How Nonprofits Are Solving Engagement and Fundraising Challenges with Bandwango Passes

The Problem

Both Habitat for Humanity and Dog Friendly KW initially launched paper-based passport programs, but soon faced significant challenges. They quickly realized they needed to take them digital, prompting a partnership with Bandwango.

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Habitat for Humanity Lehigh Valley, a nonprofit that created their House That Beer Built Brewery Passport, found that users frequently lost or forgot the paper passes, resulting in decreased usage and fewer renewals. Managing the physical passes was also time-consuming, with manual data tracking requiring significant staff effort and limiting their focus on supporting the mission. After reducing space on the passport and running out of room to list all their vendors, the team quickly realized that the physical format was no longer practical.

Dog Friendly KW, a nonprofit aimed at supporting the growth of their local dog community, faced similar challenges. Their Pups & Pinot Passport was originally created to support local businesses and encourage inclusive dog-friendly communities, but they quickly realized the paper pass was too labor-intensive to manage. Needing a more efficient solution to improve customer and user experience, they turned to Bandwango.

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The Goal

Habitat for Humanity's mission is to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter in their community. The team aimed to create a paid pass that offered discounts and tastings at breweries around Lehigh Valley, with proceeds supporting hardworking families in achieving homeownership. Their goal was to sell 500 passports in one year, helping to raise funds for their organization’s mission.‍

Dog Friendly KW's goal was to simplify local tourism for dog owners and ease the challenge of planning, making it easier to find dog-friendly wineries. They created a digital Bandwango pass to achieve their goal, while also hoping to expand their reach more broadly across Ontario.

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The Pass

By transitioning to Bandwango’s digital platform, both nonprofits were able to address the limitations of their paper-based systems by creating Paid Tasting Passes.

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‍Habitat for Humanity partnered with Bandwango to take their House That Beer Built Brewery Passport digital, creating a Paid Tasting Pass that featured various local breweries. All proceeds for the pass directly supported Habitat Lehigh Valley’s mission to build safe & affordable homes in the community.‍

Dog Friendly KW digitized their Pups & Pinot pass, designed to help dog owners discover dog-friendly wineries across Ontario. The pass included a curated list of wineries where users could redeem discounts, further supporting the organization’s mission.

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The Marketing

Both organizations implemented multi-channel marketing strategies to drive sales and engagement.

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Habitat for Humanity utilized social media campaigns, email marketing, and on-site print signage at participating breweries to promote their pass. They also capitalized on holiday seasons and participated in community events to sell the passports and swag, which helped boost visibility and engagement during key periods.

Dog Friendly KW focused on paid advertising and heavily on social media, which they found to be the most successful avenue for promotion. In addition to digital channels, they also marketed through the radio, print materials at participating wineries, and in-person events, allowing them to connect directly with their community and raise awareness about their unique offerings.

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The Impact

Habitat for Humanity found that the digital pass not only reduced the workload for their team but also increased enthusiasm among passholders. Users appreciated having access on their phones, making it convenient and easily accessible. Passholders also loved the idea of “gifting” the pass to others, helping Habitat For Humanity to expand their reach. While their goal of selling 500 passes has not yet been met, they remain optimistic about reaching that target by the end of their campaign period.

Dog Friendly KW also saw positive results, most notably the increase in time and capacity for their team. They’ve also sold 58 passes to date, higher than the year prior. Additionally, almost 100 transactions have driven funding right back into the doors of their vendors, enabling them to support local businesses while providing a valuable service to dog owners. Feedback from both passholders and participating wineries has been positive, both complimenting the ease of use and the redemption process on-site.

Conclusion

These two programs have always been supported by the communities, but now having it at their fingertips and receiving positive feedback has been a game changer.

For both Habitat for Humanity and Dog Friendly KW, Bandwango’s digital pass solution provided a way to overcome the limitations of traditional paper passes, streamline operations, and engage their communities in new and exciting ways. The ease of use, combined with the powerful tracking and reporting tools, allowed both organizations to focus on their missions while providing a seamless experience for users.

These two passes not only support a great cause but can also create new opportunities for fundraising, community engagement, and brand awareness. For nonprofits looking to innovate, take it from Dog Friendly KW:

“If you are looking for a unique offering for your community, and a way to simultaneously raise brand awareness and raise funds, a Bandwango pass can be a great opportunity to do so.”

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