A Queen of Hearts Fundraiser Story: St. Agnes
Go Raise Dough has served countless schools, parishes and teams over the years. In this blog, we’re spotlighting a partner that’s seen outstanding success with our online raffle software. We sat down with Laurie Fallert, coordinator of the Queen of Hearts fundraiser at St. Agnes, to unpack the parish’s Go Raise Dough story.
Introducing St. Agnes
Nestled in the heart of Bloomdale, Missouri, St. Agnes stands as a cornerstone of its community. Its catholic parish provides hundreds of parishioners with spiritual guidance. At the same time, its elementary school uplifts young children through individualized academics and intentional faith formation.
However, its dual focus comes at a cost. St. Agnes must continually maintain buildings, update classrooms, fund programming and support outreach efforts. The sheer number of projects quickly outpaces income from tuition and weekly offerings.
St. Agnes relies on innovative fundraising strategies in order to nurture faith, education and community for generations to come.
Facing a New Normal
St. Agnes’ fundraising committee launched a Queen of Hearts fundraiser years ago, inspired by a similar fundraiser at the local Elks Lodge. The idea was met with enthusiastic support from parishioners. The manual raffle soon became a weekly event — drawing the community together and raising funds at a rapid pace.
However, fundraising would soon be stopped in its tracks by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In-person events were paused across the U.S. and St. Agnes was no exception. Amid a new normal, the committee was in dire need of an online raffle software.
“We were looking for a way to continue the fundraiser, knowing we would have to give up the community outreach,” Laurie Fallert said.
Partnering with Go Raise Dough
One fundraising committee member had heard of Go Raise Dough being used at local schools and encouraged St. Agnes to go digital with fundraising. The committee quickly found that Go Raise Dough was not only safe but far more efficient than prior manual raffles.
Tasks, such as tracking daily ticket sales, providing weekly updates and depositing raffle proceeds, were simplified — freeing up the committee’s time to focus on engagement. The initial digital raffle was a success and inspired countless more in the years that followed.
“Go Raise Dough has been a blessing for us. Someone is always available for support,” Fallert said. “They take the time to look at our history and make recommendations to improve the performance of our fundraiser.”
Crediting Success
St. Agnes’ Queen of Hearts fundraiser has experienced outstanding support over the past five years. Three of their digital raffles have hit jackpots exceeding $100,000, totalling $749,000, $211,396 and $142,215.
When asked how they do it, Laurie Fallert pointed back to her fundraising committee. Despite the learning curve of online raffle software, Go Raise Dough gave her team more time and energy for promotions. Previously, the committee relied on print ads and flyers — now, they have the resources to create emails and social media posts to accompany each raffle.
“In the beginning, you must invest time in advertising to build your clientele,” Fallert said. “The rest is simple and painless. It sounds too good to be true, but it is as real as it gets.”
Ultimately, success stemmed from the support of St. Agnes parishioners. Each person took time to share raffle posts on social media platforms, allowing St. Agnes to cast a wider net into the community.
Starting a Queen of Hearts Fundraiser
St. Agnes’ Queen of Hearts fundraiser is just one of many Go Raise Dough success stories. Countless schools, parishes, teams and nonprofits use our simplified online raffle software to keep their community connected — and you could be next.
Contact Go Raise Dough today to streamline your fundraising.