Give Smart, Episode 8
A great experience can be worth far more than its ticket price when it is tied to a cause people care about.
In this episode of Give Smart, Ben Erwin, CEO of Charitybuzz, joins Change to talk about how charitable auctions and sweepstakes can turn access to unique experiences into meaningful fundraising, and what it takes to scale that model across brands, nonprofits, and campaigns.
Charitybuzz has built its model around experiences people cannot easily buy elsewhere, from celebrity meet-and-greets and luxury travel to sports, entertainment, and cultural moments.
Those experiences create an opportunity to bring together people who want access with nonprofits looking for new ways to raise money.
Since 2005, Charitybuzz has reported raising more than $650 million for charity.
One of the interesting parts of Charitybuzz’s model is that there is no single way to participate.
Auctions can create excitement around competitive bidding, while sweepstakes can open an experience to a much broader audience. Both give nonprofits and brand partners a way to turn attention around an experience into fundraising.
For participants, the experience should feel simple. Behind the scenes, though, Charitybuzz has to coordinate nonprofits, prize providers, campaign terms, payments, fulfillment, and reporting across a large number of campaigns.
As Charitybuzz has grown, so has the operational work required to support each campaign.
Nonprofit partners need to be vetted, funds need to be tracked and distributed, and campaigns need to meet the requirements that apply to their structure.
Change supports Charitybuzz with compliance and fundraising infrastructure that helps its team manage that work at scale.
You can read more about the partnership in our Charitybuzz customer announcement.
The broader takeaway from Ben’s conversation is that charitable giving does not have to look like a traditional donation form.
An auction, sweepstakes, or once-in-a-lifetime experience can give people another reason to participate while helping nonprofits reach new audiences and generate meaningful funding.
Watch the full episode above to hear Ben discuss Charitybuzz’s growth, the role brands and experiences play in fundraising, and how the platform has evolved as it has scaled.
Explore more conversations with leaders building new approaches to giving in the Give Smart video series.
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