Can Small and New Nonprofits Raise Money with TapKat Sweepstakes Fundraisers?
For nonprofits with an established donor base, like The Shelby American Collection or the American Heritage Museum, TapKat sweepstakes can result in significant fundraising. In fact, The Shelby American Collection has been so successful with their sweepstakes over the last six years that it is their main fundraising strategy (in 2021, they raised $1.5 million with a sweepstakes!)
But what if your nonprofit is new, or what if you don’t yet have a reliable donor base to lean on when you launch your sweepstakes?
Today, let’s look at how a TapKat sweepstakes works on a smaller scale (and YES, they work — very well!)
Will a TapKat Sweepstakes Work for a New Nonprofit?
YES! TapKat sweepstakes most definitely work for young nonprofits. There is one detail we should cover first...
It’s important to note that TapKat requires that all nonprofits using our platform have held 501(c)(3) status for at least one calendar year. This ensures that all the organizations using our software to raise money are in good standing with the IRS.
If your nonprofit meets that requirement — great! Let’s move forward. If not, we look forward to working with you in a year when your organization has had a chance to get its footing!
Fundraise with TapKat, No Matter the Size of Your Nonprofit
We work with nonprofits of all sizes, from really small to really large.
We work with nonprofits who are all-volunteer (no paid staff), nonprofits with mostly volunteers and some staff, and nonprofits with mostly paid staff and a team of volunteers. They’ve all seen great success with sweepstakes campaigns.
Even if your nonprofit has just one paid staff member (who probably does just about everything), a TapKat sweepstakes can work for your organization.
Choose a Prize that Makes Sense for Your Small or New Nonprofit
All kinds of prizes can be successful with a TapKat sweepstakes, and they don’t have to be huge as long as they are appealing to your member base. Good prizes for smaller nonprofits are things like a cool trip, a tough new mountain bike, luxurious spa day or tickets to a show.
Check out our blog post on sweepstakes prizes for some ideas.
Remember that even a “small” prize is just the beginning: we watch our nonprofits grow their sweepstakes audiences — and the prize size — year after year. So, if this year you’re giving away a super cool television, next year it might be a home theater setup, and the year after that, an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood as the donor base and enthusiasm for the sweepstakes grows.
When choosing a prize for a small or young nonprofit, ask yourself these questions:
What makes sense for my organization?
If your nonprofit is based in Colorado and focuses on environmentalism, something like a bike or new camping gear makes a lot of sense.
What do my board members bring to the table? If one of them is poised to donate a great prize, that makes a lot of sense for the organization! Or maybe one of your board members has connections to a business that is willing to donate a prize and help promote your sweepstakes with social media posts and emails.
What makes sense for my donor base?
If you run a museum, perhaps an experience or item that relates to your area of focus would do well. Think of the American Heritage Museum, which is dedicated to the preservation of American war history. Their donor base is passionate about WWII vehicles, and the winner of their prize got to drive a WWII tank. Their sweepstakes did very well.
...But What if My Nonprofit is Really Small? Will a TapKat Sweepstakes Still Work?
Good question. And hey, we all have to start somewhere! Even the biggest, most established nonprofits started out small and had to build their way up.
If you have fewer than 300 members on your mailing list, the trick is to adjust your expectations and prize accordingly. Perhaps shoot to raise $5,000 instead of $500,000.
The really great thing about TapKat sweepstakes is that:
Virtually all sweepstakes campaigns bring in new donors and help to expand the nonprofit’s donor base.
TapKat sweepstakes tend to grow year after year. Most nonprofits make more the second year than the first… more the third year than the second… more the fourth year than the third, and so on. There’s lots of room to grow as you build your foundation.
As a small nonprofit jumping into the world of sweepstakes fundraising, ask yourself these questions:
Who can I partner with that will help with promotion? Whether you pay to run ads, or you partner with a business that will help you by sending an e-blast to their mailing list on your behalf, or you hire a marketing agency, look for ways to extend your reach beyond your member base.
What amount of money would be impactful and realistic? A $5,000 raise can make a big difference to a small nonprofit. Look at your numbers, look at your prize, and look at your donor base to determine what feels attainable, and go from there.
How can I nurture my list to make sure my sweepstakes builds year after year? The trick is to maintain sustained marketing campaigns throughout the duration of your sweepstakes. Try out new channels, connect with new partners, and continue to get the word out. The American Heritage Museum did so well because they tried everything they could think of, and kept it up throughout the duration of their sweepstakes.
For more information about successful email marketing, check out this recent post.Small Nonprofits that Raised Money with TapKat Sweepstakes
To give you a sense of what is possible for a small or young nonprofit, check out some of these successful TapKat sweepstakes campaigns:
First Flight Society is giving away a P51 Mustang experience.
The Colorado Wildlife Federation did a 2-night getaway to Chautauqua.
The New Jersey Audubon gave away a vacation package to Historic Cape May, New Jersey.
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West gave away vintage turquoise and silver jewelry.
The Boulder Climbing Community gave away $5,000 of outdoor gear from Neptune Mountaineering and raised $12,650.
NICWA gave away a trip to Hawaii. The first year, they made $8,150, and the following year they made $8,785.
These small or young nonprofits do the same thing the established nonprofits are doing, just on a smaller scale: they train their donor bases to get excited about the sweepstakes, they build as they go, and they market the sweepstakes consistently to attract the most donors possible.
You can do this, too!
If you’re ready to get started with your TapKat sweepstakes, click here.
