Stepping towards fundraising success: Tommy's first Facebook Challenge with GivePanel x Bluestep Solutions

 A Facebook Challenge is a virtual event that runs 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 team at Tommy’s chose to trial a Facebook Challenge after their events calendar took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic and aftermath. Overcoming a period of investment lull and with the support of senior staff, the team took advantage of GivePanel’s new collaboration with Bluestep Solutions, offering a full service partner for supercharged Facebook Challenges.

Here are four things to note about Tommy’s 8,000 Steps a Day in March Challenge:

1. Building the Concept

The Challenge was designed with the concept of inclusivity and broad appeal in mind. The activity of walking allowed supporters of different fitness levels to participate whilst the goal of 8,000 steps per day struck a balance between being challenging yet not demoralizing, and participants were given the flexibility to make up for missed days. Bluestep Solutions were tasked with designing the look and feel of the Challenge and as Devina notes, “they absolutely nailed it - in terms of look and feel, they got it just right.”

2. Targeting and Participation

Though ad targeting was initially set as broad, their Challenge attracted a demographic of mainly women and so targeting was updated to reflect this and attract the best possible leads. Most of the Challenge participants were new to Tommy’s though connection to cause was significant; 8 of their top 20 Fundraisers were in memory of a loss they had experienced. The Challenge provided an opportunity for those people who previously hadn’t found a way to connect with the organization.

3. Incentivizing 

Using a branded Tommy’s t-shirt as their incentive, the Bluestep Solutions team supported the nonprofit to send these out to every registration to encourage participation. The welcome pack included the t-shirt, a welcome letter and a printable tracker. In addition, the team also decided to reward Fundraisers hitting certain monetary targets; those who raised £50 or more received a medal and a certificate, while those who raised less than £50 received a digital certificate. This acted as another touchpoint to show appreciation to their supporters and encourage a higher average raised. 

4. Group engagement

Devina notes that the “the community that we saw on the Facebook group was really special.” Whilst Fundraisers felt supported to share their own experience and connect over the nonprofit’s cause, the group remained a lighthearted community dedicated to fundraising. This, Devina states, was largely due to the impact of Alderson Fundraising’s expertise in group management and their mix of content which kept supporters engaged and focused on the task at hand.