How to Choose the Best Prize for Your TapKat Sweepstakes
Choosing a Great Prize is Key for Your TapKat Sweepstakes
When TapKat starts working with a nonprofit, we focus primarily on the goals for the campaign and what sort of prize might be the best match to meet those goals. See, prizes in a sweepstakes can range from a $500 Amazon shopping spree to a meet-n-greet with ColdPlay or a pair of custom BMW Cafe Racer motorcycles. Maybe that family trip to Disney World that has been in your silent auction for the last ten years would raise a lot more money if everyone in your donor list could donate for a chance to win it with an online sweepstakes.
Truly, the sky is the limit when it comes to prizes. At TapKat, we run sweepstakes that offer exciting prizes like adventure travel trips to the Galapagos Islands, luxury vacations to Napa Valley, flights on private jets, Porsches, VIP Comic-Con experiences….. You get the idea – prizes that are exciting, fresh and desirable. TapKat is set up so that your prize is reserved or on consignment. Meaning, you don’t pay for the prize unless you hit a minimum amount you set to ensure you can pay for the prize and meet your fundraising goal which gives your nonprofit a lot of breathing room.
Running a sweepstakes is a fundraising strategy that fits hand in hand with your various fundraising events. One advantage a sweepstakes has over a silent or live auction is that you are reaching a group of people who might not be able to raise their hand for a $10,000 bid. These are folks who want to participate, but are more comfortable donating $25-$100. Over the course of a sweepstakes fundraiser, all those individual donations can add up to tens of thousands of dollars or more.
So, what prize is right for your organization? Well, often nonprofits come to us with one of two fundraising goals. They want to engage their current base with something new and exciting or they want to expand their donor base by catching the attention of new donors. And sometimes it’s a little bit of both. We start with an organization's main goal when we are working to find the right prize.
Your Fundraising Goals will Help You Choose the Right TapKat Sweepstakes Prize
1. Engaging Your Current Donor/Member Base
If this is you and your goal is to engage your base with a fundraising strategy, look at your supporters and tailor a prize that fits your donors’ interests and lifestyle. Are they golfers? Hello! Give away a set of custom Callaway clubs and a trip to the Masters at Augusta. Are they alumni of your university? How about giving away VIP tickets to an important football game.
2. Expand Your Donor Base by Attracting New Donors
If your goal is to find new donors to support your cause, consider choosing a prize that has a broader appeal. Bikes for the family, gift certificates, popular sports cars and vacation trips are good examples of items that have a wide range of fans. We also suggest offering a cash alternative for these prizes as there will be donors who are participating to support your cause but don’t need a new set of bikes this year.
The best prizes are exciting, highly desirable and maybe a little hard to get. Regardless of your fundraising goal, TapKat sweepstakes are designed to fit into your yearly fundraising strategy. Choose a prize that you can give away year after year and you will create a base of folks who are interested in that specific prize. For example, if you run a sweepstakes with a Porsche your first year, doing a Mustang the following year will not have the same success as launching a fundraiser with another Porsche since Porsche lovers are so loyal to their brand.
Ready to get started? Schedule a demo today, and together we’ll create a plan for your fundraising sweepstakes that speaks to your donor base, entices new donors to jump in, generates ongoing revenue, and reinvigorates your fundraising efforts!
Here’s to your success!
