Diaper Drive Case Study: Helping Mamas Team Challenge

Helping Mamas ran its Team Challenge diaper drive on Givelink for the first time this year. Teams across 3 locations, Metro Atlanta, Albany, Georgia, and Knoxville, Tennessee, each got their own trackable wishlist. Helping Mamas reports that its community generated 347,985 diaper equivalents, which combines donated diapers with financial gifts converted at inventory value.

Stephanie Ungashick, Chief Advancement Officer at Helping Mamas, answered our questions about how it went. Everything in quotation marks below is her wording, unedited.

What is Team Challenge?

Team Challenge is the Helping Mamas campaign that replaced the gala. As Stephanie puts it: "We do not do galas. We do Team Challenge."

Helping Mamas launched it 5 years ago, coming out of COVID. In her words, it was "a way to reengage our community, raise critical funds, and collect much-needed diapers for families experiencing diaper insecurity."

The idea is that anyone can take part. "Not everyone has the resources to sponsor a gala table or make a large financial contribution, but everyone can rally a team, share a link, or collect diapers."

Teams compete in a friendly race to collect the most diapers and raise the most funds. Some host traditional drives. Some raise money. Many mix both with online wishlists. Helping Mamas describes Team Challenge as Georgia's largest diaper drive and its biggest annual fundraising campaign.

Why Helping Mamas chose Givelink

This was their first year on Givelink. They had used another wishlist platform before and wanted, in Stephanie's words, "a more modern, cost-effective platform with better diaper pricing and a more engaging donor experience."

What stood out: Givelink "combined the best elements of traditional peer-to-peer fundraising with the convenience of an Amazon-style wishlist."

She named 3 things the team valued:

• Fair pricing. "Because diapers are our primary mission-driven product, pricing matters tremendously."
• Individual team tracking. Each team had its own wishlist, so donations connected to the right team and the competition stayed intact.
• A modern, easy-to-share experience. "Visually appealing, intuitive, and easy to share." The wishlists also let teams reach beyond the people who could physically drop off diapers. Captains sent a link by email, text or social media, and supporters in Georgia, Tennessee and other parts of the country could give from wherever they were.

The hard part: 3 offices, 1 account

Helping Mamas ran 3 offices under a single Givelink account. Each office had its own teams and needed gifts shipped to its own warehouse.

Stephanie was candid that this was "one of our biggest logistical challenges." She also said that "despite that complexity, shipping and fulfillment went very smoothly and efficiently for all three offices."

Next year they plan to set up a separate Givelink site for each location.

What supporters said

Feedback was positive on ease of use, pricing and transparency. One feature stood out: the delivery photo.

"Donors weren't just placing an online order and wondering what happened next. They could actually see that their contribution arrived and was ready to help families."

Givelink didn't replace the drive, either. Some teams used online wishlists, some kept their traditional drives, and many did both.

In Stephanie's words

"GiveLink helped us bring a modern approach to a traditional diaper drive. By combining the personal engagement of peer-to-peer fundraising with the convenience of online wishlists, we made it easier for teams to rally supporters from anywhere. The competitive pricing, team tracking, and photo delivery confirmations created a giving experience that was convenient, transparent, and meaningful."

Stephanie Ungashick, Chief Advancement Officer, Helping Mamas

5 takeaways for your own drive

These are our read of the case study, not Helping Mamas' words.

1. Make the team the unit. Give each team its own wishlist so people can see their team's progress.
2. Offer both ways to give. Keep the in-person drive, and add a link for everyone who can't come.
3. Price your core item carefully. If one item is your mission, donors notice what it costs.
4. Plan shipping for every site. With several locations, decide up front where each gift lands.
5. Close the loop. A photo of the delivery tells donors their gift arrived.

Run your own drive

Want your supporters to give from anywhere, with a photo when it arrives? See how Givelink works for nonprofits. Setup is free.