TapKat Sweepstakes Fundraising for Museums
Museums of all kinds all over the U.S. are seeing success when they utilize TapKat sweepstakes as a fundraising strategy. Donors love sweepstakes because they are an exciting way to give back: the nonprofit raises money, and donors have the opportunity to win a fantastic (and potentially once-in-a-lifetime) prize.
Whether you’re a big museum in a bustling city, or you have a niche focus in a smaller town, your museum can have success with TapKat sweepstakes. We’ve seen smaller operations grow quickly when they implement a sweepstakes, and especially when they run a sweepstakes year after year.
In today’s blog post we’re going to take a look at how museums are often uniquely positioned to do very well when it comes to fundraising with sweepstakes, as well as some inspiration and ideas to get you started with your TapKat sweepstakes!
Why do TapKat Sweepstakes Work so Well for Museums?
Museums are a great fit for TapKat sweepstakes for two big reasons:
Museums have visitors (regular foot traffic),
And museums have a built-in donor base or group of people very interested in their cause.
Donors respond very well to sweepstakes. Rather than simply asking donors for money, a sweepstakes is a great way to incentivize your donor base with a prize to which they’ll respond strongly. It’s an exciting, new way to attract new donors, re-activate lapsed donors, and help raise awareness of your organization.
Museums Have Regular Foot Traffic
There’s a huge opportunity for sweepstakes fundraising when your nonprofit is housed in a building which is open to the public because you can share the fundraiser with everyone who walks through the door. The best way to do this is by displaying your prize right there in the lobby of your museum. Not only will you raise funds beyond the price of entry to your museum, but you’ll also capture the donor information like name and email address, which makes it possible to stay in touch with people who visit your museum.
If your prize is an item, such as a car, motorcycle, or other physical item, set up a prominent lobby display featuring the prize surrounded by banners with QR codes prompting your visitors to enter the sweepstakes. It’s great when donors can see the physical object and imagine themselves winning the prize, so the display should be somewhere they are sure to spot while entering or exiting the building.
If your prize is an experience, such as a trip to Cancun or Disneyland, you’ll still be able to take advantage of foot traffic by putting up beautiful banners featuring exciting images of the prize experience. When you build your TapKat sweepstakes site, it’s easy to generate QR codes that enable donors to quickly and easily enter the sweepstakes via their smart phones.
Many of our nonprofit museum clients report that they make a point to ask everyone who visits if they would like to enter their sweepstakes. This is a really easy way to raise awareness and funds!
Museums Have a Built-In Fan Base
Chances are, as a museum, you’ve already started building out a list of donor email addresses who are interested in your cause. But even if you’re a newer or smaller organization, whatever your focus is as a museum, there are absolutely people who are interested in the cause — even if you haven’t connected with them yet! The sweepstakes provides an opportunity to connect with these folks in a meaningful way.
When you select your prize, be mindful to choose something that you know will appeal to people who are interested in your topic of expertise. If you’re running a science museum, consider a family trip to Kennedy Space Center. If you’re directing an art museum, perhaps a piece of artwork, meet-and-greet with a notable artist, or art-centered travel experience. If you’re running a museum that focuses on WWII, think about experiences that would appeal to WWII history enthusiasts.
As an example, The American Heritage Museum in Massachusetts showcases WWII vehicles, including Army tanks. In 2023, they ran a sweepstakes for the ultimate WWII tank experience, where the winner got to ride in an actual WWII-era tank. It was a hit with their donor base and they raised nearly $80,000.
It’s a great idea to select prizes that speak to your fan base and will get them excited. If you’d like help figuring out which kind of prize would be best for your nonprofit, check out our free downloadable PDF guide here.
Museums are Raising Meaningful Funds with TapKat Sweepstakes
It doesn’t matter how big or small your museum, or how big or small your current donor base. TapKat sweepstakes are proven to work for museums. Just take a look at what different kinds of museums have raised in the last couple years with TapKat sweepstakes:
The Fargo Air Museum raised $78,950 with a Can-AM Defender Limited 1000 Side-by-Side
The Maine Maritime Museum raised $13,050 with a Maine Rowing Peapod
The American Heritage Museum Raised $108,000 with the Ultimate WWII Fighter Jet Experience
The Museum of Boulder at Tebo Center raised $117,600 with a Ford Bronco
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum raised $1,320,500 with a new Corvette
All of these museums plus many more have reported that the funds have made a significant difference for their nonprofit. What could your museum do with extra funding?
A Small Car Museum has Big Success with TapKat Sweepstakes
The Shelby American Collection is a small car museum in Boulder, Colorado, dedicated to the preservation of Shelby racing history. Pretty niche! When they started running sweepstakes in 2016, they were only open one day a week (Saturdays, from 10am - 4pm), and ran an annual fundraising gala at the end of the year. They operated in a 10,000 square foot building, and many people didn’t even know they existed even though they had been in operation since 1996.
They chose to give away a Shelby GT350 Mustang with their first sweepstakes, and it was immediately a hit. They raised over $255,000 with their first sweepstakes, grew their donor base significantly, and increased their foot traffic to the museum. Since they have a brick-and-mortar location, as do most museums, they were able to keep the prize car in the lobby of the museum and asked everyone who came through the door whether they would like to enter the sweepstakes. It was a success.
The Shelby American Collection raised $255,625 with their first sweepstakes. Nine sweepstakes later, they consistently raise over $1,000,000 for their small nonprofit museum.
Halfway through 2024, they’re midway through their 9th sweepstakes. In each of the last four of their sweepstakes, the Shelby American Collection has raised over $1,000,000, enabling the organization to make necessary repairs, build out their existing displays, and even expand into an adjacent building, nearly doubling their square footage. Their donor base has grown from 800 names to almost 60,000 names and counting, and as a result of that awareness, they see many more visitors during their open hours.
Sweepstakes fundraising has been an incredible success for this small museum, and it could be for yours, too!
Get Started with Your TapKat Sweepstakes
Ready to move forward with your sweepstakes? We've made it easy! The next step is to apply for a TapKat account, where you'll be able to start building your sweepstakes site. Click here to get started.
No matter where you are in your fundraising journey, TapKat is here to help. We've helped hundreds of nonprofits raise meaningful, game-changing funds for their causes, and your organization can do the same!
