While donations are typically associated with streaming and internet influencers, thanks to ClickMeeting, they’ve become an integral part of the online events world.

Many people wonder how they can run fundraising campaigns during their webinars. We’re here to help!

In this article, you’ll discover how we utilized donations during a charity webinar to support a local animal shelter. You’ll also learn inspiring ideas that will help you organize fundraisers and earn money even from free events!

Table of Contents

ClickMeeting Charity Webinar with Donations: A Behind-the-Scenes Look

Let’s be honest: at ClickMeeting, we love animals. And we love supporting initiatives that help those in need. This holiday season, we decided to organize a charity webinar that would provide participants with valuable knowledge while raising funds for an important cause. We thought it would be a perfect opportunity to utilize donations.

Let’s recall: donations are voluntary payments that event organizers on ClickMeeting can receive. All you need to do is integrate with a payment system. Then, create a CTA button in the event room using our intuitive creator. When clicked, your participants will see a popup allowing them to leave a donation. Simple, right?

To learn more about how to use this feature, check out our detailed guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O6YVFfpbdw

We reached out to Sopotkowo shelter, which provides excellent care for animals and – like every facility of this type – needs support, especially during the winter months. Our proposal to organize an online charity event with fundraising was met with great enthusiasm. Full steam ahead!

It was time to choose a speaker and webinar topic. We wanted to offer content that would be popular among people interested in animal welfare while providing them with expert knowledge useful in their daily lives.

We approached Paulina Węgrzynowska – an animal behaviorist and zoophysiotherapist, owner of SpaceDogs Dog Training Center. Paulina suggested an excellent topic:

“What Is Your Dog Telling You? How to Effectively Communicate with Your Four-Legged Friend?”

Perfect timing: our participants didn’t have to wait until Christmas Eve to talk with their furry friends!

How Did We Promote the Webinar?

No promotion, no results! We prepared a set of content for various communication channels, including:

Email campaigns sent to our databases: both clients and previous event participants
Social media posts
Social media advertising
Landing page with registration capability
Email campaigns distributed through our partners’ databases

But we didn’t stop at digital efforts. After all, animal lovers spend time with their pets primarily in the real world. So we printed posters with QR codes leading to the registration form and displayed them across Gdańsk and beyond.

The result? 1,351 people registered for the webinar.

Donations During the Webinar: Check Out How Much We Raised!

The big day arrived! The moderators, along with Anna from Sopotkowo shelter, took their seats in the ClickMeeting studio, Paulina Węgrzynowska set up with her camera at home, and 425 participants joined us live. Of course, all registered participants received the webinar recording.

We didn’t forget to set up the donation banner, and here are the results of our initiative:

In total, through donations during the webinar, we raised €390 for Sopotkowo shelter!

Earning Through Donations: An Expert’s Story

We honestly admit that we weren’t the first event organizer to receive donations through this feature. That honor goes to Samir Kayyali – a tax advisor who creates paid training sessions and free promotional webinars on ClickMeeting. During one of them, he decided to test the new feature.

“I said, ‘listen, if you like what I’m doing and want to reward me symbolically, use the donation feature.’ The result? Almost 40% of participants (about 70 people) decided to make a contribution. I suggested that participants send me a symbolic €1 for coffee. And note this – when I later checked the donation statistics, which show who contributed how much, it turned out that 95% of people transferred exactly €1. You could just as easily say ‘Send me €10.’ For many people who value your knowledge, often worth much more, this won’t be an issue.”

FACT: Your Participants Want to Support You Through Donations

Samir Kayyali has practically demonstrated that webinar participants are eager to support organizers through voluntary contributions. This is further validated by research, such as The Creator Economy Report by The Influencer Marketing Factory.

The phenomenon of supporting creators through donations is currently undergoing a fascinating transformation. The report reveals that 40% of users now provide regular tips to creators in the range of €5-10, marking a significant increase from just 17% in 2021. This represents a fundamental shift in audience behavior, opening new possibilities for webinar monetization.

Particularly relevant for webinar hosts is that today’s viewers are increasingly aware of the value of knowledge they receive and are more willing to pay for it. The report shows that over 45% of internet users express readiness to financially support creators whose content they find valuable. This willingness is especially evident during webinars, where direct exchange of knowledge and experience occurs.

The psychological aspect of donations during webinars deserves special attention. They’re not perceived as typical service fees but rather as expressions of appreciation and support for the creator. This builds a significantly stronger bond between the host and participants. Notably, 35.3% of people state that their main motivation for giving donations is the desire to support creators they value.

How to Effectively Harness the Potential of Donations During Webinars

Based on the report and ClickMeeting client experiences, here are several key strategies:

Create Authentic Value: This is the absolute foundation and the most important motivation for sharing funds.
Foster Interaction: The study shows that 17% of viewers donate to interact with the host. During webinars, it’s important to create space for such interaction.
Appreciate Your Supporters: 28.4% of study participants indicate that the creator’s response to received support is important to them.
Prepare for Varied Support: Data shows that users are willing to contribute both small amounts (€5-10) and significant sums (over €50) if they find the content valuable.
Particularly noteworthy is that donations can become a stable source of revenue. According to the report, 48% of viewers declare they intend to start or continue financially supporting creators in the next 12 months. This demonstrates that properly conducted webinars delivering real value can generate predictable donation revenue.

Remember that donations often serve as the first step in building deeper business relationships. People who start with small contributions are more likely to later purchase more expensive content from the creator.

And this is where paid webinars enter the scene :).

How to Effectively Communicate Support Options?

Adding a donation button isn’t everything. It’s crucial to properly communicate this option to event participants. Here are proven practices:

Pre-Event Preparation

If you’re planning a charity fundraiser, it’s worth signaling to participants during registration that donations will be possible during the event. In promotional materials, you can highlight the fundraising goal and planned use of funds. This way, participants won’t be surprised by this option during the event.

Communication During the Event

The beginning of the webinar is a crucial moment. In the first few minutes, while presenting the agenda, take time to explain the donation mechanism. Remember that for many participants, this might be their first encounter with this form of support during an online event. It’s worth clearly explaining:

Where to find the donation button How simple and secure the payment process is Exactly how the collected funds will be used

Tactful Reminders

The art of effectively communicating about donations lies in finding the golden mean between overly aggressive promotion and excessive discretion. Here are natural moments to remind about support options:

After completing a major content block During event breaks Following particularly valuable sections that received positive participant feedback When addressing participant questions that show the content is helpful In the event summary

Building Engagement

Effective donation communication also involves building participant engagement. You can:

Share stories of people or initiatives that will benefit from the support Present specific examples of how collected funds will be used Thank donors (if they’ve consented) and appreciate their contribution to the community

Post-Event Communication

Don’t forget about communication after the webinar ends. In the follow-up email, it’s worth:

Thanking everyone for their participation and support Informing about the total amount raised Presenting a specific plan for using the funds

Remember that with ClickMeeting, you can also place a donation button in the thank-you email!

Transparency and Authenticity

The foundation of effective donation communication is absolute transparency. Participants must know exactly where their money is going. If the funds are meant to support your activities, say so openly: explain how you’ll use them to create more valuable content for the community. Authenticity and honesty build trust, which is essential for people to want to support you financially.