Virtual fundraisers may have a lot of components, but that doesn’t mean streaming your event needs to be complicated or overwhelming. Knowing the right tech tools and how to leverage them to stream your virtual event means less trial and error and more time getting great fundraising results.
In this presentation we will hear how a small nonprofit with no livestreaming experience researched and found the perfect streaming solutions for their virtual fundraising event and how they implemented them. We’ll also share the various options you can use for setting up and streaming your virtual fundraising event, whether it’s livestreamed, a recorded program or a combination of both.
Downloads
Download the slides from the session, by clicking here.
Download the handout from the session by clicking here.
Mentioned in this session:
Streaming Production Software
- Streamyard
- Ecamm Live
- Be.Live
- Restream
Streaming Platforms
- YouTube Live
- Facebook Live
- Vimeo Live
Useful Knowledge Center / Other Articles
- Virtual Events
- Fundraising Strategy Video
- Three Tips for Taking Better Nonprofit Selfie Videos
- 7 Tips for a Better Fundraising Video
Questions Answered
Q: How do you add a video to the Event Page as shown in the session
A: Use the Live Event Theme, then copy/paste the URL of the video into the Video Stream settings in the Hero section. For more on the Live Event Hero section, click here. Below is a video on this one step:
Q: Livestreams can be added to the Peer-to-Peer fundraising page? Or can it only be pre-recorded videos?
A: Live or recorded both work with Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising in the Media Carousel. The Delta Chi case study was doing just that. We also just recently added Facebook (live or recorded) as an option to the Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Media Carousel, so like the Event Page, you can use any of these formats.
Q: When I livestream using one of the platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo), where is it streaming?
A: It will stream on that platform. If you use something like StreamYard or Restream, it can stream simultaneously on multiple platforms. What we recommend, though is that on those platforms you make sure to provide the link to donate or just your Event Page and let them know they can watch live on the Event Page too.
When you put one of the platform's video link in the Live Event Theme, you can have people watch on the Event Page and donate or read through your other information while the video plays. As Guy mentioned, the Event Page is specifically designed for the giving experience, so directing your supporters to the Event Page vs watching on YouTube for example, will make the option to donate much simpler. Fewer clicks = more engagement and more donations.
Q: What platform do you recommend for a one time event? Without a monthly commitment?
A: Pretty much every service we've seen is set up on a subscription basis, but most important, you can only for it a month at a time - you are not locked into something like an annual subscription. Almost all of them also have a free tier so you can test things, make sure you are comfortable with it, and then when you need the paid features, switch up to the monthly price, and when you're event is over, switch back to the free version.
For a recommendation, we really do like StreamYard.
Q: Have you ever seen any issues with YouTube being blocked by a server at an office? Does streaming through GiveSmart Fundraise help that issue?
A: It depends on how they are blocking it. In my experience, when a company locks down things like YouTube and Facebook, they do it at a level that detects it through the stream, not just blocking the YouTube.com website, such as directly on their work laptop. So even embedded, they will not play.
Of the three video platforms GiveSmart Fundraise supports, Vimeo is very often seen as a more "professional" platform, so it may not be blocked, except for the most strict companies.
The other thing to consider is when your event is, and is it during business hours where the blocking may be a problem, If it is not during business hours, it may not be as much of an issue. Also, with so many people still working from home, it is not encountering the company's firewall. If they have company installed rules on the work laptop, though, it still wouldn't work.
So Vimeo would be the best bet, and then maybe include a disclaimer and have people stream it from their phones or something like that so they are not blocked.