Step 5 – Part 1: 🥳 Incentive Design
Let’s start with a quote from the program I started this work with. My favorite part of the quote is the first sentence. The sentence represents the new culture they have, and is the change I desire for every organization.
“Unlike other fundraisers, our kids, families, and community look forward to our March-a-thon each year. Like anything in your program, you get out of it what you put into it, so we go all out with incentives and team contests to make it fun. When we first started, we were generating 30k which was exceptional (we thought) and still better than other fundraisers we were attempting! Even with our smaller program of under 200 students, this fundraiser has grown in intensity and buy-in each year we’ve done it. We are now generating over 100k and supplementing our program almost entirely with funds from the March-a-thon. “
Ryan Johnstone
Director of Bands
Rouse High School
The Bridge 🌉 to a new fundraising culture
Incentives serve as the bridge to creating a truly memorable fundraiser experience for everyone involved! Not only do incentives guarantee that participants are duly recognized and rewarded for their hard work and dedication, but they also add an extra layer of excitement and motivation to the event. Now, it’s your turn to design an engaging and enticing incentive program for this fundraiser, ensuring its success and leaving a lasting impact on all those who participate.
Understanding Incentives & Reporting
I have created several videos on incentives. PLEASE take the time to watch these videos. Your team should spend the MOST time on this step.
First, let’s talk about the basics for incentives in this short 3 minute video:
https://www.loom.com/share/494fb6ab11d242b586e180acb9ae3f9d
Second, let’s talk about team structures in this short 3 minute video:
https://www.loom.com/share/d5920d3055014e3c9f41fc91fdf30907
Third, let’s look deeper at kickoff incentives can be structured and how reporting works for that.
https://www.loom.com/share/a9a8917157194352b97da30b41abbc62
And finally, how does reporting work for weekly and end of fundraiser incentives?
https://www.loom.com/share/86376a66714b48e2a804717183876808
If you have some extra time, here is a video I created to show you how Rouse Band designs incentives. Very creative!
https://www.loom.com/share/fca2c8683919498bbf0ac7f4468124f6
Kickoff Incentives
Now that we have grasped the distinction between fundraiser and kickoff incentives, as well as donations versus pledges, let’s delve into two crucial topics for the kickoff.
Kickoff incentives are all about creating a FUN atmosphere! During the kickoff, it’s essential to stay flexible and adjust the fun elements on the fly. Remember, the primary goal of the kickoff is to engage donors and ensure that participants are having a blast! The more you recognize and reward your participants, the higher the level of participation you’ll achieve.
To effectively track kickoff incentives, I have devised two methods: tracking pledges and/or real-time donations at the kickoff. My recommendation is to utilize both approaches. Why? As the number of potential donors who answer phone calls or respond to text messages decreases, tracking pledges becomes more challenging. By designing incentives based on real donations and pledges, you get the best of both worlds, enhancing your fundraiser’s success.
Learning from other groups
I love this next piece of information ❤️🔥
I can’t think of a better way for teams to learn how to design incentives than to just share what other groups have done. So, below is a document of incentives other teams have put together. Please use this to learn how other groups have built an amazing incentive program.
Call to Action
What I need for your team to do is : Design (3) incentive structures
- Kick-off/Blitz event incentives
- Weekly incentives
- End of fundraiser incentives
