How To Take Your Baby Bottle Campaign Online!
For many of the nonprofits we serve, it's that time of year... Baby Bottle Campaign Season!
The fundraising concept behind a Baby Bottle Campaign is familiar to most pro-life ministries and involves delivering special baby bottles to local churches, organizations, and individuals for them to fill with financial donations.
Over the years, adding an Online component to existing campaigns has gained popularity, as cash and check giving have been outpaced by debit and credit card gifts.
So, how do you take your campaign online? Let me tell you…
1. Get Started!
Simply create your campaign in Peer-to-Peer. Check out this Baby Bottle Campaign Event that we created to demonstrate how you might design your event.
Notice that in our example, each participating church as a fundraiser page. In a webinar we hosted last year, setting up a fundraising page for each of your churches (instead of asking them to do it on their own) was strongly encouraged.
Is this your first time using Peer-to-Peer? Simply search “Baby Bottles” in our Knowledge Base for step-by-step setup instructions! This article has more on our Knowledge Base and other Support Resources.
2. Finalize Your Campaign Details
Decide how long your campaign will run.
Pick a clear starting and ending date. For example, does your campaign kick-off on Mother's Day and end on Father's Day? Does each church have a different timeline? A defined starting and ending date is essential for creating a sense of urgency!
Share how donations make an impact.
Funding a tangible need is a motivating factor - especially to your Millennial Donors! Share how donations will have a direct impact (ie “For each $_____ you give, _______ moms will get to meet their baby via the miracle of ultrasound for the first time.”)
Set a clear financial goal.
Set an overall goal for your campaign, and an individual goal for each church or fundraiser. Look back to previous years’ amounts raised per church to help determine the goal.
3. Start Fundraising!
Educate your Church Contacts
Share with your churches exactly how this new Online Baby Bottle Campaign will work. In many cases adding “take a bottle home or give online at [website]” is all it takes to incorporate the online option! Recording a quick video is a great way to fill them in on this added giving option. Coaching churches on what to expect ahead of time will help create a more seamless experience for everyone!
Get the word out!
Physical baby bottle campaigns only reach those in attendance on distribution day(s). Last Sunday my kiddos woke up way too early and were wrecks by the time we should have been leaving for church. Needless to say, we didn’t go. If it was bottle day - I would have missed it!
Leverage the online giving option and engage others in a similar situation by sharing the online giving option with your donor base. Suggest that they support their church with a gift on their church’s fundraising page!
Use social media, email campaigns, and even mail out simple postcard announcements about your campaign! Refer to our article on how to utilize Canva to design your own content and postcard announcements.
Stay in touch!
While the campaign is running, communicate frequently with your participating churches.
Give them a shoutout on social media!
Utilize the tools in Peer-to-Peer to quickly share weekly/daily countdowns and status updates.
And be sure to keep your audience updated on your campaign's progress throughout your campaign!
Resources:
Knowledge Base Article: Setting Up an Online Baby Bottle Campaign
Webinar: Online Baby Bottle Campaigns
Promotional Resources: Our friends at Choose Life Marketing provide personalized Baby Bottle Campaign videos and social media graphics. View resources here.
Sample Baby Bottle Campaign: View Sample Campaign
Join our Facebook Community Group: This private group is a great place to ask questions of other event coordinators. If you're not already a member, request to join!
We hope these tips are helpful to you as you launch your Baby Bottle Campaigns online this season! Happy Fundraising!
If you'd like to learn more about our Attendance, Peer-to-Peer or Crowdfunding Products, please reach out! We’d love to chat.
Crystal Hoag
This article was inspired by our customers and written to encourage your fundraising efforts. Although we work with nonprofits and events daily, our team members are not Event Consultants. We encourage you to consult with your event consultant, executive team, and/or affiliate organization before making any major changes to your events.
Article adapted from a previous article written by Amanda Rappe in 2020.
