want the glasses. So we can have a quick conversation with them about CASA: what it does and it's value," says Autumn.
The major donor campaign is structured like a typical campaign. "We are calling our major donors 'Angel Advocates'. We mailed out a letter to each prospect and are following up with a call. For $1,000 each they can sponsor one CASA volunteer for 1 year. A single CASA volunteer can work with up to 6 children," says Autumn.
Although the Eclipse is a unique event (another of this scale isn't happening until 2024), nonprofits can still use the general strategy of this campaign themselves. "If you recognize an event that is getting a lot of attention, see if there is some way to time your campaign to dovetail with the publicity and work it into your own messaging," says Autumn.
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