American Cancer Society: Fundraising to Find the Cure Using Mobile Tech

The American Cancer Society (ACS) fundraises to fund cancer research, with the aggressive goal to rid the world of the disease. It shares expert information, supports patients and communicates information about prevention. The nationwide community-based voluntary health organization is headquartered in Atlanta and has a regional offices throughout the country. The East Division is located in New Jersey.

The Eastern Division of ACS stages many fundraising events throughout the year and decided it wanted to increase donations and make the act of giving at the event much easier this year.  So they contacted Engage by Cell for help.

The Challenge

Tswana Sewell, Executive Director of Community Development for the Eastern Division,  wanted to modernize one of its galas using mobile technology. SPecifically, Sewell said she wanted to better track how much money was raised in real-time, and provide assistance to volunteers at the event, who previously had to walk around and collect donors’ credit card information by hand. Ten volunteers were required to collect donor information from 350 gala attendees, a less than ideal situation.

“More and more of our attendees and committee members are going to other events where they are able to participate in mobile bidding at auctions,” Sewell said. “They come back to us and ask, ‘can we do the same thing?”

"Donors can have the same interference with a nonprofit that they do with a for-profit when they are purchasing something online,” she said. “It’s familiar to them. It makes the event look sleeker, and more professional. Donors can then keep their personal credit card information to themselves without having to share it with someone else by going through a secure site.”

The automated system also removes the potential for human error.

The Solution

The American Cancer Society Eastern Division partnered with Engage by Cell for a one-time event mobile package, including Mobile Donate, which allowed attendees to make a payment using their credit cards, and the Screencast fundraising thermometer, which displayed donations made in real-time.

“It was quick and easy to learn to use,” Sewell said. “The software is very intuitive. I am not a tech person at all but I was actually able to show another person on my staff how to use it for their event the following week. I was shockingly surprised how I was able to walk her through the tutorial.”

Attendees at the gala gave positive feedback on the usability of the Engage by Cell service, and the organization reported usage was a big success. Donors particularly enjoyed the Screencast, which acknowledged them for their donations in real time, particularly effective with an engaging emcee.

“People like that immediate recognition of their name popping up on the screen,” Sewell said.

The Results

The American Cancer Society raised 21 percent more at the event than the previous year, and credit that success to the Engage by Cell services.

“I also noticed we had more higher-level gifts this year,” Sewell said. “We were able to shorten the program by having people make the donations themselves instead of waiting for the volunteers."

Now that the client understands the potential of the Engage by Cell fundraising platform, she is hoping to increase donations even more next year. An additional, unexpected benefit of the service was the ability to collect donors’ contact information, such as phone numbers and mailing addresses.

“That will help us next year as we are sending out our invitations,” Sewell said. “The data capture is very helpful. I love Engage by Cell! My guests loved it and we raised more money this year!”