Nonprofit Champion: Angela from Alcohol & Drug Council

The Alcohol and Drug Council of Tompkins County, inc. offers education and prevention programs that strengthen the community and provide hope and recovery to those struggling with addiction.

Angela Sullivan, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Council of Tompkins County, shared insights from her most successful fundraising campaign, Giving is Gorges 2016.

What would you consider to be your most successful campaign and why?

Angela:  Our Giving is Gorges 2016 campaign was more successful than we had hoped it would be for our organization. We set a small attainable goal of $2500 and we raised over $3800!

What would you attribute to this great success?

Angela:  The day of giving definitely put the “fun” in fundraiser. We had a dedicated group of fundraising champions that helped to promote the process and raise funds.

Walk us through your plan of action for this campaign: 

Angela:  We knew we would participate again in 2016 after the Giving is Gorges 2015 event was moderately successful. Most of the preparation work was done by board and staff members, we did have an Ithaca College student help with images and design. Quite honestly, our preparation was a bit haphazard. But in the end, it came together and worked well for us.

Of the donors for this campaign, about what percentage would you say were repeat donors versus new?

Angela:  According to GiveGab’s really cool dashboard report: out of 69 donors, 39 were new this year. Some of the donors had given previously via traditional appeals but gave an additional gift through this campaign.

What efforts have you made to reach out to new donors and were any of them particularly successful?

Angela:  We emailed them a separate thank you note and one respondent is actually interested in joining our board of directors.

How did you recruit your fundraising champions?

Angela:  Asked board members and staff. We had nine fundraising champions.

How frequently did you interact with your donors for this campaign and what mediums did you use most?

Angela:  This platform [GiveGab] provided us with a new way to reach out to donors. We generally do two appeals a year and have a small following on Facebook.  

Was there anything you learned from this campaign?

Angela:  We made it simple and fun for fundraising champions and donors. We have established a trophy that goes to the top two fundraisers (staff and board of director). The friendly competition increased the energy and has people already talking about our next campaign.

What is your single best piece of advice for other nonprofits when it comes to launching a successful fundraising campaign?

Angela:  Be clear in your ask (your cause), make giving simple, and make participation fun!

Congratulations to Alcohol & Drug Council on Your Fundraising Success!

 You are truly Nonprofit Champions 

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