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.
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 treatment options, and patient care programs.
“The GivePanel platform set us up for a great success with our first ever Facebook Challenge. Not only did it allow us to keep track of our participants and the fundraising progress in real time, it also provided the ability to communicate directly with them on their fundraising pages with the click of a button! The GivePanel event registration form led to the Alliance Foundation collecting marketing opt-ins from over 2,000 participants, which is something we have never had access to before with our Facebook fundraisers.”
– Alison Lockwood
280,000 Steps in February
A Facebook Challenge is a virtual event run entirely on Facebook, using ads, a Facebook group and Facebook 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.
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 also sync directly with Facebook transaction data. This process ensures you keep all your vital data in one place. Consequently, our fundraiser engagement and messages tools deliver the supporter experience they deserve, ultimately 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.
How to raise more through 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:
- 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
- Set expectations to succeed – manage your group’s expectations in advance with a set of FAQs and be prepared to handle conflict.
- Plan your content – create content that will speak to your fundraisers and share it from a personal account rather than the charity.
- Drive fundraisers from the group to their personal Facebook fundraisers – remind them to share their own updates and engage with their donors.
Run your next challenge on GivePanel
Book a demo and we’ll show you how charities like Roswell Park Alliance Foundation recruit, steward and report on their fundraisers. Or start with our free Virtual Challenge Playbook.
Other case studies
Lifeline raised AU$432,957 with 10,000 Steps a Day in May, its first Challenge, to fund its crisis support and suicide prevention services.
Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney raised AU$235,071 with Marathon in a Month, its first ever Facebook Challenge, in August 2022.
Roswell Park Alliance Foundation raised over $220,000 with a Facebook Challenge, and 2,097 new supporters opted in to hear more.
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance raised over £70,000 by following GivePanel’s Facebook Challenge guide, in its best acquisition campaign to date.
Stroke Association’s small team raised £153,678 with Skip for Stroke in February 2023, with 1,012 active fundraisers.
Surfers Against Sewage raised £164,000 with Dip a Day in October, its first ever Facebook Challenge.