Three Virtual Company Fundraising Ideas and Why CSR Is Important

Corporate social responsibility’s (CSR) impact reaches far beyond your organization’s nonprofit partner. It affects morale, is an asset to human resources, and positively impacts your brand in a real way.

A 2018 charitable giving report found that “90% (of companies) indicated that partnering with reputable nonprofit organizations enhances their brand and 89% believe partnering leverages their ability to improve the community.” It also found that “87% believe their employees expect them to support causes and issues that matter to those employees.” CSR can influence your organization’s bottom line, too. A recent Nielsen Global Survey on corporate social responsibility found that “55% of global online consumers across 60 countries say they are willing to pay more for products and services provided by companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.” In short, corporate social responsibility is an investment that businesses large and small should make. 

But how to dive into company fundraising when everyone may not feel comfortable meeting in person?

Go online! The first step is to choose a nonprofit fundraising platform. Doing so will make all your company fundraising efforts easier, from organizing employees and supporters to managing donations, interpreting analytics, and executing your marketing plan. We’re partial to Eventgroove (of course). Our platform is packed with snazzy features and helps you run on-brand online and in-person fundraisers with ease! Plus, Eventgroove will seamlessly transition with you as people return to the office. It’s built to help you run in-person, online, and hybrid (both virtual and IRL) events from the same platform.

Ready to kick your corporate fundraising into high gear? Partner with a nonprofit that employees can get behind and try one of our favorite online company fundraising ideas.

Three Effective Online Company Fundraising Ideas

Virtual run, walk, bike, or swim a-thon

Any activity that appeals to employees will do! Or offer a variety of activities from which to choose and enable pledging by the mile or a time increment. Participants can take part in their chosen activity from home as well as update their fundraising page with their progress. Support will quickly grow since participants can share their fundraising pages on social media and invite everyone they know to pledge. Make things even more interesting with a little friendly competition with peer-to-peer fundraising. Offer a great prize (maybe a day off or half-day Fridays for a month) to the team that hits their fundraising goal first.

Online auction

Gather items irresistible to both employees and anyone in their social media circle. Now more than ever, community businesses need help. Consider including gift cards, products, or services from local businesses. Other COVID-aware ideas include outdoor excursions, like a guided horseback trail ride or botanical gardens tour led by a docent. Setting up your online auction is simple.  Just build your fundraising page and include information about your nonprofit partner. Next, add enticing images and details about your items. Finally, share the link on your company’s Facebook page as well as with employees so that they can post it in and across their social networks.   

Virtual company raffle

To get employees engaged, consider a nonprofit partner that is doing a lot to help the community during the pandemic, such as your local food bank or Boys & Girls Club. The next part of your online raffle equation is the prize. Why not put together a couple of pandemic-friendly swag bags full of custom merch? Offer items related to meal delivery, home décor/improvement, or even dog training for the pup adopted by the winner during quarantine! Making your virtual raffle a reality is a snap with a platform like Eventgroove. Managing, promoting, collecting donations, and accessing analytics are all at your fingertips.

How Selling Prom Tickets Online Works

Creating a ticket sales page takes no time, and you can customize it so it matches your prom theme and school branding. Here’s the shape of it:
  1. Create the event. Name (Enchanted Forest Prom, 2026), date, venue, capacity, dress code, anything else students should know.
  2. Set ticket types and prices. Most committees do one student ticket plus one guest or date. Some add an early bird ticket tier at a $10 discount for the first two weeks.
  3. Grab a shareable link. Drop it in the school newsletter, add it to a QR code on your prom posters, then drop it into the school’s socials and the committee group chat so everyone can share within their networks, and the principal’s morning announcements.
  4. Collect the money. Card and digital wallet payments flow straight into your account, whether someone pays in person at school or at the door on prom night.
  5. Scan tickets at the door. Each student arrives with their printed prom tickets or a digital version. A volunteer scams them using their phone.

6 Things to Look For in a Prom Ticketing Service

Not every ticketing platform is set up for school events. Three things that matter:
  1. Real-Time Data: Student planners and faculty advisors need to monitor sales and revenue, and access updated attendee reports.
  2. Clear Fees: Every platform makes its money through fees. These fees can be passed on to buyers or absorbed by the school. In addition, when credit cards are involved, processing fees always apply but may not be included in your free ticketing platform’s service. When these are not included in the platform price, you’ll need to organize online payments separately, which can result in a much higher per-ticket cost on your end.
  3. Online and physical tickets: Printing prom tickets is something many schools do – they’re a great memento of the night, and make the experience more special. Make sure your platform’s capabilities include tracking and scanning both printed and digital tickets.
  4. Easy attendee check-in: Look for a platform that lets you scan without an app or special equipment. When faculty can scan tickets using their mobile phone‘s browser, getting up to speed takes less time.
  5. Attendee management: You’ll want to track students as they enter, leave, and return. Ensure your service can support this.
  6. Ticketing adaptability: Creating ticket bundles, reserved seating, and comp codes for VIPS means your chosen platform needs to be flexible.

What to Charge For Tickets To Prom and When to Sell

On average, a prom ticket costs between $55–$125. The exact number depends on the venue, what the night includes (DJ, photos, dinner, flowers, and the like).

Pre-prom ticket sales strategies

  • Early Bird discount. Knock $10–$15 off the standard price for the first 2–3 weeks of sales. An early bird ticket strategy rewards students who buy first, builds momentum, and gives your committee how the night is tracking weeks before prom.
  • Group bundles. Offer a small discount for friend groups buying 4 or 6 tickets together. Ticket bundling speeds up sales and they nudge friend groups to commit early.
  • Reserved tables. If you want groups to sit together, set up your ticketing with reserved seating and sell whole tables as a single package.
  • Day-of door pricing. Charge $10–$15 more at the door than online to  encourages families to pre-buy.

When to sell tickets

Open sales 6–8 weeks before prom, switch from early bird to standard pricing 2–3 weeks in, and close online sales 24–48 hours before the dance so you can finalize the catering count.

A note on the platform side: Eventgroove’s setup is free, and the service fee on paid tickets is small (2% + $0.75 per ticket). You can pass that fee on to ticket buyers, and for free events, there are no fees at all.

If you’re looking for an efficent and easy way to sell school dance tickets and manage your attendees, we’d love it if you gave Eventgroove a try. Our ticketing platform is free for organizers, with low ticket-buyer fees, no hidden charges, and no contracts. Plus, we’re also online printers, so you order custom prom tickets, VIP  badges, and flyers all in one place.

Want to see Eventgroove in action?

We’d love to show you! Schedule a one-on-one demo with our expert sales team.

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