Facebook Live-A-Thon for @ASPCA Raises Over $50,000 on Giving Tuesday

Last week, nonprofits in 42 countries celebrated the sixth Giving Tuesday,a global movement to inspire giving. According to the Giving Tuesday report, $275 million was raised in addition the countless hours of volunteer time and in-kind contributions.
Giving Tuesday is more than just a day of fundraising or to launch a nonprofit’s year-end fundraising campaign. The big outcome is to increase generosity overall.  The Giving Tuesday movement is making that happen with many partners, powered with learning, collaboration, and spreading practices.
The Giving Tuesday infographic offers an analysis issues discussed during Giving Tuesday.  Included in the top five is the environment and animals.  The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), an animal welfare organization in North America, was one of the nonprofits that participated in Giving Tuesday.
The ASPCA, designed and implemented a virtual fundraiser using Facebook Live  or Facebook-Live-A-Thon to help raise awareness and funds to support animals. The event “ASPCAGivingHope” shared hourly live videos that took you behind the scenes of the organization’s work, showcased adoptable animals,  supporters, celebrities (human and animal), and clever segments like a “SlumPURR Party” about fostering cats.
They promoted the event using both paid and organic social media. In addition, shared information on their blog and website as well as including it in their weekly email newsletter to more than 2 million subscribers.
They also promoted the event via their mobile app, the ASPCA Pet Safety App. Celebrities participated in the event, including actress Edie Falco, Mother of Dogs founder Allie Rizzo, pet influencers Chloe Kardoggian and Mervin the Chihuahua, and Animal Planet’s Travis Brorsen, Dan Schachner, and Jill Rappaport joined the event. These influencers also shared the event on their own social media channels, expanding the reach.
To leverage post event attention, they created a video highlight reel to pitch media for additional coverage.
Staff member Bhavana Lalwani shared in an email interview that the organization has been testing the Facebook Live Platform for shorter events that included the donate button and got some traction. They wanted to try something bigger for Giving Tuesday.
The Facebook Live-A-Thon took two months of planning and coordinating logistics for the segments as well as creating compelling content. The set design was mostly handcrafted and featured various themes such as the NYC landscape, a football stadium, and a holiday backdrop. They had a strong wifi connection and used an iPhone on a tripod to broadcast the event.
They exceeded their goal of $25,000 and received a matching gift from corporate sponsor, Subaru.
Bhavana Lalwani, Social Media Assistant, notes that Facebook Live was a really useful fundraising tool “because it is a great way to cut through the normal chatter on people’s news feeds.”
Did your organization try something new for Giving Tuesday? Has your organization used Facebook Live for a fundraiser or other purpose?