Creative Ways to Use QR Codes at Your Fundraising Event

How to use QR codes, and three easy ways to promote your upcoming event.

So what’s a QR code?

QR codes have grown in popularity because they’re incredibly useful! Rather than handing out a long website link that someone would have to manually enter into their device’s web browser, a
QR code can take them straight to your webpage with just one click.

How do QR codes work?

QR codes are fun and interactive. All mobile users need to do is hold up their phone or device to scan the QR code—typically using a camera app—and the link associated appears. Then they can tap and go!

Event Promotion

Whether you’re advertising your event with a snail mailer, poster, or television ad (or all of the above!), a QR code is a great way to get a lot of detailed information across without cluttering up your advertisement.

Simply create a webpage with all of your event details—date, time, registration information, schedule of events—and then use your page link to create a QR code. Include it on all of your promotional materials and advertisements, so anyone who’s interested can scan your code and get all the details instantly!

Accept Donations

Few people these days prefer to write checks when making a donation—plus, it takes extra time and postage! But that leaves physical advertising in a position of directing people to a website to make a gift, and with every extra step, you lose potential donors.

What if you could transport people instantly to your donation page from a snail mailer? To accept donations through your website, use a QR code! Just create an online donation page and use the link to generate your unique code. These are great for handing out on fliers, brochures, postcards, and more.

Plan to participate in Giving Tuesday? Design and publish your Giving Tuesday-specific donation page, then generate a QR code and use it wherever you advertise your upcoming GivingTuesday campaign!

View an Auction Catalog

Many nonprofits are moving away from distributing paper catalogs at auction events to be more environmentally friendly. Auction catalogs can also be costly to print for hundreds of guests, and QR codes are the perfect solution!

Once you’ve generated your online auction catalog, use the link to your catalog to create a QR image and print it on all of your event materials—not just at the event, but in all communications where you might want to give guests a preview of the catalog and get them excited about the auction!

Tips and Best Practices

• Use a reliable service to generate a QR code for each of your URLs. You don’t want your code to expire before the day of your event—because then it won’t work!
• Remember that every web address will require its own unique QR code.
• Always print in high quality and high resolution. If it’s not good quality, it may not scan properly.
• Put QR codes on clothing for your volunteers’ t-shirts. You can recruit potential volunteers by encouraging them to scan the shirt to sign up for volunteer opportunities.
• Add a QR code to collect feedback with a survey on your event.
• You can use them anywhere you would normally use a link, URL, or simply direct someone to your website. Make good use of them!

New Technology Made Simple

A QR code is a simple, affordable, and interactive way to engage with your guests. It allows you to drop an anchor directly into the physical world that connects to an online resource—and thus makes it easier for people to take action. For example, they can be used to direct guests to a donation site or event information, present a visual aid during presentations like Live Auctions, and connect guests with your social media platforms or resources. It’s all about coming up with creative uses for what is essentially a simple technology.