Last updated on May 20th, 2021 at 06:14 pm
Big picture: Relay for Life is a non profit community-based fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. In the past, their fundraisers were relay runs conducted around the world. Non-profit organizations rely on volunteers and in-person events to raise funds and awareness, but when the pandemic hit, they were left scrambling with options to go virtual.
Project: Relay for Life reached out to us about launching a pop-up virtual apparel store for their annual fundraising campaign.
Our process: With our pop-up fundraising apparel store capabilities, we were able to help Relay of Life staff to design the shirts, setup the online store, print the shirts and drop ship to individual donors. Relay for Life selected the premium Bella Canvas short sleeve unisex t-shirt, in the softest ring spun cotton and comes in a rainbow of colors. We set up the T-shirt design, manufacturing and online fundraising store in a matter of days.
Fundraising success: Relay for Live were able to launch a fundraising campaign at a time when getting volunteering help can be challenging. All the organizers had to do is get the word out and they did! In the end, many for Relay for Life supporters contributed and received a premium shirt with a personal message. Many loved it so much they wear it every day!
Designing a great fundraiser t-shirt has everything to do with the ultimate success of the campaign. The Relay of Life organizers came up with a fun and timely tagline that is relevant. Not only it resonates with the audience and people will always remember the time they bought the shirt.
Dig deep in your cause, goals and motivation. Be creative! Once you have your idea, we can help you convert it into a design that can be printed on a shirt. Another great way to increase your fundraising sales is to offer the t-shirt in different colors. In this case, they offered the design in 3 shirt colors. The Relay of Life brand colors is purple but they also offer it in red and black as options. We always recommend using the branding guide as a reference to design as it will promote the organization using the same look and feel.
When choosing a shirt for non profit virtual fundraiser, we advise clients to go with a nicer premium options. First, it would be appropriate to give donors a quality item for their contribution. Second, a nice retail fit shirt with a design that complement the organization will be worn many more times, thus increasing impressions and awareness for the non profit.
In addition, design is everything. When is the last time you bought a shirt because it looked cool? Of course, we can print a t-shirt with a logo in the center. We can do much better than that.
