The Cobra Experience Conquers Burnout with a TapKat Sweepstakes
During the pandemic lockdowns, many nonprofits were forced to shift their focus from in-person fundraising events like galas and golf tournaments to online initiatives like, you guessed it, sweepstakes.
Some nonprofits quickly discovered that fundraising online, remotely, made a lot of sense. After all, the internet seems to be where most donors are hanging out all day. One recent study by Datareportal found that Americans spent 413 minutes per day online. That’s just under seven hours per day.
The Cobra Experience, a nonprofit museum in Martinez, California, discovered the incredible power of leveraging their donors’ time online by incorporating a sweepstakes into their annual fundraising plan.
One big bonus? They no longer had to relentlessly rent out the museum to make ends meet, a practice that was burning out their staff and tapping out their volunteers.
We caught up with the museum’s executive director, Emily Lambert, to learn more about her success with TapKat sweepstakes.
How Did You Decide to Run a TapKat Sweepstakes?
Emily Lambert: As car enthusiasts, members of our team had been to the Shelby American Collection in Boulder, Colorado many times. We saw their successful sweepstakes and talked about doing it for a while. We thought, “we don't know anything about doing this!” Finally we decided to take the plunge after speaking with the executive director.
Learning about how much it’s done for the Shelby American Collection showed us the light. We had been trying to make ends meet by hosting special events like lunch and learns, Christmas parties, birthday parties, stuff like that. From November to January we were at the museum 24/7. We got burned out in a hurry.
Before the COVID-19 lockdowns shut down live events, we had to say yes to everybody. It wasn’t fair to ask our incredibly generous volunteers to run those events for months and months, everyone was so tired. But now that we’ve started doing sweepstakes, we get to pick and choose the events that we want to do, and everyone is energized about it.
What surprised or challenged you about the TapKat sweepstakes process?
Emily Lambert: I didn’t find the process of setting up our sweepstakes site at all challenging. When it came to finding our prize car, the stars kind of aligned: within a month, we sourced a Cobra that was used in the movie Ford v. Ferrari. The advertising for that prize was simple, straightforward; since the car was in the movie, there was a great story connected to the prize.
We raised $519,675 with that first sweepstakes in 2020. Since then, we’ve stuck with classic cars, and now we’re on our fourth sweepstakes, this time for a 1966 Shelby GT350H "Hertz Rent-A-Racer". It’s doing really well.
I’d say the most challenging part has been the photography aspect. Finding a local photographer who can do the car justice, and finding a perfect location to shoot. Inside the museum isn’t the best because of shadows, etc.
Other than that, setting up the sweepstakes and running it has been simple. Classic cars have history to pull from, which is something I lean on when writing the prize description.
How did your donor base respond to your first TapKat sweepstakes?
Emily Lambert: Everyone was very excited about it, and continues to be excited about our sweepstakes. The timing of our first sweepstakes and the Ford v. Ferrari car was perfect, because the movie had just come out.
Our donor base is rock solid. They’re the answer to everything. Building the donor base, connecting with people who are passionate about our cause, that’s what it’s all about. Our donor base has grown: we started at 3,000 people, and now we’re almost at 21,000. It grows each year that we run a sweepstakes.
Which sweepstakes promotional tactics have you found to be the most successful?
Emily Lambert: The first year, we relied heavily on purchased email lists. Now, we see the most traction from emails to our donor base, Google ads and some Facebook ads. We also landed a spot on the local news.
We do a ton of flash contests, too. I literally have a whole calendar here with our flash items, when they’ll be promoted, what they are, etc. We started doing this at the end of our last campaign, and we’ve done anything from signed hats, chili kits, posters, framed artwork, calendars, miniature cars, whatever works.
To me, the flash contest prize doesn’t have to be something substantial to get people excited. You don’t have to shoot for the moon, just make it fun!
What would you tell other nonprofits that are thinking about running a sweepstakes?
Emily Lambert: The number one thing I keep telling people is this: whatever you’re giving away, make it something special. Something you can’t just go out and buy. It needs to be gripping enough for people to get excited about the item or experience. A meet and greet, car, a ride around the race track… whatever. Something that your average Joe isn’t going to have access to.
Thanks so much for sharing your time and expertise, Emily! Really appreciate it, and can’t wait to see where TapKat sweepstakes take The Cobra Experience in the years to come!
