Sweet Temptations: Using Giving Groups For Event Fundraising

April 01, 2013
3 min read

Charitable Impact

sweet-temptations

When Cocoa Nymph wanted was to host a live music and auction to benefit the Sarah McLachlan School of Music they reached out to Chimp to power the donations. And along the way they learned some fundraising + buzz building techniques that Nicole Stewart, of Nicole Stewart PR is generously are sharing with us now.

Chimp: What inspired Cocoa Nymph to host Sweet Temptations?

Nicole Stewart: “The Sarah McLachlan School of Music is a cause that is close to my heart,” says Rachel Sawatzky, owner and chief chocolatiere of CocoaNymph. “I grew up in an instrumental family and believe that every child deserves the chance to feel the power of music.”

Ch: What was the goal of Sweet Temptations?

NS: The goal for Sweet Temptations was to bring together a community of people to raise awareness and money for Sarah McLachlan School of Music, a not-for-profit organization that provides free after-school music education to almost 300 underserved and at risk children in Vancouver each year.

Ch: Walk us through what you did to spread the word.

NS: We used an integrating marketing approach to promoting Sweet Temptations. This included reaching out to media contacts, contacting people through social networks, and conducting outreach to our personal networks, which helped us benefit from WOM [word of mouth] marketing as well.

Ch: What advice would you give to other giving group admins, fundraisers, and business owners who want to create their own fundraisers?

NS: 1. Create a separate brand identity for the event. Our party was all about chocolate and music, an homage to the two key parties, CocoaNymph and Sarah McLachlan School of Music, so we came up with a name for the event that matched both – Sweet Temptations.

2. Work with as many partners as you can to secure sponsorships and donations. Fundraisers should be all about community – getting as many other companies and people involved as possible. After all, it isn’t about shining the spotlight on one business. It is about raising awareness for an amazing cause, the Sarah McLachlan School of Music.

3. Promote the event through your own communities and networks.

Ch: What was the biggest learning/take away you experienced from this campaign?

NS: Start as early as possible and try to incentivize donations by a certain date. We were strapped for time but this is something that definitely would have helped us.

For a look at how they utilized the image gallery, video placement and their appeal, visit the Sweet Temptations Giving Group page.