Lance Armstrong Foundation

Lance Armstrong Foundation Uses Blackbaud Sphere® Events™ for its Grassroots Fundraising Program

Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation strives to inspire and empower people affected by cancer. The Foundation believes that unity is strength, knowledge is power, and attitude is everything. The Foundation, based in Austin, Texas, provides practical information and tools to help people with cancer live life on their own terms. It aims to close the gaps between what is known and what is done to prevent suffering and death due to cancer by focusing on prevention, access to screening and care, improving the quality of life for survivors, and investing in research.

The Challenge:

• Lance Armstrong Foundation’s LIVESTRONG Day began as a lobbying effort in Washington, DC that has grown considerably over the years.
• The advocacy event grew to include largely local communities.
• Lance Armstrong Foundation found that many also wanted to fundraise on LIVESTRONG Day, opening up an opportunity for Grassroots Fundraising and LIVESTRONG Day to work hand in hand.

The Solution:

• Lance Armstrong Foundation had been successfully using its existing Sphere solution, Friends Asking Friends®, to enable supporters across the country to host and promote their own fundraising events on behalf of the Foundation.
• Blackbaud’s Friends Asking Friends event fundraising solution, Blackbaud Sphere® Events™, eliminates the burden of managing donations, thank-you communications, and tax forms.
• Additionally, Lance Armstrong Foundation can gather information from all its supporters and ensure that donors are being thanked and recognized for their contributions.

The Results:

• The Arthritis Foundation has raised over $16 million online from more than 1,700 events in 40 chapters.
• Overall online event fundraising has grown by an average of 55 percent over the past three years.
• Online events have contributed 612,016 new supporters to the organization’s database.
• In 2008, the Foundation consolidated the number of events nationwide and still increased overall online revenue by 17 percent.
• Over 60 percent of event participants registered online in 2008, each sending an average of 22 emails using Friends Asking Friends.