The Shuswap Trail Alliance’s online pandemic fundraiser went so well that when 2022 rolled around they decided to repeat their success and blow their fundraising out of the park! Jen Bellhouse of The Shuswap Trail Alliance loved how easy Trellis was and how it helped them raise more for their cause. Read on to learn the tactics this organization used to improve their fundraising!

In their annual fundraiser this year, they used the auction, 50/50, raffle, donation and items for sale features to maximize the funds raised. This also presented their donors with a variety of options to give. 

As Shuswap Trail Alliance was new to online raffles and 50/50s they were a little hesitant about how it would go. But to their delight “The 50/50 was so slick… I just had to push two buttons. I mean, it’s just so easy.” Raffles and 50/50s on Trellis are designed to be easy to execute, so you can get back to the most important parts of your job.

Not only were raffles and 50/50’s a walk in the park for Jen, but the auction proved to be just as easy, especially with the automation of some of the more tedious parts. As Jen noted, “Trellis did so much of the work for us, by handling the payments for the auction items, it’s taken this one very big exhausting night and made it into a really manageable way to run the fundraiser for us.”

On their Trellis page, The Shuswap Trail Alliance did an incredible job of highlighting their sponsors and donors. They even had a couple of sponsors mention their increased traffic due to their feature. Jen and the team were pleased that they were able to support their sponsors and community, which have faithfully supported them for years. 

“There is no hesitation in recommending Trellis, we’ve been really pleased with the experience.” – Jen Bellhouse, Executive Director

Their team loved the impact Trellis allowed them to have but an element they really appreciated was our spectacular support team who was there to help them if they got stuck.

“One of the things we really appreciated is that there is a person that is available to help. I really appreciated that you know who you’re talking to and the response is so quick.” – Jen Bellhouse, Executive Director

A large part of Jen’s success however came down to the way she ran her fundraiser. By incorporating multiple ways for people to engage, she was able to attract a larger audience of donors. From the hundreds of organizations that have used Trellis, our data proves that organizations that use three or more fundraising drivers raise double those that don’t. As you consider your fundraising strategy, we don’t want you to miss out on the opportunity to raise more for your organization! Join a call with our team here to learn more about how you can raise more for your organization by incorporating multiple fundraising elements into your next fundraiser. To learn more about how adding more fundraising drivers can raise you more, download our report here. 

Going forward, The Shuswap Trail Alliance is excited to see what impact they have as they continue to grow their fundraising through Trellis!

LakeCity Works held its annual raffle to support clients and raise awareness about their impact. This year they switched to Trellis for their raffle and their fundraiser was a wild success!

LakeCity supports individuals living with mental illness as they build on their skills and seek employment. After launching their new range of structures they raffled off an Urban Cabin, a space designed to go in someone’s backyard to provide more living space. 

“[Raffles] are very worthwhile, they give you a whole project you can engage in and use that to connect with the community and to tell stories” – Sophie Eld, Executive Director LakeCity Works

To maximize donor giving LakeCity added donation upsells to their online raffle. It allowed them to raise more and gave their donors options for ways to give! 15% of LakeCity’s funds raised came from the addition of their donation upsell, for their organization which was an additional $15,000 in unrestricted funds! In addition, Trellis’ tax receipting made it easy for LakeCity’s donors and encouraged them to donate. 

“[Donation Upsells] added another layer to our fundraiser and I’ll definitely be including that again going forward” – Sophie Eld, Executive Director LakeCity Works

They used storytelling on their page to showcase their impact and tangibly show where the funds raised would go.

Another element that made LakeCity and Trellis a natural fit for this fundraiser, was their aligned goal of community impact through social enterprises supporting social enterprises. With a shared mission and vision, it was easy to get aligned. As Sophie noted, the experience “felt very collaborative like we’re working on a project together”, ultimately creating an even better experience for everyone, especially the LakeCity donors!

Overall, LakeCity achieved its goal of getting the word out about the organization and getting the community engaged while raising money for it! Sophie and the team look forward to running another raffle on Trellis and we can’t wait to see what they do!

“I am absolutely going to use Trellis again. They are extremely personable and responsive, really keen to listen.” – Sophie Eld, Executive Director LakeCity Works

If you want to reach a new donor base with your raffle all while getting the word out about your organization’s cause, connect with our team here.

The Georgian Bay General Hospital Foundation (GBGH) completed their second virtual gala in August and it was a raving success!

In the past they’ve typically had in-person events with some online fundraising, mainly just using donation forms. For their first virtual gala in 2020 they used a different platform but during that gala they struggled with the static layout and lack of customization in the other platform. When 2021 rolled around they were on the hunt for more customization and control over the donor experience. 

“Trellis itself is great, it’s super easy to use, it’s definitely easy to customize your page” – Jen Russell, Development and Communications Officer, GBGH

On their Trellis page they utilized the items for sale, auction and ticketing features to engage donors in different ways. With Trellis, they were able to continue adjusting their page to highlight different sections as their campaign went on. With the ability to make the page with their custom branding and colours as well as being able to move segments around to focus donors’ attention on different things, GBGH exceeded their fundraising goal!

“Your team is amazing, you get that feeling right from the get go that you guys are willing to work with whatever we’ve got and help us to do the best that we can do” – Jen Russell, Development and Communications Officer, GBGH

GBGH loved the impact Trellis allowed them to have through the platform but in addition to that, they were blown away by our customer experience team!

“I don’t think we’ll find nicer, more customer service oriented people anywhere. The Trellis team is the best!” – Jen Russell, Development and Communications Officer, GBGH

Trellis allowed GBGH to have all of their fundraising drivers in one place, where donors could engage with multiple ways to give. 

“We certainly loved having a customizable page that looked like our branding. Whether we were selling a bag or had an auction going, tickets to the event, everything was focused on one site” – Jen Russell, Development and Communications Officer, GBGH

In the future, GBGH is excited about bringing events back to in-person, while taking the learnings from their virtual galas. They are excited to combine these two worlds and to see how Trellis can help them raise more!

“I would definitely recommend working with Trellis, we had a great experience, their customer service was exceptional, they are always willing to work with you to figure out how they can improve the platform and make it better.” – Jen Russell, Development and Communications Officer, GBGH

Like for many organizations, the pandemic made it harder for Mamas for Mamas to fundraise and Shannon, CEO of Mamas for Mamas knew she’d have to do something different if she wanted to keep her team employed and on track. 

Jillian Harris hosted her fundraising online raffle,  Santa Jilly’s Christmas in June in support of the national organization Mamas for Mamas. This raffle was designed to bring in the necessary funds Mamas for Mamas needs to support those in their community. The raffle featured over 100 prizes where supporters could donate for a chance to win items. 

At first, the Mamas for Mamas team set up their online raffle themselves, through their own website, which only had the capacity to handle a certain number of visitors. However, it didn’t take long for them to realize that the excitement of their raffle far exceeded what they planned, and the site began to crash, unable to handle the traffic coming. Unsure of what to do now, they needed to find a new solution to meet the demands of their fundraiser. 

Shannon was hesitant to switch to Trellis as their raffle was running, as people were buying tickets and she wanted to minimize overhead costs and donor confusion. But, knowing it was the best way forward she pulled the plug. In a sweaty and exciting moment, midway through the raffle, the Mamas for Mamas team was able to make the change to Trellis! Within 20 minutes they had switched over and were redirecting people to the new site. 

Over 700 households tuned in to The Rotary Foundation’s Virtual Fundraising Gala for zones 28 and 32 on May 12th. The gala, organized by Peter Schultz from district 5060 was a wildly successful celebration of the foundation! They raised close to $200,000 throughout the evening through ticket sales, donations and a silent auction. The event was hosted by RI Director Valarie Wafer and TRF Trustee Dean Rohrs and even featured a guest appearance from our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau!

We’re seeing major hospital foundations take creative approaches to ensuring a high-quality donor experience, whether it be in person or in the virtual landscape. With Trellis there is the flexibility to create the experience you need for your donors, and with our easy to use platform it couldn’t be simpler. In this blog, we discuss some unique ways these hospital foundations were able to surpass their fundraising goals (even during the pandemic)!

Women’s College Hospital Foundation

The Women’s College Hospital Foundation in Toronto held their signature Women’s Day Gala on International Women’s Day, which included speakers, entertainment and education sessions, all of which tied back to their hospital’s values. In order to make their event a roaring success, leading up to the event they encouraged pre-seeded contributions from key donors, with all contributions being announced during the live event. As a result, they were able to raise over $100,000 in 10 minutes from highly engaged donors in an incredibly successful fund-a-need.

Not only did they focus on an engaging event donor experience, but they got donors excited long before the day. They encouraged donors to interact in multiple ways including offering a silent auction, items for sale and donations. Their silent auction included “coffee and conversations,” which were thirty minute Zoom sessions that donors could bid on to connect with leaders from different industries and sectors. We love this innovative way to engage donors with silent auction items that are unique and interactive for bidders. 

To take their whole event up another level they worked with one of our Trellis partners, Layne the Auctionista! Layne facilitated the event, dialled up the energy, encouraged donors to contribute, and recognized them as donations rolled in live on Trellis!

“When we made the decision to move to a virtual event, the next decision to choose the right fundraising platform was critical. We were extremely happy with the Trellis solution which enabled an outstanding fundraising result. Our guests had no problem interacting with it, which is always a key criterion. Overall, their partnership was truly valued.”

– Catherine Carter, Vice President, Marketing and Community Engagement, Women’s College Hospital Foundation.

Inspired for your event? Check out their fundraising page here.

Temiskaming Hospital Foundation 

The Temiskaming Hospital Foundation has historically run a radiothon fundraiser. With the pandemic, being at a radio station to answer calls this year was unfortunately not an option. However, they didn’t let this stop them! They turned to Trellis to help tell their story and accomplish their mission. To do this, they needed to build a fundraising page that was highly effective in communicating this story. 

Temiskaming accomplished this by using video testimonials from nurses and patients as well as stories written by staff. This inspired donors to connect with the mission and contribute to the cause. Using the Trellis site to advertise their campaign allowed them to connect with new donors and break their fundraising goals! They raised more with their virtual radiothon than they had ever done in years prior (even during a third wave of the pandemic!).

For a great example of story-telling on an event page, see their fundraising page here.

Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation

In the past, Vernon Jubilee Hospital had always run their in-person charity golf tournament but last year due in part to the pandemic, they had to make a shift. From this shift, “The 19th Hole” campaign was created. 

Their campaign was twofold, it utilized an email campaign as well as their Trellis event page. Designed to engage donors throughout the journey of the golf course, this campaign built more awareness around the Foundation. Within the campaign, donors were presented with new ways to support the hospital including participating in the fund-a-need, bidding on silent auction items, or buying tickets for their virtual event. Alongside the email campaign, they updated their Trellis page regularly with new exciting content. 

The final “hole” at the end of their month-long campaign was their virtual event hosted by local radio personalities and featured inspirational messages, musical entertainment, and an invitation to support the foundation.

The combination of the marketing campaign and the live event engaged donors to a new level. “The 19th Hole” raised more money than their traditional golf tournament; it was a historic campaign for the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation. 

Want to see what a virtual golf event looks like? Here is their fundraising page. 

 

Do you want to create a top-notch donor experience? Talk to one of our fundraising specialists!

COVID-19 created increased demand for housing services and LA Family Housing responded by ramping up their efforts to transition people out of homelessness. 

LA Family Housing has held their Annual Golf Outing for the past 9 years. With the pandemic in full swing, the team at LA Family Housing was unsure of how their event would look in 2020. MaryEllen and her team had to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by running a safe and socially distanced golf tournament. They held a successful in-person tournament at the golf course that also consisted of online elements like a raffle, silent auction and ticketing.

An Easy Choice

Although MaryEllen and her team vetted a variety of different platforms, we were happy to hear that Trellis was their top choice! They wanted a platform that didn’t take up too much bandwidth from their team, had a beautiful visual for their guests, and most importantly, was easy to use and navigate. Trellis checked all of these boxes and more!

“We definitely vetted a couple of different platforms – Trellis was our top pick.” – MaryEllen Degnan, Director of Special Events at LA Family Housing

An Innovative Approach to Fundraising

LA Family Housing’s innovative approach to fundraising allowed them to raise more and surpass their goals. They came up with a creative way to engage donors, get people excited and raise the competitive spirit while most importantly keeping them safe. Not only did they sell tickets to their event but they used Trellis to upsell packages, such as the “Sweet Spot”. Guests could also pre-purchase a ‘Mulligan’ card if they hit their balls into the water. 

Going one step further LA Family Housing used Trellis to host their silent auction instead of having silent auction items out on tables. This way people who weren’t golfing could place bids, the bids could be placed at any time, such as while people are playing their round, and most importantly it allowed the silent auction to be a touchless experience!

Seamless Support

“You guys have Dennis who we could reach out to at any moment. Sometimes we just need a quick answer, so having Dennis right there was incredible, so helpful and so responsive.” – MaryEllen Degnan, Director of Special Events at LA Family Housing

Our human to human support allowed LA Family Housing to keep moving forward and focus on their fundraiser. They were able to customize their fundraising page to best fit their needs for both the customers and donors. As MaryEllen and the team had questions, our support team was right there to answer them and to ensure the experience was seamless and easy. 

“If we asked a question, you were so willing to fix it or change it to make it better for us. And that was something that we were really attracted to.” – MaryEllen Degnan, Director of Special Events at LA Family Housing

Superior Guest Experience in a COVID-19 World

With COVID-19 at the front of everyone’s minds, MaryEllen and the team had to put special measures in place to ensure the safety of their guests. They limited the total number of guests, pre-recorded video opening and closing ceremonies that were emailed to the guests, and kept the silent auction entirely online. Trellis allowed the event to proceed safely and in an orderly fashion. Since everything could be done online before the event, Trellis allowed the event to be touchless, meaning it was safer for the guests to participate as well as the volunteers. Trellis helped in ensuring that the guests had a smooth experience despite the windy weather! 

“Our guests were so happy and so generous and just excited to be there supporting, and Trellis is a big part of that.” – MaryEllen Degnan, Director of Special Events at LA Family Housing

Beating the Fundraising Goal

Not only did the guests have a superior experience but LA Family Housing exceeded their goal for this fundraiser!

MaryEllen Degnan, Director of Special Events at LA Family Housing

For more creative ideas about how to raise more with your golf tournament, speak to one of our fundraising specialists!

Watch the full video interview with Natasha Jovanovic, Living City Organizer at Ecology Ottawa.

Every year Ecology Ottawa runs a Tree Distribution Program where they distribute free trees throughout the entire city with the goal of greening up their community. This year, Natasha had to navigate unprecedented obstacles during her first year running the event.

In order for Ecology Ottawa to run their program, they rely on the large public events they attend where they distribute the trees. Due to covid, all of the events Ecology Ottawa normally attends were cancelled and they were left with no method for administering the trees or collecting donations. Natasha knew she had to find a different way to fundraise this year and that’s when she heard about Trellis.

“The fundraiser really took its form once we got in touch with Trellis.” – Natasha Jovanovic, Living City Organizer at Ecology Ottawa

Natasha and the team at Ecology Ottawa were hopeful they could distribute trees by the end of the year, but they didn’t know what that would look like.

After attending a live demo, Natasha was excited for the opportunity ahead and had new confidence for what Ecology Ottawa could achieve. As the world started to open up and with Trellis’ help, she and her team were able to hold a tree fundraiser utilizing many of the platform’s revenue driving features. It was different from their normal tree distribution program but turned out to be even more successful than planned! They were still able to work with their nursery partner, Ferguson Forest Centre, to provide seedlings at a discounted rate through their Trellis page. Their donors were thrilled they were able to collect their seedlings at a covid-safe pickup location after the fundraiser was complete.

Great Customer Support

“What sold me on using Trellis was all the real people who were talking to us to actually help.” – Natasha Jovanovic

Like many event organizers, Natasha and her team have never built a fundraising page from scratch. They were able to create their fundraising page easily using the Trellis templates, which included an e-commerce store, donations, information on the cause, and details on how to pick up the trees purchased. By utilizing the live support chat during the design process, Natasha knew Trellis had her back and made learning a new platform easy.

Record Results

“The results were astounding! Our original fundraising goal was set at $5,000 and we surpassed that within a couple of days from launch. We ended up raising just over $18,000.” – Natasha Jovanovic

Ecology Ottawa was able to distribute over 3,000 trees through their Trellis fundraiser, which is going to help green up the community of Ottawa. Natasha and her team also included a donation option for people who didn’t have a place for a tree but wanted to provide someone else with one. They were able to raise an extra $500 which they are going to use to purchase more trees and donate them next spring!

Watch the full video interview with Bronwyn Greer, Tournament Director, U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.

Every year, Fayez Sarofim & Co. presents the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. This year, the event was forced to be cancelled last minute and the tournament made a very quick and drastic change to their annual event. 

Three weeks before their tournament, everything was shut down. They were ready for 40,000 people to attend their event in Houston, Texas. The tournament organizers wanted to support the Houston community in some way and hosting a virtual gala was a new and exciting way to do it. 

Bronwyn Greer, Tournament Director of Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, was familiar with the national Stay at Home Gala hosted on Trellis and decided to take a shot at a virtual event herself.

Unique Event Experience

Bronwyn and her team had three weeks to pull it off. The event was very different from their usual live event, instead of watching professional tennis players on the court, the event was an entertaining interaction between the pro players and a trivia host.

“Attendees felt like they were close-up and personal with the players they would normally only see on the court.” – Bronwyn Greer, Tournament Director, U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship

The event raised just under $40,000 and it was all donated to the Houston Community, partnered with Greater Houston Community Foundation, to go towards their covid relief fund. 

Easy-to-use Platform

Bronwyn had never run a charity driven event before. 

“The fact that Trellis has this platform, that is essentially plug-and-play, made it a no brainer [to use Trellis]. It was very easy for us to understand it and put our stamp on it to make it our own.” – Bronwyn Greer

The event participants loved the entire experience. Bronwyn’s team was thankful they were able to help the community and put their guests in front of professional tennis players that they wanted to see. 

Track Results

“I found the back-end operational side extremely easy to use. I am not a tech savvy person and the fact that I can get in there and update it and see where our sales were on a daily or hourly basis was amazing.” – Bronwyn Greer

For the past 10 years, Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) Foundation has run a charity golf tournament at Predator Ridge (Vernon BC) where they raise funds for new medical equipment to support health care excellence in the North Okanagan. 

A creative twist on a golf classic

Due in part to the pandemic, VJH Foundation chose not to host their annual event but still wanted to provide a unique golf themed experience. Out of that, emerged “The 19th Hole” concept and campaign. 

The campaign consisted of nine emails painted with golf imagery that raised awareness, explained a need, and invited participation through donations, ticket sales, and an online auction. Two to three times a week, VJH Foundation updated their Trellis event page with new content and a video that featured doctors and guests who spoke about the reason why this funding was so important. Each video ended with drone footage of a hole at Predator Ridge and playing tips. The video and content updates aligned with an email campaign that encouraged their followers to donate.

This virtual event was the final “hole” at the end of their month-long campaign. A virtual fundraising event hosted by local radio personalities and inspirational messages, musical entertainment, and an invitation to support health care in the North Okanagan. 

The marketing campaign and live event generated great interest in the community. The 19th Hole raised more money than their traditional golf tournament. It was a historic campaign for the VJH Foundation.

Revenue drivers

The emails sent by VJH Foundation had calls to action that took the reader to the Trellis website, where they could buy tickets, make donations, or participate in the online auction. Each revenue driving activity rolled out separately, as the Foundation aimed to increase anticipation and excitement. 

Starting with an invitation to donate a typical registration fee that would reserve your spot in the golf tournament. The next call to action was to buy tickets to view the live virtual event online.

In addition to ticket sales, VJH Foundation added a silent auction with high-ticket items and donation options that included a ticket and meal option. A few of the most loved silent auction items included a Predator Ridge experience at the Hockey Canada Cabin, gourmet dining and wine evening, and a curated whiskey collection. 

Quick and cost-effective implementation

Typically, building a custom event website can be costly or difficult to implement quickly, but the Trellis platform allowed VJH Foundation to create their fundraiser page at a much lower cost. 

“Thank you for building a product that we could utilize to execute our messaging and vision for our virtual event. This would have been an estimated $15,000 project if we had a website built. And on top of that, the customer service was top notch!” – Shannon McVagh-Janz, Events Coordinator at Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation

Historic fundraising results

Not only did their guests and donors have fun participating in the virtual event, VJH Foundation surpassed their fundraising goal.

“This year we raised over $300,000 and donations continue to trickle in. This is a historic amount for our foundation.” – Joshua Marshall, Development Manager at Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation

 

Interested in learning more about running a virtual event on Trellis?