We’ve talked many times on this blog about how to easily set up a fundraiser—whether it’s a virtual donation platform you’re creating or an IRL event—to raise money quickly using Google Forms and the Payable Add-On. And as real life events become more common again, you may assume that selling tickets is the only way to use Payable to get your event up and running. But when you create your form for your fundraiser, there are a few other ways to help people help you!
Ticket Sales
This is your main use for your Form: To sell tickets to your event. Make this front and center, and make sure you make this question a requirement, unless you’re using the Form for more generalized donations as well. (We recommend having another Form that’s just for virtually donating.)
Open-Ended Donations
Many people prefer to choose how much they want to give, so offering the option to just write in the exact amount they want to donate is a great choice. Set this up by simply including a short answer question asking how much they would like to donate.
NOTE: You will need to remind users that they’ll need to type in their currency sign ($) before the amount, i.e. $50 instead of 50 for this option to work with the Payable Add On.
Leaving this completely open can sometimes backfire! It might be a good idea to offer a ‘recommended donation amount’ or combine this with one of the other donation collection.
Choose Your Extra Donation
Some people need a price point to ‘latch onto.’ This means setting up an optional extra donation in different denominations like $5, $50, or $100. You may find this works better than open-ended, since setting higher price points makes some people more likely to spend more.
Bonuses/Merchandise
Everyone loves merch! Tshirts, hats, and any other merch are simple ways to raise extra cash—and when you have to get items like shirts printed, it’s more cost-effective to do pre-sale only so you only order the sizes that you actually need. You can also use a Question like this in your Form for extras like preferred seats, extra drink tickets, etc.
Sponsorship
If you’re still looking for event sponsors, you can also offer people the chance to have their business’s logo on your fundraiser’s program or website. Offering different sponsorship tiers may net you a surprising amount of small and big business interest!