Using games and gamification to raise money online for your association

With the emergence of digital platforms such as Twitch, event fundraising has moved to a whole new dimension. In fact, as more and more non-profit organisations are turning to raising money online and virtual events, social media initiatives are flourishing.

Although virtual fundraising is an excellent strategy for taking full advantage of digitisation and technology to make up for the lack of in-person events, it may not be enough to rally supporters to your cause.

To extend your partnerships and create engagement with investors, why not consider gamifying your fundraising process?

Gamification: a new trend in fundraising for your organisation

It is important to remember that gamification in fundraising is not necessarily limited to collecting money. Whether it is an application which collects data for research into cures for cancer, a clothing drive for homeless people or even fun experiences to promote a movement, these gamified campaigns all have very precise and different goals. Those based on games and video games target various organisations that are looking to broaden their donor and partnership profiles.

An online charity event that we can take as a good example is Z Event, a charitable project created by two French streamers, Adrien Nougaret and Alexandre Dachary, better known under their streamer and gamer pseudonyms: ZeratoR and Dach.

The event is composed of a showcase and followed by a video game streaming marathon on the platform Twitch, during which many entertainers from the live platform get together. Over many hours, participants broadcast live content and encourage viewers to take action to financially support an organisation. This type of virtual event can easily be done in conjunction with Drimify solutions by creating interactive mini-games in which the audience can participate and feel included, even online!

In a nutshell, the only limit to gamification ideas for fundraising is your own imagination. So, here are a few gamification techniques that have been successfully applied by organisations to raise awareness, engagement, interactions and donations.

• Challenges and missions

You can encourage donors to create fundraising groups, for example, and challenge others to beat daily goals. A challenge going viral, particularly on social media, can generate very positive results for your organisation.

• Leaderboards and progress bars

Human beings are naturally competitive. That is why leaderboards and progress bars in games can be a very effective source of engagement for fundraisers. In fact, being able to see others succeed motivates us to reach the next level!

• Badges and points

Encourage the public to make a donation or learn about a cause can give a major boost to a fundraising campaign and expand the visibility of the organisation! Entertaining fundraisers generally use points systems to allow participants to win a prize, whether it is material or virtual. Badges, on the other hand, can reward people who understand the importance of the cause and are taking initiative at their own level.

Expert advice!

• When planning your next online fundraising campaign, think about adding gaming mechanisms to your marketing tools for the best results!

1. Keep it simple

The key is to come up with a Serious Game or promotional game with a balanced degree of difficulty. Thanks to the use of progress counters, points or rewards, you will be able to create a healthy, friendly sense of competition between participants, which is always helpful for raising money. In fact, competitiveness can increase the amount and regularity of donations.

2. Define your goals

Is the only goal of your online fundraiser to increase donations, or do you want to create connections between your users and the cause? Do you want users to change their behaviour and take initiative? But the number one goal of all organisations is, of course, still to expand engagement with its members and potential donors. Thankfully, one of the main advantages of gamification is the engagement-booster that it offers.

3. Think of your players

They don’t all have the same psychological needs which will determine the choice of game and the reward system. If you know your user profiles by heart, you will be in a good position to apply behavioural science to your target audience and determine the most suitable gaming mechanisms!

4. Think about visibility

The social and engaging nature of gamification tends to have a positive effect on the sharing of your fundraising initiative. This means that if you develop a platform that is both entertaining and informative that is likely to go viral, you will make your audience want to spread the word. As a result, you will make your organisation and the cause(s) you support more well-known.

5. User-generated content

User-generated content is priceless to your organisation. In fact, the sharing between participants on live-streaming platforms, social media etc. are all positive testimonies that will help you to promote your fundraiser.

With Drimify, the possibilities to gamify fundraising campaigns are infinite. Make sure your organisation is reaping the benefits of effective gamification tools that are fully adapted to your project today, and gain an impressive competitive advantage in terms of funds and supporters.

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