How Roswell Park Alliance Foundation got contact data for over 2000 new supporters and smashed its fundraising targets by doing a Facebook Challenge

Like several organizations, Roswell Park Alliance Foundation felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key results

Driving impact, making a difference

Whilst they still had a number of birthday fundraisers each month on Facebook, Roswell Park Alliance Foundation felt they needed to re-engage their audience and encourage them to fundraise in a brand new, barrier-free way, whilst also gathering data for their CRM.

Set the scene

Who is Roswell Park Alliance?

Roswell Park Alliance Foundation supports Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, America’s first national cancer center. Located in Buffalo, New York, all funds raised go towards groundbreaking cancer research, new and innovative treatment options, and patient care programs.

The challenge

280,000 Steps in February

A Facebook Challenge is a virtual event that runs solely on Facebook and leverages the power of social networking through ads, groups and fundraisers. This means: 

• Lower acquisition costs
• More fundraisers
• And a chance to meet supporters where they already are!

The Facebook Challenge model was a great opportunity for Roswell Park Alliance Foundation. They started with a controlled pilot to ensure the staff could manage all the moving parts before scaling it up!

Their 280,000 Steps In February Challenge was uncomplicated and a challenge that encouraged mass participation. In Covid times people craved connection. Facebook ads led supporters straight into the Challenge Facebook Group which provided that community connection people missed.

The welcome post in the Facebook Group included steps to get started. Using the link to GivePanels ‘mobile first’ event registration form, Roswell Park Alliance Foundation was able to see their group participants register in real-time in GivePanel, shipping their free t-shirts daily, whilst collecting opt-ins to further marketing.

The GivePanel difference

Meeting supporters where they are

With‭ ‬GivePanel‭ ‬you can run virtual events and challenges entirely on Facebook and manage all your data with ease‭. ‬Our Facebook Group event registration forms sync with Facebook transaction data so that you have all your data in one place‭. ‬Our fundraiser engagement and messages tools mean that you can give Facebook fundraisers the experience they deserve resulting in more contact details collected and funds raised‭.‬

GivePanel‭ ‬gives you the analytics and reports you need to track campaigns and enables you to build custom imports for your CRM‭. ‬All of this saves significant staff time‭, ‬allowing you to focus on what matters‭ ‬‮–‬‭ ‬fundraising‭!‬

For Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, their first Facebook Challenge ended up raising three times their target and most importantly, using GivePanel’s registration form, they received data for over 2000 new supporters.

Final thoughts

How to supercharge your Facebook fundraising

Though all elements of a Facebook Challenge are important, we like to say that the secret sauce is in the Facebook group engagement! Here are four guaranteed ways to engage your group and get them fundraising:

1. Set goals for your Facebook Group – target how many members you’d like to see join and then track how many register and become active fundraisers
2. Set expectations to succeed – manage your group’s expectations in advance with a set of FAQs and be prepared to handle conflict!
3. Plan your content – create content that will speak to your fundraisers and share it from a personal account rather than the charity.
4. Drive fundraisers from the group to their personal Facebook fundraisers – remind them to share their own updates and engage with their donors.