Peer-to-peer success: How this nonprofit raised $355K with a virtual pantry

Key Nonprofit Highlights

The Sharing Center, formed in 1986 when leaders from 17 churches joined together to serve those experiencing hunger and homelessness, has become the most comprehensive social services hub in Florida’s Seminole and Longwood Counties. They offer a wealth of services aimed at meeting the most critical needs of their community, including financial and rental assistance, free clothing and food assistance, workforce development, and more.

The Sharing Center implemented Bloomerang’s peer-to-peer platform and online store feature to create a Virtual Pantry, allowing donors to experience a mock grocery store while raising funds to stock pantry shelves for local families. They also transformed their annual Good Samaritan Luncheon into a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, raising over $355,000. The ease of use, customizable features, and donor-friendly design of Bloomerang’s Giving Platform helps The Sharing Center fulfill their mission as a community assistance provider in Central Florida.

Challenge

Bloomerang accepts online donations that other merchant processors couldn’t

The Sharing Center needed a way to quickly stock their pantry shelves and raise funds without receiving as many in-person donations. Their new system, the chapter decided, would need to address the concerns that their merchant processor couldn’t solve, and it would need to be able to accommodate their growing online donor base.

Solution

Launching their virtual pantry in less than 24 hours

The Sharing Center set up a Virtual Pantry using Bloomerang’s peer-to-peer platform and its online store feature. They wanted people to feel like they were donating food by experiencing a mock grocery store. The funds raised through the Virtual Pantry are then used to purchase food for local families in need. Within the online store, they set up categories for different types of items, such as household and dry goods. “It was super easy to set up,” said Margaux. “I found pictures of peanut butter, milk, and other items, set it up to look like an actual grocery store, and segmented it in categories.” The Sharing Center found it so easy to set up, they launched the campaign the day after the idea was finalized!

They also converted their Good Samaritan Luncheon into a virtual peer-to-peer board fundraising campaign. Board members who would have been table captains at the in-person event became peer-to-peer fundraisers and reached out to their friends, families, and networks to raise funds for The Sharing Center.

Results

Peer-to-peer campaign smashes their goal two weeks early

Between the Virtual Pantry and the virtual board fundraising campaign, The Sharing Center raised over $355,000… with two weeks left to go in their campaign! $106,000 of the total was processed online through Bloomerang’s Giving Platform. They’ve acquired a large number of new donors and are thankful for the automatic, customizable receipts the platform offers.

They’ve also found that many of their supporters who were previously check or cash-only donors are now making gifts online via Bloomerang’s Giving Platform due to its ease of use. With the money raised through the Virtual Pantry, The Sharing Center is serving an additional thirty families a day than they usually do. They were even featured on the local news!

“You guys made everything so user friendly and customizable,” said Margaux. “It’s very, very easy! It’s such a donor-centric platform. Our Executive Director gets emails from fundraising consultants asking what platform we’re using. We get a lot of questions about how we get our automated receipts sent out!”