Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis

As the fundraising walk program for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis events take place in more than 160 communities each year. Launched in 2008 with 60 events, Take Steps has quickly grown to become one of the country’s leading walk programs.

Fundraising Made Easy on Facebook
In 2010, CCFA began using Charity Dynamics’ Boundless Fundraising for Facebook application to help strengthen the fundraising efforts for Take Steps participants by leveraging their social networks.

In addition to integrating Boundless Fundraising for Facebook into their full season eCommunication strategy, CCFA made participants aware of this new fundraising tool with a multi-channel campaign that promoted the solution in:

• The event registration confirmation page
• Event registration email confirmations
• The participant center
• Emails to registered participants and team captains

The application features made it easy for participants to raise money on Facebook. With one click, participants posted messages asking for donations. To drive awareness of the organization and event, participants could also donate their profile picture, displaying the Take Steps logo whenever they posted content on Facebook.

More than 6,000 participants used Boundless Fundraising for Facebook sourcing 5.8% of all online donations raised for 2010 Take Steps events.

The Power of Two
Based on the success of Boundless Fundraising for Facebook in 2010, CCFA not only decided to continue offering the application in 2011, but added Boundless Fundraising for Email. Event participants now had a second tool to fundraise online, making it easy to extend their reach beyond their social network.

An Ask with Every Email
To encourage adoption and usage of Boundless Fundraising for Email, CCFA used many of the same techniques used to promote the Facebook application, including promotion in email communications and the participant center. Participants simply installed the application which placed a CCFA branded badge in their email signature. The badge was then included in every email they sent displaying a real-time thermometer measuring donations received.

The badge helped participants fundraise in several ways:

• Enhanced emails that included a direct ask for donations with a graphic representation of donations received
• Acted as a constant reminder to email recipients to donate and get involved
• Served as a call to action including a direct link to a participant’s personal fundraising page

Results
By offering participants the combined solution of Charity Dynamics’ Boundless Fundraising for Facebook and Email applications, CCFA achieved a stronger ROI for their 2011 Take Steps events than the year before. Having both tools enabled participants to improve their fundraising results and the overall success of the events.

• The strongest results were generated by participants using both Boundless Fundraising for Facebook and Email applications. These “power fundraisers” received 130% more donations and raised 42% more than participants using only one or neither of the applications.
• The average gift size was 25% higher through the email badge, showing that participants were able to reach more qualified donors.
• Participants who used the email badge raised 24% more than participants who didn’t use the badge.
• Boundless Fundraising for Email enabled participants to connect with new supporters. Of those who gave via the email badge, 73% were new donors to the organization.
• Participants who used Boundless Fundraising for Email also demonstrated behaviors typically seen by an event’s strongest and most successful fundraisers. Email badge users were 27% more likely to update their personal pages than those not using the badge, and sent 43% more emails from their fundraising center asking for donations.

The Next Step – Mobile
Because of the strong results achieved offering both Charity Dynamic’s Boundless Fundraising for Facebook and Email solutions, CCFA plans to take it a step further in 2012 by opening up yet another fundraising channel for participants to use. Take Steps event participants will be able to utilize Boundless Fundraising for Smartphones in 2012, allowing individuals to conduct all of their fundraising activities from the convenience of their mobile devices.