Virtual Fundraising: Upsilon Brings Help to Haven

Meet the ladies of Alpha Sigma Tau, Upsilon Chapter, sorority members at the University of Central Arkansas. Each year, these women earn their community service hours through fundraising and other community benefit activities. The Upsilon Chapter often provides support to Haven, a qualified Residential Treatment center and home in Conway, Arkansas, for adolescent girls in the foster care system who have faced trauma and abuse. An alum of the Upsilon Chapter founded Haven, and the sorority has maintained a strong relationship with Haven and its mission over the years. Members of the Upsilon Chapter help Haven by volunteering onsite and by raising money for the center through fundraising campaigns.

A Pandemic Problem: Fundraising While Social Distancing

With Covid-19 getting in the way of in-person gatherings and the usual fundraising event hype, the Upsilon Chapter realized that they needed to get creative while raising money for Haven. How could they bring people’s attention to Haven while running their fundraising campaign remotely? After searching for a few online fundraising ideas, the Upsilon Chapter found Driven Coffee’s Online Fundraising Program. Fresh-roasted coffee, tea, and snacks delivered right to your door? No academic organization could resist that combo of perfectly-roasted liquid motivation and study fuel! They filled out our fundraising contact form and we got in touch to answer any questions or concerns they had about doing an online fundraising campaign with us. The ladies at Upsilon discovered that our online fundraising platform made their campaign possible even on a smaller scale, a major plus for an organization made up of students still making their way through college. But the biggest perk of running an online fundraiser during a pandemic? Driven’s program allowed Upsilon’s friends and family from across the country to purchase coffee and snack products (like our popular Hokey Pokey Gourmet Mix, Scandinavian Blend, and Hot Cocoa) while contributing financial support to Haven from the comfort of their own homes.

Leveraging Social Media: Getting the Word Out

With one of our Fundraising Specialists dedicated to Upsilon’s online fundraiser, we set up the campaign in our system and created a unique link for them to share with friends and supporters. We walked them through the details of the program and made suggestions about how Upsilon could run a successful campaign for Haven entirely online. Now that they had their fundraising tools, it was time for the ladies at Upsilon to get the word out by sharing on social media and through other online channels. They told everyone they knew that 100% of the proceeds they earned would go to support Haven’s mission and directly impact the girls who live there. Upsilon chose to run a five week campaign and posted regularly through each of their online channels to remind their friends and family that the campaign for Haven was still ongoing. By sharing info on the program at Haven house, cool coffee facts, and photos of Driven’s treats, Upsilon encouraged their audience to click through and check out our fresh-roasted coffee selections or to share the event link with friends and family. Upsilon’s supporters were more than happy to treat themselves while contributing to a non-profit in need, and online orders came in throughout the entire five-week span.

Tracking Progress: Upsilon Stays Engaged

Driven’s online fundraiser dashboard let the ladies at Upsilon see exactly where they stood in order to meet their goal for Haven. They were able to track clicks, conversions, sales numbers, and the total that they had earned for Haven with those sales. Driven’s fundraising system even has the option to track sales per participant, a really handy way for Upsilon to see where they could reach out more to maximize their return for the five week campaign. At every weekly chapter meeting, Upsilon’s group leader shared the week’s fundraising numbers and progress with the rest of the chapter. Members could share successes and encourage one another to stay excited and keep promoting the fundraiser. With the entire campaign run remotely, Upsilon found that keeping each other engaged and in the loop was key to making the most impact for Haven.

Helping Haven: Fundraiser Success!

After the fundraiser wrapped up, the ladies of the Upsilon Chapter were thrilled to have proceeds from their fundraiser to contribute to Haven’s residents. They used the funds to buy clothing, school supplies, toiletries, and any other needs they could cover. Working with Haven House means a lot for the Upsilon Chapter, and helping the residents there is the embodiment of Alpha Sigma Tau’s mission to empower women for success in life. Running a creative, socially-distanced (and did we mention delicious?) coffee fundraiser to provide for Haven allowed the ladies of Upsilon to truly live out their core value of community connection even during challenging times.

We’re proud of the ladies of Alpha Sigma Tau and the work they did for Haven House!