Stop Soldier Suicide feared that the COVID-19 pandemic would impact its ability to generate revenue at a time when it expected a surge in client need. But thanks to its partnership with GoodUnited, deploying a social fundraising solution to build new virtual peer-to-peer fundraising revenue, Stop Soldier Suicide was able to not only raise the funds it needed -- but double its revenue during a pandemic.
Vision: Stop Soldier Suicide’s vision is a nation where service members and veterans have no greater risk for suicide than any other American.
Mission: Stop Soldier Suicide is reducing the military suicide rate through the use of enhanced data insights, focused client acquisition and best-in-class suicide intervention services.
Goal: Stop Soldier Suicide will reduce the military suicide rate by 40% by 2030, saving more than 2,400 lives per year on average.
Raised in 2020: $4.1M
2021 Goal: $8M
HQ: Durham, North Carolina
Serve: US Veterans
The nonprofit set out to reach an ambitious goal: to ensure that veterans and service members were at no greater risk for suicide than any other American. Stop Soldier Suicide is small and scrappy, with fewer than 30 team members, but its impact has reverberated throughout the military community. The organization has served more than 1,400 at-risk veterans and service members in the last 18 months, covering all 50 states and the nation's capital. It has a dedicated community of more than 500K followers on Facebook, thousands of whom support its mission by raising money through Facebook Fundraisers.
Few, if any, organizations were prepared for the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly wrought overnight. Suddenly, all in-person fundraising events were cancelled. As donors faced their own financial uncertainty, nonprofits across the board braced for the worst.
Stop Soldier Suicide’s fears were more than just financial. Lockdown orders meant at-risk veterans would need more support than ever before. While necessary, the social and physical isolation could increase stressors that often contribute to suicide risk.
- Tina Starkey, Chief Growth Officer of Stop Soldier Suicide
Fortunately, Stop Soldier Suicide had been working with GoodUnited before COVID hit, partnering with GoodUnited to enhance donor cultivation and engagement.
- Tina Starkey, Chief Growth Officer of Stop Soldier Suicide
To keep donors engaged during the pandemic and find new supporters, GoodUnited suggested another way Stop Soldier Suicide could deploy social fundraising.
Within the GoodUnited social fundraising solution, Stop Soldier Suicide tapped peer-to-peer Facebook challenges. These fundraisers were conducted entirely through Facebook, using Facebook groups to encourage engagement and Facebook’s fundraising tool to manage funds.
For Stop Soldier Suicide, the challenge fundraisers were straightforward (but not easy!). Participants were challenged to run or walk 100 miles over the course of one month to raise both funds and awareness for the fight against military suicide. Utilizing Facebook's 'groups' product, Stop Soldier Suicide created groups by state to allow participants to connect and encourage each other while working toward a common goal. For participants, these challenges were the perfect fit for their needs as well, allowing them to support a good cause while having a reason to get outside and move. Some supporters even arranged to meet to run or walk together, outside and socially distanced.
These fundraisers proved to be the tactic that Stop Soldier Suicide needed to thrive. Not only did Stop Soldier Suicide make up for potentially lost funds, but the organization raised $2.5M more in 2020 than in 2019 thanks to peer-to-peer challenge fundraisers.
Stop Soldier Suicide’s collaboration with GoodUnited netted it more than revenue, though. It was also able to connect with supporters individually thanks to GoodUnited’s Facebook chatbot technology. This allowed Stop Soldier Suicide to gather contact information for its most ardent supporters and, most importantly, understand why they chose to commit time, energy and funds to the mission.\“What’s beautiful is that they tell those stories in a one-to-one format.
Stop Soldier Suicide successfully and safely inspired supporters in a time when connection was more difficult than ever, driving critical revenue while still engaging (and thanking) those donors closest to its mission.
Stop Soldier Suicide plans to continue working with GoodUnited to cultivate new and existing supporters on social media, and take advantage of new ways of fundraising on Facebook. This nonprofit believes that peer-to-peer challenges will remain a valuable source of revenue long after the pandemic ends.
