There has been a lot of buzz lately around “livestream fundraising” but what exactly does that phrase mean? Let’s start at its root… Livestream. According to Webster’s Dictionary the term livestream is defined as to transmit or view live video and audio coverage of a person or event over the Internet. Some of the most popular streaming sites are Twitch, Mixer, Facebook Live and YouTube.
It turns out that adding the phrase “fundraising” into the mix is when things get a little more complicated.
Recently, I was able to spend two days with 24 nonprofit leaders either successfully running livestream fundraising campaigns or actively looking to start one of these programs. From the conversations with this group of smart people, it was clear that there are several different ways for an organization to fundraise via livestreaming. Understanding the nuances of these different types of livestream fundraising tactics will influence the technology decisions, promotional strategies, and recruiting tactics needed to execute a successful campaign.
Organizational Livestream Fundraising
The first type of livestream fundraising campaign, which I call “organizational livestream fundraising,” is the concept of an organization using their own streaming channels to broadcast live video content for the purpose of fundraising. The organization is the content creator.
It’s the modern version of a telethon. If Jerry Lewis had been born a millennial, he likely would have appeared on Twitch instead of ABC asking people to donate online rather than over the telephone. This type of program solicits a donation directly from the viewers.
Organizational livestream fundraising is great entry point for organizations interested in dipping their toes in the waters of livestreaming. It requires enough tech to record the stream and offer up an online donation to your viewers. The audience is yours and you are in full control of the messaging and content of your stream.
If your organization is hosting a traditional peer-to-peer fundraising event, like a bike tour, you might consider livestreaming the finish line with your social media staffer acting like a roving reporter with their smartphone. If you are an animal rights organization, you might consider livestreaming a puppy adoption event.
Freestanding Livestream Fundraising Program
The next way to fundraise through livestreaming is by creating a “freestanding livestream fundraising program.” These programs function like DIY fundraising programs that are exclusively built for people who livestream to solicit gifts on behalf of an organization from their community of followers on livestreaming platforms. The content creator in this case is a volunteer or supporter – sometimes with support from the organization, but in most cases it’s a solo endeavor.
Similar to DIY fundraising programs, livestream fundraising programs give permission to volunteer fundraisers to create content about your organization. Of course, this can come with risks. What happens if a gamer is playing a 1st person shooter game while fundraising for my cause? Or says a bad word? Or misrepresents our brand in some way? The short answer is that there is not much you can do about it. Providing livestreaming content creators with tool kits and on message materials can help minimize that risk, but this is an area where you may have to relinquish full control and trust your supporters.
One example of a freestanding livestreaming campaign is GameBlast. GameBlast is a fundraising campaign hosted by the nonprofit organization Special Effect. Special Effect has created a branded program that is marketed specifically at gamers who are interested in fundraising for the mission of organization.
There is a little more investment required to run this type of program. Like a DIY fundraising campaign, a freestanding livestream fundraising program requires a mix of marketing, strategy, technology and coaching. An organization must recruit content creators, then provide those content creators with the appropriate fundraising tools and coaching to run a successful livestream fundraising program.
An organization can determine the level of investment they would like to make to get started with this type of program. It can be as easy claiming your organizational profile on Blackbaud Peer-to-Peer Fundraising, powered by JustGiving (no subscription costs), standing up a simple campaign and directing your livestreaming supporters to fundraise. Organizations can also invest to developing a more customized experience like Special Effect’s GameBlast.
Channel Diversification
The third way to livestream fundraising is through channel diversification, which positions streaming as a new fundraising channel for more traditional peer-to-peer fundraising events. The goal is to empower walkers/runners/cyclists who also happen to also be content creators with the fundraising tools to solicit gifts for the walk/marathon/bike tour from their livestream followers.
An important nuance to adding livestreaming as an additional fundraising channel is that livestreaming is a hobby, just like playing baseball is hobby. Baseball players have special equipment and skills to successfully play baseball; content creators also use specialized equipment and skilled knowledge plus an existing audience to successfully stream. If you are considering channel diversification for your event, it’s important to keep in mind that you are looking for existing content creators who are participating in your events. You should not expect to be successful at teaching your general walk population (non-content creators) how to stream and then how to fundraise through livestreaming.
In contrast to freestanding livestream fundraising, channel diversification leans on the marketing and coaching activities already happening for the event; however, it does have some unique technology requirements. You need the traditional technology used to conduct your event, as well as integrated livestream fundraising technology to help provide a cohesive supporter experience so that the event participant’s thermometers go up on a participant page when funds are donated through the livestream fundraising channel.
Learn more about livestream fundraising in Blackbaud’s Straight Up Peer-to-Peer webinar, Amplify Your Events with Livestream Fundraising, where we will provide tips for how organizations can get started with this exciting new opportunity!
Author’s Note: Blackbaud has built an integration between TeamRaiser and Blackbaud Peer-to-Peer Fundraising, powered by JustGiving to accomplish this for your organization. We are looking for a small group of customers to test out this functionality. If you are interested, please shoot me an email at robyn.mendez@blackbaud.com.
from npENGAGE http://bit.ly/2JPX9Jo
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