GiveSmart has been recognized by the Winter 2023 TrustRadius Best of Awards in all award categories for Nonprofit Fundraising technology. 

GiveSmart earned all three Best of Awards, receiving acclaim for offering the Best Relationship, Best Value for Price, and Best Feature Set. These accolades are a testament to GiveSmart’s delivery of its marketing promises, implementation success, and customer retention behavior. GiveSmart moves missions forward for nearly 8,500 organizations annually. 

“It is always humbling to receive award-winning praise from our customers,” shared Steve Greanias, GiveSmart General Manager. “We strive to deliver quality, easy-to-use technology, and genuine experiences to all of our partners, and these accolades reflect that. Our mission is to best serve our customers at every turn, as they continue to better their communities.”   

GiveSmart is today’s leading fundraising and donor management solution for the modern nonprofit. Its integrated fundraising platform with configurable, mobile-friendly campaigns, peer-to-peer giving, auction and event management, and secure payment processing allows organizations to accelerate their fundraising and nurture lasting relationships with donors and sponsors all year round. This trusted technology offers flexible, customizable features. Whether organizations host a distinguished, annual event or are looking for a platform to support any fundraiser, GiveSmart is the trusted choice. 

TrustRadius is the most trusted review site for business technology and helps buyers make better product decisions based on unbiased and insightful reviews. In 2021, TrustRadius launched its Best of Awards to highlight highly-rated software products in an effort to help buyers make informed decisions based on trusted reviews from their peers. 

Request a customized demo of GiveSmart’s award-winning software here. And, to stay up to date on GiveSmart news, visit and bookmark our blog and follow us on LinkedIn.  

The post GiveSmart Honored with 3 TrustRadius Best of Awards appeared first on GiveSmart.

Although most people attend golf fundraiser games for the cause, the experience should still be enjoyable. There are many ways to spice up your charity golf days, such as adding themes to raise awareness and fun golf tournament games. Games like these help your initiatives stand out and are relatively inexpensive to put together. 

Fun Games for Golf Tournaments

Ensuring your guests have a fantastic experience can make a positive impact on fundraising. Consider spicing up your next charity golf tournament’s games with these exciting options:

Hole of fortune

If you want to add a zany alternative to your golf event, consider this hole of fortune game. Create a wheel alongside a hole. Participants can spin the wheel for quirky instructions. Some could be lucky, like minus a shot from your total score, while others can bring out the funny side — taking a swing on one leg or quacking like a duck before you take your shot. You can use your imagination and make this a hilarious golf tournament game. 

Longest marshmallow drive

All you need to do is substitute golf balls for marshmallows. Choose a hole as the ‘marshmallow hole’ and ask one of your volunteers to dish out large marshmallows. The golfer who drives the marshmallow the furthest wins a prize. 

Straightest drive

Instead of the longest drive, which favors the stronger players, consider adding a twist by awarding a prize to the participant with the straightest drive. You can draw a straight line and have a volunteer judge which player comes closest to the mark. 

Beat the pro

You may need a few helping hands for this one. Reach out to the golf club and organize to have a golf pro at one of your holes. Depending on the par, your players can place bets with the pro so that they can get the ball closer to the pin. If they beat the pro, they can double their money. If the pro wins, it goes to your nonprofit.

Hire a pro

This game can be an excellent way to increase donations. Have a few golf pros stationed at the most challenging hole. Players can “hire” them to make shots, increasing the price for each successive shot the pro makes for the player. Quick mobile bidding software allows players to make their contributions during the game. 

Cone game

You’ll need some enthusiastic volunteers to get people excited. Place three cones at a hole — one on the green, one about 50 yards from the green, and one around 150 yards from the green. Golfers can buy yardage from volunteers, allowing them to tee off closer to the hole. The closer the cone is to the hole, the higher the requested donation will be. 

The pink ball

The pink ball game will be an absolute hit if you plan a best ball event. Give each team a pink ball at the start of the game. Players must take turns playing with the pink ball at each hole. They must record each player’s score with the pink ball for each hole. The team with the lowest pink ball score at the end of the game wins. 

Closest to the pin

In this game, players must make a shot to the green, and the player who makes their shot closest to the hole wins. You can make this game part of your 18-hole course or have it as a separate event. 

Circle hole

Circle hole is another opportunity to have players bidding during the game. Pick a par 3 hole for this game and draw a 15-foot circle around the hole. Have a volunteer close by to officiate. Players can pay to take turns getting the ball inside the circle in one shot. If they achieve their goal, they win a prize. If they miss, they can buy up to three chances that don’t count as mulligans. 

Games for a Scramble Tournament

If you’re planning on hosting a scramble tournament, you can keep things interesting with some fun additions. Scramble is for teams of four and works like this:

• All players take their first shot from the tee. 
• Each player takes their next shot from the best landing position from the previous shots. 
• All players putt from the closest approach shot to the hole. 
• Players continue in this format for 18 holes. 

Take a look at these funny golf tournament games to give your scramble tournament a little extra zing:

Three-club scramble

Players must devise a strategy as they’re only allowed three clubs for the match. They have to plan differently and use unusual clubs to execute their shots. This game can make the tournament more of a challenge for players and offset the advantage they get from playing off someone else’s ball position. 

Draw the club

Write the names of each of the 14 clubs on paper. Players must draw a club out of a hat for each shot. Leaving the use of clubs up to chance creates a challenge for teams and can yield some comical results for spectators. 

Worst ball

Take the regular scramble tournament rules and turn them on their head. Instead of playing from the best of the four tee shots, players must all play from the worst. 

Skins and scramble combo

Holes or ‘skins’ are awarded to the player with the lowest score for that hole. If two people tie for the lowest score, the skin rolls over to the next hole, so players can play several holes without being awarded any skins. With plenty of teams of four on the course, teams will likely tie with the lowest score on a particular hole, and this way, they can start accumulating skins. If a player scores brilliantly on one of the holes, you could give them multiple skins and ramp up team competition. 

Get Your Golf Fundraiser Up to Par with GiveSmart

When raising money for your nonprofit, GiveSmart technologies can help take the stress out of the process. GiveSmart specializes in applications that make accepting quick donations on-site easy and hassle-free. With GiveSmart, you can easily manage your donations from anywhere and collect donations during your charity golf game. 

Raise more money with less stress using GiveSmart bidding and silent auction software. We have helped numerous charitable organizations raise more than $2 billion in the last seven years with our industry-leading silent auction software and seamless event fundraising software. 

Giving should be easy, and our team can help facilitate your event to make it successful. Request a demo today to learn more about how GiveSmart can help you with your most successful golf fundraiser and more. 

The post The Best Charity Golf Outing Games appeared first on GiveSmart.

We’ve brought five fundraising and donor management solutions together to form one platform that has powers over 31,800 annual campaigns and $5.3 billion in lifetime fundraising. With monthly software updates, regular audits to ensure our blogs, resources, and training are accurate, as well as the publishing of our annual data-driven, transparent Impact Report, we’re the award-winning fundraising, events, and donor management solution for your organization.  

There are other fundraising platforms that, on the surface, offer a similar-ish feature set and other perks comparable to GiveSmart’s. One such software provider that our customers often compared GiveSmart to was OneCause.   

Before you decide on your partner, make sure to ask yourself these six questions. When you’re ready to look at GiveSmart, contact our team of experts today.  

1. Do you know how many donations you’ll accept throughout the year?   

All pricing quotes are not created equal. When comparing the costs, you’re going to see some instances where OneCause’s initial pricing appears lower. But depending on the number of transactions or features needed, that pricing can balloon quickly. Make sure to ask any potential vendor about the cost of:  

• Transaction fees 
• Ticketing fees 
• Merchant account fees 
• Variable credit card fee scales  
• Fees for additional users/admins 
• Fees for new feature use, such as peer-to-peer, auctions, or digital wallets 
• Dormant account fees  
• Fees based on the donation amount 

GiveSmart’s pricing is inclusive and upfront from the beginning. We do not charge any of the above additional fees, outside of industry-standard credit card fees that are the same for every customer, whether you raise $1 or $1 million. Our plans are designed with the modern nonprofit in mind, without the hassle, and cost, of constant à la carte add-ons. 

GiveSmart offers one contract and transparent pricing based on the plan that you choose. Our GiveSmart fundraising plans include text-to-donate, unlimited users/admins, unlimited peer-to-peer campaigns, customizable, embeddable donation forms, digital wallet payments, and dozens of included integrations. GiveSmart never charges additional transaction or ticketing fees.  

“We’ve used OneCause for some events before GiveSmart. It’s just not as user-friendly. The interface the guests see isn’t as nice. As an administrator, it wasn’t as easy to use. One event using GiveSmart and we knew this was the platform we needed to continue on with.”

Read Full TrustRadius Review

2. Do you plan to hold a variety of campaign types, including text giving, peer-to-peer, online giving, and auctions?  

GiveSmart has a rich history of event (ticketing, auctions, guest management, etc.), peer-to-peer, and online fundraising. We support 8,550 auction bids, $3.56 million donations, and 61,640 texts every single day.  

And we’re just getting started. All GiveSmart customers have unlimited access to many of the highest impact tools.  

Our robust peer-to-peer fundraising features help you broaden your mission’s reach. We know nonprofits have varied needs, so our multi-campaign structure, easily customizable pages for teams and individuals, text-to-donate for each user, social sharing, message center, and community chat feature were all designed with your volunteers and donors in mind. With over 4,200 peer-to-peer campaigns run in 2022, we’re the clear choice for all of your year-round fundraising efforts. 

“We have looked at both Greater Giving and OneCause, and ultimately for what you get for the same price, this [GiveSmart] seems to be the most user-friendly and easy-to-use software. The staff is always available to help with questions. We have used GiveSmart for 7 years, and see no reason to switch.”

Read Full TrustRadius Review

3. Would you like the flexibility to explore a variety of fundraising types and tools without deciding your whole year plan now? 

You likely aren’t planning to repeat your events, campaigns, merchandise offerings, and revenue enhancers the exact same way year over year. You also, more likely than not, have increased fundraising goals, regardless of performance. You have to grow. And, you don’t have an unlimited budget to do so. 

You will need additional tools that you may not be using today. You shouldn’t have to pay extra to try them out, either, or have fees attached to every single one. Even with a higher-level plan, OneCause charges fees or requires additional payment for text-to-donate, auctions, peer-to-peer fundraising, and more. GiveSmart doesn’t.  

4. What sort of integrations are offered? 

Nonprofits and schools depend on data integrity within their CRM. You shouldn’t have to use a manual .CSV upload to get your data where you need it. GiveSmart integrates with leading CRMs, including: 

• Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge  
• Bloomerang  
• DonorPerfect  
• eTapestry  
• Kindful 
• NeonCRM 
• Omegafi/Compass  
• Salesforce 

GiveSmart also offers our own modern, easy-to-use Donor CRM, saving your team time and effort. With us, all of your fundraising and donor management tools are streamlined; meaning you sign one contract, have one contact, and use one support team.   

And, GiveSmart’s integrations reach beyond CRMs. Our platform integrates with livestreaming tools to best support your dynamic, exciting event. You can directly embed videos from Canva Video, Facebook Live, YouTube, YouTube Live, and Vimeo Livestream. This is included with every GiveSmart subscription. 

Better shape your strategy and plans with GiveSmart’s integration with Google Analytics. This gives you powerful insight into your website traffic and fundraising multi-campaign success. This is also included with every GiveSmart subscription. 

5. Do you plan on hosting fundraisers or working on your fundraising sites at night or on the weekends?  

Your volunteers and staff work nights and weekends for your mission. Our support team is available when you need them via phone, chat, and email, working those nights and weekends, too. OneCause support is limited to Monday through Friday, during the workday.     

Day-of live, remote support is available to all GiveSmart customers any day of the week. Our day-of support team is exclusively staffed by GiveSmart employees. When you use a Remote Tech, you’re getting our expert team members only, with the average Remote Technician having 3.5 years of GiveSmart experience.  

And if you need more hands at your event, we’ve vetted a select network of partners to staff your onsite events. 

With an average customer satisfaction (CSAT) average score of over 91%, it’s no surprise that GiveSmart clients who use our professional services, such as a Remote Tech, raise 37% more than those who do not.  

“GiveSmart has many similar aspects to other programs, but it offers more customer support. There are times when you just can’t figure it out, but GiveSmart is there, ready to offer guidance.”

Read Full TrustRadius Review

6. Do you have multiple people who need to use your fundraising event and campaign platform? 

We don’t leave you on your own to figure out our software for yourself. GiveSmart’s Help Center offers thousands of training guides, step-by-step how-tos, hours of on-demand training videos, and templates to give all users the information they need to find success in setup and campaign execution.  

In addition to our Help Center, we offer Personalized Training, Guided Implementation, and Remote Technicians—all GiveSmart team members with years of experience whose sole purpose is to support you and your organization through your individual needs and goals, so that you can maximize your annual GiveSmart subscription. 

GiveSmart gives you time to actively fundraise and steward donors. 

Our extensive knowledge base also includes customer-only, live webinars and free access to a dedicated Community of like-minded, dedicated fundraisers. GiveSmart customers raised $1.3+ billion in 2022.  

Your fundraising isn’t just one campaign or even a year, it extends beyond that. You deserve award-winning, year-round fundraising and donor management tools that support your goals and help you grow, without having to pay more for additional feature access.  

Our easy-to-use, customizable fundraising and donor management platform support your organization’s fundraising campaigns, 365 days a year. Looking to get started with GiveSmart?

Connect with our team today! 

The post 6 Questions to Ask If You’re Comparing GiveSmart and OneCause for Your Fundraising  appeared first on GiveSmart.

Your organization needs the right tools to access and track all this essential information. However, many nonprofits use spreadsheets at crucial stages of their donor management process, unaware of the disadvantages and weaknesses that accompany the system. Knowing the right tools for your industry can help your nonprofit improve fundraising campaigns and reach current and potential donors.

5 Disadvantages of Using Excel for Donor Management

Using a donation tracking spreadsheet can slow your progress and decrease visibility in your organization. Excel is a widely used tool that many nonprofits rely on to track contact information, donation history, and other essential information. However, Excel has several disadvantages. Here are five reasons you should reconsider Excel and spreadsheets at your nonprofit.

1. Lack of Centralization

Excel is great for organizing information within a single page, but that’s all it can do. It helps organizations micromanage specific types of data, but it can’t give you a big-picture analysis of your organization and its progress. When you open Excel, you don’t receive helpful infographics or updates on what has changed since you last updated it or how you are working toward your goal.

This lack of visibility makes it challenging to keep larger goals and objectives in mind when working on campaigns and events.

2. No Software Integration

Excel and other spreadsheet solutions have no connectivity with other systems. You can’t connect them with emails or automated services to increase their functionality. Using Excel can slow down operations as your employees and volunteers will need to input all data manually.

They will need to move information from your spreadsheets to other programs to send emails, write thank you notes, and update campaign progress and vice versa. Manual data transfer will take longer, pulling employee attention from other essential tasks.

3. Difficult to Track Supporters

Traditionally, Excel spreadsheets house one type of data, and you need multiple spreadsheets to paint a fuller picture. Because of this, it can be challenging to connect information and understand your donors and what efforts you need to reach them. For example, you might store your donor contact information in one spreadsheet and donation history in another. Each sheet holds vital information, but you might not know how to optimize them when separate.

4. Hard to Find Information

Additionally, having so many spreadsheets can make it more challenging to locate specific data. You may need to pull information from several spreadsheets to compile a report on campaign success or progress. Further, each spreadsheet or department might have a different filing system, causing you to search through several folders and similarly titled sheets before finding what you need.

5. Often Inaccurate

Human error is more of a risk with Excel spreadsheets. When people have to enter data manually, they might mistype letters or symbols, causing problems in the future when documenting donations or communicating with donors. You have less trust when tracking donations in Excel and might need more time to fact-check information with original sources.

4 Reasons to Switch to a Donor Management Platform

When spreadsheets prove to be unreliable and inefficient nonprofit resources, you need to determine how to track donors and campaign progress for your organization. A donor management platform is a customer relationship management (CRM) solution that helps you better organize and use collected data. With more automated features and connectivity, you can drive efficiency and communication with this data tracking service.

1. Organized Donor Information

A donor management platform will automatically compile and sort your donor information in one place — a donor profile. Whether it pulls data from emails or donation platforms, you can reduce input errors and boost efficiency with this automated feature. Because it stores everything at one location, you can get a more well-rounded image of your donors and their habits, helping drive more targeted campaigns that increase donations.

Because you can store more information on their profiles, you can create more comprehensive records. In addition to contact information and donation history, a donor management platform profile might also house:

• Interaction history.
• Outreach efforts.
• Monthly activity and retention rates.
• Donation patterns.
• Wealth insights and income.
• Birthdays.
• Job.
• Marital status.
• Special interests.
• Social media profiles.

You can better understand your donors, driving decisions that cater to them and their individual needs.

2. Automation and Integration

Beyond creating donor profiles, a donor management platform offers several automated features and integrated services. Its centralized database will compile essential information, giving you more visibility of your organization. As you receive donations, it will track how much you have raised, update your thermometer graphics, and add donor information to their profiles.

A good donor management platform will integrate with other solutions. You can connect it to your email to send automatic updates, thank you notes, and announcements. It will help you sort your contacts into groups, creating more custom communication methods that better meet your donors’ interests.

3. Easy Reporting

Instead of creating reports manually, the automated features will sort data and build a comprehensive set of information you can use to understand progress and boost decisions. You can save time and effort with automatic reporting. Forgo searching for each piece of data, as the platform will find and compile everything for you. Your organization can make stronger decisions and analyze campaigns with information you know is accurate and relevant.

4. No Need for Tech Know-How

GiveSmart’s Donor Management platform is simple and easy to use. Complete with several automated features and functions you can carry out in one click without needing an advanced understanding of technology to optimize this solution. The platform brings you all the necessary data, so you don’t have to memorize complicated pathways or learn complex formats.

Our program comes with the latest technology to help protect your donors’ private data, from their contact information to donor history and patterns. Automatic updates on your dashboard ensure you are always up-to-date on your organization’s standing and strength.

Ditch Your Donor Spreadsheet

While spreadsheets rely on manual information and multiple documents, a donor management platform is a perfect upgrade to optimize efficiency and visibility at your nonprofit. Excel can often adapt to many businesses and organizations, but GiveSmart designed our donor management platform specifically for nonprofit organizations, so you build stronger connections with your donors and drive more donations.

Boost organization, communication, and more individualized campaigns with GiveSmart’s Donor Management solution. Request a demo with GiveSmart today and discover how our solutions can help you leave your spreadsheet days in the past.

The post Why You Should Stop Using Spreadsheets to Track Donors appeared first on GiveSmart.

1. Understand why people make donations

The first step to making a donation in someone else’s name is understanding why people make donations and what your donation would mean to the person in question. There are several reasons why people donate money, including:

• Religion: Many faiths promote charitable giving to assist others and make a positive difference in the world. In some cases, donating money is a requirement. Religious individuals may also send money to their churches or missionaries to support their objectives.
• Lived experiences: People often donate to organizations that have helped them in the past or to fundraisers that aim to fight a disease they had, like cancer. They may also give money to these charities because of the experiences of people they know.
• Belief in a cause: Individuals often provide financial support to causes they feel strongly about, like stopping world hunger or helping struggling animal shelters.
• Values: Many donors give money because they have a strong sense of ethics and morality and wish to help others.

Whether you make charitable donations on behalf of someone living or to honor the memory of someone who has passed, knowing why others make donations can help you pick a worthy cause that your honoree would approve of.

Consider the person’s interests

When making a donation in someone else’s name, the key is finding a cause they care about. People often post charities on their social media accounts that they want people to donate to instead of giving them birthday presents. Or, if you’re making a donation in the name of someone who has died, the family may provide a list of charities to give money to instead of buying funeral flowers.

However, there may be cases where you have to select a charity that you think the person might support. For instance, you may want to donate to a charity in addition to sending flowers to the deceased’s family members, or you may decide on a whim to give money in honor of someone living. 

In any case, it’s important to remember that you are donating to honor someone else — not yourself. Consider their personal beliefs and what they support to find the best charity or cause to donate to in their name.

2. Do the research and choose a charity

Once you have a cause in mind, do your own research when selecting your charity. You want to make sure you’re choosing a reputable organization and that the money you donate will be used effectively.

Some steps you should take to confirm a charity is legitimate include:

• Evaluate the website: Most real charities will have websites filled with information about their cause, where donated money is going, and reviews from past individuals who have supported the organization. In many cases, they will also have stories and quotes from individuals they assisted. You should check the web address of the page where you enter payment information, as well. Only trust pages that start with “HTTPS.”
• Check if the donation is tax-deductible: If you confirm that donating to a charity is tax-deductible, you can almost always trust that it’s a legitimate site. One way to see if your donation is tax-deductible is to check the IRS’s list of tax-exempt organizations.
• Pay with card or check: Many scam artists ask for gift cards or wire transfers as payment because they’re harder to track. You should also be wary of sites that say you can only donate with cryptocurrency. Actual charities will usually ask you to pay with your credit card or a check, so it’s suspicious if the charity can’t receive these payment methods.

While your friend or the deceased individual’s family members may request donations to a specific charity, it still helps to look into the organization to confirm that it’s legitimate. If it’s a crowdfunding site, which is an unregulated way of giving money, or a suspicious site, you can always research to find a trustworthy charity with a similar goal that you can support, instead.

3. Make your donation

Now that you’ve found the perfect charity, it’s time to donate! When you go to send money, many organizations will provide you with the option to make the donation under someone else’s name. There may even be a separate donation portal dedicated to making a donation in honor of someone else. If you need help finding a way to gift a donation in someone else’s name or the instructions are unclear, you should contact the charity.

Once you figure out where to make the donation, sending the money is easy. You can usually complete the donation online with a credit or debit card. Remember to insert the name of the person you’re donating on behalf of in the appropriate section. There may also be an area where you can put their or their family’s contact information so that they can receive updates on the donation.

After sending the money, ensure you record it and receive a confirmation or receipt. This step is important because your donation may be tax-deductible.

4. Notify the person or their family

Once you have made the donation, you should notify the person or their family, if you have made a donation in the name of the deceased. That way, they know they inspired you to make a difference in their name.

Most charities will send a thank-you letter or email after you donate toward their cause. You can hold onto this letter or print it out to give to the person with a personalized message. Another great way to let someone know you made a donation in their name is by delivering the letter with a card.

By notifying the family or person, you can help make their day special because they know they or their loved one are making a difference in the world.

Who gets the tax deduction?

If you make a donation in someone else’s name, you can deduct it from your taxes. While you are donating in their name, you are the one providing the money. As a result, you can deduct your contributions to the charity from your taxes.

Ensuring you have proof of making the donation is vital to prepare for potential IRS audits. For contributions over $250, you’ll need a written statement that you donated the money from the charity. Also, the organization needs to be eligible for tax-deductible donations.

Make donations easy with GiveSmart

Does your organization want to help individuals donate in someone’s name? If so, you can provide a way to support a cause they believe in with GiveSmart event fundraising technology. This solution enables you to offer a secure way for individuals to donate to your cause on behalf of someone else. If you want to learn more, request a demo today to see how we can help you achieve this goal!

The post How to Make a Donation in Someone’s Name appeared first on GiveSmart.

A theme can weave its way into all components of the golf event, from the marketing materials to the decorations, food, and giveaways. Here are some fun golf tournament themes you could use for your next event.

Raising Awareness Themes

If you’re hosting a golf event to raise awareness for a specific cause, planning the theme around the cause is an excellent way to highlight the fundraiser’s mission. Ways to incorporate the charity into your golf tournament’s decorations include:

• Using the cause’s colors as the basis for your tournament’s advertising, decor, and food ideas.
• Including the charity’s logo on any freebies, decorations, and food.
• Making T-shirts with the logo and charity’s color for the event staff and guests.
• Putting the nonprofit’s logo on golf balls. 

While the primary goal of the golf tournament is to raise donations for the cause, it also can lead to increased awareness even after the event ends.

Time Period Themes

You could also implement themes that take you back in time. Choose a theme for your tournament based on a time period or a memorable decade or two. The era you pay homage to can help you plan the decor, advertising, food, music, and costumes. Whether the chosen period is random or relates to the organization you’re supporting, you and your guests will have a blast.

Here are some time periods that could serve as inspiration for your next golf tournament:

• Wild West: Decorate with cowboy hats, boots, wagons, horseshoes, and other items reminiscent of the frontier period.
• The 1920s: Whether you focus on “The Great Gatsby” or the 1920s in general, you could play music from the decade and encourage guests to dress in costumes like flapper girls.
• The 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s: Combine three decades to give more options for decor, outfits, and music. Your guests and staff could dress up in tie-dye to represent the ’60s, don disco outfits for the ’70s, and sport big hair and exercise or rocker-style clothes for the ’80s.

Seasonal Themes

There are a lot of seasonal events and holidays you can find inspiration from. Seasonal themes can make the event more memorable by encouraging people to associate the event with a specific time of year. May to October is often the most popular time to host golf tournaments, and many holidays and seasonal changes happen during that time.

Some seasonal golf tournament themes include:

• Summer solstice: Celebrate the summer during your golf tournament with a fun summer theme. Your event can be for everyone, with players enjoying one or several rounds of golf and other attendees having fun elsewhere. Some seasonal foods include fruit, barbeque, and ice cream or popsicles. You could also add fun beach decor.
• Independence Day: Commemorate Independence Day during your golf tournament by having a red, white, and blue theme for your event. Your guests could wear the same colors while playing or enjoying the festivities.
• Halloween: Golf tournaments in October could have a Halloween theme. Decorate the area with pumpkins, hay bales, skeletons, and other Halloween decor. The food and drinks could also be on theme.
• Christmas in July: Who says you can only use a Christmas theme in December? Encourage guests to bring out their red and green during the summer months to get a boost of holiday joy. You can have a Christmas cookie bake sale and an ugly sweater contest if it’s not too hot!

More Fun Golf Themes for Tournaments

There are plenty more fun and specific golf themes for tournaments you could implement or use as inspiration for your next event.

Around the world in 18 holes

A unique theme for your tournament could be “Around the World.” Mark each flag with a country, and it will be like the players are traveling abroad as they play. You could also serve food and drinks from each country and provide information about them to help the guests learn about different cultures. 

Superheroes

Create an event the whole family will love by hosting a superhero-themed tournament. Decorate with the symbols and colors of popular Marvel and Detective Comics (DC) superheroes. The event representatives and guests could even dress up as their favorite heroes.

Luau

Bring a simplified version of a Hawaiian luau to your golf tournament. Decorate the place with tropical flowers and palm trees and encourage staff and guests to wear fun Hawaiian shirts and leis. You could also serve delicious drinks and food.

Tailgate

Combine the popular pre-football game activity with golf by hosting a tailgate-themed tournament. Guests can wear jerseys, participate in sports-themed contests, and play games like cornhole while waiting for their turn to tee. You could also have common finger foods and barbeque for the meals.

String for charity

Put a spin on regular golf rounds by including a “string for charity” feature. Players can buy string by the foot and use it to move their ball closer to the hole. For instance, a player could buy 30 feet of string and use 10 feet to move their ball closer to the hole at one course and save the remaining feet for other courses. The money collected from the string could act as donations toward your cause.

You could have tournament representatives at each hole to cut the string and help players when they want to use the tactic.

Mulligans for sale

Another fun twist on classic golf games is selling mulligans to raise money. Even the best golf players need a second chance sometimes. A mulligan is a second chance at taking a shot without a penalty. They are only used in nonofficial games, so you won’t see them in a professional or amateur competition. For your tournament, you could charge players for a set number of mulligans they could use throughout the 18-hole course.

Mini golf

Consider hosting your event at a miniature golf course for a more relaxed golf tournament. Mini golf is an easy way to let people of all ages participate in the game’s fun. You could rent a pavilion or hall nearby to host all the other festivities. The food served could also stay on brand with the miniature theme. You could serve mini versions of food, like small hot dogs, tea sandwiches, wraps, or skewers.

Play a Round with GiveSmart

Golf tournament themes are a spectacular way to attract more people to participate in your fundraising efforts. When you need help managing your fundraiser, you can count on GiveSmart to help. We offer solutions for managing your donations and events, whether in-person, online, or hybrid.

GiveSmart provides an industry-leading fundraising platform to help organizations stay organized while fundraising and managing events. Learn more about the platform by scheduling a demonstration today!

The post Top Fun and Memorable Golf Tournament Themes appeared first on GiveSmart.

Curious? Act quick! This matching opportunity expires on December 31, 2022! Register your organization with DonateStock to get started. 

With this partnership, GiveSmart nonprofits, schools, and associations can efficiently receive stock gifts within minutes. The gift can be converted to cash on the nonprofit’s behalf as well.  

Benefits for Donors

When donors gift appreciated stock to charity, they avoid paying capital gains tax they’d otherwise owe if they sold their stock for cash. At the same time, those donors get to deduct 100% of the current value of the stock.  

For example, let’s say a donor bought a share stock 10 years ago for $1 and today it is worth $100. If she sold it, she would have to pay capital gains taxes on the $99 appreciation. She then would get the tax deduction only on the remaining amount. If that same donor gifts the $100 of stock to charity, she owes no capital gain tax and can deduct the full $100 on her taxes. 

With DonateStock, it is safe, easy, and free to donate stock. No brokerage required.  

Benefits for Nonprofits 

Charitable stock gifting represents a massive untapped source of funding for nonprofits. More than half of US households own stock and investments outweigh cash holdings.  

With looming uncertainty, now is the time to diversify revenue streams. Add stock gifting as a part of your fundraising strategy. Stock gifts represent an opportunity for larger gifts. And, until December 31, your organization can be a part of DonateStock’s $500,000 match.  

How it Works with GiveSmart’s DonorCRM

We are excited to announce that GiveSmart DonorCRM customers can now accept a stock donation by choosing the ‘Stock-Easily Accept Stock with DonateStock.com!’ under the ‘Add Gift Transaction Type’ page. 

After filling in the details, DonateStock initiates the transfer from donor to nonprofit. This option is included and readily available to all DonorCRM users. Donating stock is accessible and beneficial to all, and there are millions untapped. There are communication templates available to our nonprofit partners, too, to make educating and informing donors easier than ever.  

Connect with GiveSmart today, to learn more about how you can get started with this funding source as a part of our donor management platform.  

The post Why DonateStock? appeared first on GiveSmart.

“… if you look at cryptocurrency’s portion of philanthropy, it’s less than $1 billion annually—probably much less than that, and that’s less than 0.2 percent.” Biedermann shared.

To read the article in its entirety, please visit here.

The post “Jon Biedermann, Vice President of Fundraising Strategy, Community Brands: The role of cryptocurrency” appeared first on GiveSmart.

Your organization can spread the holiday cheer this year by organizing a toy drive. Giving underprivileged children holiday gifts is an excellent way to give back to your community. This guide provides a toy donation drive checklist and tips for making your drive successful. 

What You’ll Need 

Organizing a successful toy drive takes careful planning. Use this checklist to ensure you have everything you need for your organization’s campaign. 

A Drop-Off Location 

One of the essential things you’ll need for your toy donation drive is a drop-off location for the toys. You’ll also need receptacles to place toys in and signs identifying them as donation bins. 

A Way to Promote Your Toy Drive 

Getting the word out about your toy donation drive to as many people as possible is essential. Your advertising methods might depend on your organization’s needs and reach. 

A Wishlist 

It can be helpful to give donors some direction in what toys would be best to donate to your drive. You might want to create a checklist or registry donors can pick from as they go shopping. 

People to Help 

Volunteers are crucial to making any donation drive run smoothly. You’ll need people to help in all sorts of areas, including: 

• Planning the drive
• Advertising
• Collecting toys
• Wrapping items 
• Delivering gifts

Storage for the Toys 

Once you have all your donations, you’ll need somewhere secure to store the toys before your volunteers wrap them. 

A Way to Distribute Toys 

You’ll also need to coordinate a few volunteers to distribute the toys before the holidays. Schedule your toy delivery far enough before the holidays to prevent last-minute scrambling. 

Focus on Specific Age Groups 

Some toy donation drives are open to toys for any age group. While this might be more flexible for your donors, it can be beneficial to narrow your focus to one age group or a range, like kids in first through third grade. Keeping your toy drive concentrated on a limited age range gives donors more direction in shopping and prevents purchases that don’t match your recipients’ interests. 

It’s also critical to tell donors which age groups your toy drive will focus on. A well-meaning donor could bring a shopping cart full of baby toys, but they’ll be no help if your focused age range is middle school. 

Advertise 

Spread the word about your toy donation drive by advertising as often and early as possible. If your target donors are people within your organization or business, you might use an organization-wide campaign to reach your audience. If you’re advertising your toy drive to the broader community, you’ll need to advertise more widely. 

Consider using a social media strategy to let people know about your upcoming toy drive. There are many free social media tools for nonprofits to use in their advertising campaigns. 

You can also post physical flyers and talk to local businesses in your community. You may be able to persuade a few companies to offer discounts and coupons to encourage donations. 

Use an Online Wishlist 

Using a wishlist for your toy drive may help guide donors as they shop. When you create a wishlist for your holiday donation drive, you can ensure your organization receives donations that do the most good for recipients. 

Your organization may create an online wishlist and share the link with donors. Start by listing the toys your donation recipients might want based on age and gender. You could use generic names or find specific brands to include on your list. 

Use an online fundraising platform like GiveSmart to make your wishlist accessible. Log in to your admin site and add items by choosing “+New Item” at the top of the screen. Then fill out crucial information on each item, so donors know what to get. Select “Donate” as the item type and fill in the price. Once you’ve created your online toy drive wishlist, donors can access it through your page’s items tab. 

Create a Goal 

Another helpful strategy for making the most of your toy donation drive is creating a goal for the effort. Defining a goal for the drive gives your organization and donors a precise finish line and milestones along the way. A clear objective might motivate donors to give extra to meet the target donation amount. 

When keeping track of your fundraising goal, consider using GiveSmart’s fundraising software. We make it easy to keep track of fundraising goals and progress online using a progress thermometer. The software will update the goal’s progress with each donation so you can share it with your donors.

Set up Collection Locations 

You’ll also need to choose collection locations for your toy drive donations. If you’re hosting the drive within your business, organization, or school, select an area accessible to all members or employees. Clearly mark the collection location for the holiday donation drive. 

If you’re organizing a public toy drive, you may need to partner with other organizations to set up multiple convenient locations to reach more donors. However, having several drop-off spots means your organization will have more to manage. Remember that you’ll need to periodically collect the toys and store them securely before wrapping them. 

Distribute the Toys 

With every other element in place, you’re ready for your toy drive! After donors have brought in their gifts, the last step is to wrap and distribute the toys to the children. Your strategy for delivering your donations will depend on the recipients you chose for your drive and your organization’s capabilities. 

You might distribute toys to families before the holidays by dropping them off at specific locations or having family members pick up their gifts. Whatever method you use, get volunteers in on the action so they can see the rewards of their efforts. 

Manage Your Toy Drive With GiveSmart 

Organizing a toy drive requires a lot of planning, but the impact is well worth the effort. If your organization wants to make its toy donation drive the best it can be, using fundraising software can be a powerful strategy for success. At GiveSmart, we understand your nonprofit or organization has unique needs for managing its fundraisers, which is why we developed our fundraising solution with flexible features to support your efforts. 

GiveSmart’s industry-leading fundraising platform enables donor management, donation tracking, online fundraising, and campaign management capabilities. Our tools and 24/7 customer service give your organization the support it needs to further its mission and create a more significant impact. To see what GiveSmart can do for your organization’s toy drive this holiday season, request a demo today. 

The post Organizing a Toy Drive  appeared first on GiveSmart.

Hot cocoa. Fuzzy socks. Cozy blankets. Pumpkin spice. Warm pie. Time with friends and family. Giving to your community. 

On average, about 30% of annual giving occurs in the last two months of the year, and most of that giving is split between #GivingTuesday, December 30, and December 31. This season of giving is a critical time for nonprofit success. 

How Can Your Nonprofit or School Tap into the Season of Giving for Your Mission? 

Host a year-end peer-to-peer campaign 

During the season of giving, encourage your supporters to join your mission in a movement to raise money! Your board members, staff, volunteers, corporate partners, and others can come together to fundraise on your behalf by building and promoting their own individual campaigns.  

Enable them with clear incentives, messaging templates, and goals, and watch the fundraising happen! 

Steward your relationships

Send impact reports, mail personal handwritten letters, make phone calls, and do what you can to thank and acknowledge all the individuals who had a hand in your success during the year. This includes partners, sponsors, donors, and volunteers of all shapes and sizes, no matter the size of their contribution to your organization.  

And, these year-end warm fuzzies will only contribute to a strengthened relationship into the new year! 

Start a text-to-donate blitz

Text messages have the highest open rate of any communication method and continually prove to be influential in fundraising. Send text messages to your donors to encourage them to give. You can host blitz hours with certain giving amounts or secure a matching donor for a portion of the campaign. 

Establish a storefront

Do you have leftover auction items to sell? Do you have any branded swag? Start a storefront!  

GiveSmart customers have used the holiday season to sell poinsettias, host secret Santa stores, sponsor tree-planting initiatives, and more!   

Give the gift of GiveSmart!

During your year-end efforts and into the new year, secure a platform that can enable all the above ideas (and more). GiveSmart is focused on the user experience for your staff, your volunteers, and your donors.  

Make your year-end efforts a seamless experience all around by acquiring GiveSmart. Getting started is easier than you can imagine! 

The post ‘Tis the Season of Giving  appeared first on GiveSmart.