Trying to sort out your next big fundraising initiative? Check out this blog post from our partner, TapKat, a company that specializes in sweepstakes fundraising for nonprofits. They encourage their nonprofit clients to give away trips on consignment as sweepstakes prizes — which makes a TapKat sweepstakes a perfect fit for fundraising with a Philantopia experience!

Fundraising is a critical activity for your nonprofit organization. Now that things are increasingly moving online, choosing a fun and easy method for individual donors to contribute to your cause is more important than ever.

Many nonprofits don’t realize that raffles and sweepstakes are different. While raffles are viewed in the eyes of the law as gambling and therefore heavily regulated (and even illegal in some states), sweepstakes offer a similar model for fundraising that is legal in all 50 states. Additionally, since sweepstakes aren’t seen as gaming, there are no restrictions on how nonprofits can use funds, when they can use funds, and more. You can learn more about this on the TapKat blog.

There you have it: sweepstakes are a super effective method of raising money for nonprofits. Why go with a TapKat sweepstakes? Read on to find out for yourself — here are our top 10 benefits of running a TapKat sweepstakes.

#1: TapKat Sweepstakes Make it Easy for Donors to Give

TapKat sweepstakes sites are designed so that donors can quickly and easily learn about the prize, learn about your nonprofit, and make a donation. We’ve done extensive testing on how donors interact with our sweepstakes sites to optimize donations, which means your nonprofit receives the benefit of thousands of hours of work from our team when you create your sweepstakes site using our smart template.
Plus, TapKat sweepstakes sites are optimized for mobile devices, which is important, as 70% of TapKat donations in 2021 were made on smart devices.

#2: Donors Love TapKat Sweepstakes!

It’s true: Donors get wrapped up in the fun and excitement of a TapKat sweepstakes! One nonprofit, The Shelby American Collection, has run a sweepstakes each year for the past seven years. They always give away a new Shelby Mustang, and their donors are incredibly dedicated. It might even be more appropriate to call them “fans”! Not only do many of their donors enter the sweepstakes multiple times, they also follow the sweepstakes’ progress on social media and via The Shelby American Collection’s email blasts. And, every year after the winner is drawn, donors reach out to the museum, asking when the next sweepstakes will go live. They can’t wait to donate again for a chance to win! The best part? These donors are incredibly supportive of each other, too. When the winner is drawn, congratulatory messages come pouring in on social media. Sweepstakes truly do create a culture of giving and a supportive community for your nonprofit.

#3: There are No Upfront Fees to Run a TapKat Sweepstakes

There is no cost to get your sweepstakes site up and running on the TapKat platform, which means that there is no financial risk to your nonprofit to run a sweepstakes. We’re committed to making sure your nonprofit comes out ahead so we have carefully designed our sweepstakes fundraisers to help your nonprofit raise the money you need without incurring upfront costs.

#4: Consignment Sweepstakes Prizes Eliminate the Risk of Upfront Costs

Here at TapKat we strongly recommend sourcing your prize on consignment. When you do this, you’re essentially asking the prize provider to reserve the prize for your nonprofit until the sweepstakes has ended and you have raised a set minimum amount. Then, you purchase the reserved prize with funds you raised from the sweepstakes. Philantopia is a trusted travel partner for TapKat because they offer travel packages on consignment, and at special rates for nonprofits. Select a travel prize package from their site, use the beautiful imagery they provide to market the sweepstakes, and pay for the package after your sweepstakes has successfully closed. If your nonprofit doesn’t reach a minimum raise — an amount you choose, based on the value of the prize — your nonprofit will award the winner a cash prize of 50% of the net amount raised. This works out well for the prize provider, as they can now sell the prize to their customers. An alternative to holding a prize on consignment is getting a prize donated. One nonprofit we worked with received a donation of two front row tickets to Hamilton, which made for a great sweepstakes prize!

#5: Cash Flow for Your Nonprofit – Start to Finish

With TapKat sweepstakes, as soon as the first donor makes a donation, your nonprofit has money to work with. Donations are batched and deposited directly into your nonprofit’s bank account as they come in, so cash flows in on a regular basis. Imagine if you had an extra source of cash flow for the entire duration of your sweepstakes. It adds up quickly!

#6: TapKat Automates All the Details of Running a Sweepstakes

We’ve built our fundraising platform to include everything you need to run a sweepstakes so your team can spend time focused on promoting the fundraiser rather than managing logistics. Ticket numbers are issued automatically. Your sweepstakes donor database with all the details is maintained and available to download at any time. Sweepstakes Rules and Regulations are written for you, and so are the helpful FAQs. Plus, your donors receive an automated email donation receipt including their entry ticket numbers, your nonprofit EIN, and a thank-you note.

#7: Drawing the Winner of a TapKat Sweepstakes is Easy

We’ve taken all the work out of drawing your sweepstakes winner — no printed ticket stubs or giant drums needed. When you’re ready to pull the winner, you’ll simply log in to your TapKat dashboard and use the built-in random number generator to select your winning ticket number.

It’s as easy as clicking a button!

TapKat automatically creates a fun video presentation of drawing the winner to share with your donors. It’s easy to share a link of this on your social media channels and in an e-blast so donors can watch the winning name being drawn. See an example of the presentation created for Community Food Share.

#8: TapKat Sweepstakes are a Repeatable Form of Fundraising

TapKat sweepstakes aren’t a one-and-done fundraiser. In fact, most of our customers run sweepstakes year after year because they’ve discovered that incorporating a sweepstakes into their annual fundraising plan makes a lot of sense.

When you run a sweepstakes every year with a similar prize, you’ll find that:

• Donors stick around because they’re hoping that this will be the year that they win,
• Your team gets better and better at promoting the sweepstakes,
• The promotional partnerships you created during year one are even more effective in years two, three, four, and so on,
• And each year there’s more buzz, more excitement, more anticipation for a winner to be drawn!

All this equals cash in the bank for your nonprofit. Most nonprofits that run a sweepstakes every year see their sweepstakes revenue grow year after year… and 99% of our customers see their donor list grow significantly from year to year.

#9: There’s Always a Winner with TapKat Sweepstakes

No matter what, someone will always win a TapKat sweepstakes. If your sweepstakes doesn’t reach the minimum raise required for you to give away the prize, no problem! We’ve built a contingency into the rules where your nonprofit splits the net cash raised with the winner. And who wouldn’t be excited to learn they’ve just won a bundle of cash?

#10: Your Sweepstakes Will be Featured on TapKat.win

Once you get your sweepstakes up and running, your nonprofit will have the option of being included on TapKat.win, where donors come to find new TapKat sweepstakes, and through our social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

TapKat.win is a great place to see what other nonprofits are doing with their TapKat sweepstakes fundraisers. Maybe you’ll find some inspiration!

Get Started with Your TapKat Sweepstakes Fundraiser

Ready to get started with your TapKat sweepstakes and see where this kind of cutting-edge fundraising could take your nonprofit? Click here to get your TapKat sweepstakes site up and running in no time, or reach out to hello@tapkat.com for support.

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About TapKat Solutions

TapKat is an online sweepstakes fundraising platform for nonprofits. With TapKat’s cutting-edge technology, nonprofits can easily create, manage, and run online sweepstakes designed to help increase donations and grow your donor base. TapKat is committed to helping nonprofits with innovative fundraising tools that are simple for nonprofits and fun for donors!

Learn more about how TapKat works and how we can help your nonprofit with sweepstakes fundraising on our Features Page.