Supporter sign-ups for nonprofits
Turn galas, rallies, and community events into a supporter list, with a poll or a giveaway to bring the room in.
14-day free trial. Every feature on every plan.
- GALA
- Thank you for being here tonight! What’s your email for the impact report?
- lee@example.org
- You’re on the list. Watch the screen for tonight’s live poll.
Most of the room goes home without a way to say “tell me more.”
Pledge cards catch a small slice
They reach the guests ready to give that night, and miss the ones moved by the story who aren’t ready yet.
Guests came with someone else
Table hosts bring friends you’ve never met, and they leave without leaving a name.
Volunteers sign in on paper
The sign-in sheet tells you who came, but not how to invite them back.
How nonprofits use Textiful
The podium ask
When the story lands, the emcee gives a keyword. Guests text in for the impact report, and the reply links to your donation page for anyone ready to give.
- GALA
- Thank you for being here! What email should we send the impact report to?
- lee@example.org
Table cards for every guest
A QR code on each table card reaches the guests your table hosts brought. Tag each one with the table or the host.
- Scanned the QR code on table 12
- Welcome! We’d love to stay in touch. What’s your email?
A live poll during the program
“Which program should next year’s campaign focus on?” Votes build on the screen, guests feel part of the night, and you learn what your supporters care about.
- Which program should next year focus on? Reply A, B, or C.
- A
Giveaways that grow the list
A drawing gets the whole room texting in. Each guest enters once, and the winner is drawn on screen. Drawing and raffle rules vary by state, so check with your counsel first.
- PRIZE
- You’re entered! The winner is drawn before dessert.
The features nonprofits use most
- Capture data via text
Email, name, company, location, or any custom field, asked one question at a time. Start from a template and change the wording to sound like you.
- Giveaways
People enter by text, once each. Draw winners at random, reveal them on a live page, and text them how to claim the prize.
- Live polls
Ask a question, let the room vote by text, and project the results as they come in. Countdown, winner banner, and confetti included.
- QR codes
Free, unlimited QR codes that open a pre-filled text. Print them on banners, slides, and table tents, and see how many people scanned each one.
Ready for your next event
- 1
Write the reply
Start from “Send an offer or info” or “Grow my email list,” and link the impact report or your giving page.
- 2
Put it in the program
A keyword for the emcee to say, and a free QR code on the table cards and the screen.
- 3
Connect your list
Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, or HubSpot, or your donor CRM through Zapier or a webhook.
Before and after
| Pledge cards and sign-in sheets | With Textiful | |
|---|---|---|
| During the program | Pledge cards for those ready to give | A keyword for anyone moved by the story |
| Guests of table hosts | Leave unknown | On your list, tagged by table |
| Volunteers | Names on a sheet | Contacts you can invite back |
| Learning what supporters care about | Guesswork | A live poll in the room |
Who it’s for
Charities, foundations, advocacy groups, associations, and community organizations in the US that hold galas, rallies, volunteer days, or community events.
Who should skip it
Textiful doesn’t process donations or replace auction software. For a twenty-person donor dinner, a handwritten note to each guest may serve you better.
Solutions for nonprofits
How to grow a donor list at a gala
To grow a donor list at a gala, have the emcee give a keyword from the podium right after the story lands, and put a QR code on every table card. Textiful asks each guest for an email by text, sends your impact report, replies with a link to your giving page, and tags the contact with the table host who brought them.
ReadHow to recruit volunteers at a community event
To recruit volunteers at a community event, announce a keyword from the stage, such as "Text SERVE to 33777," and put a QR code on the volunteer table. Textiful asks for their name and email and what they'd like to help with, emails your volunteer coordinator each new sign-up, and adds them to your email tool or CRM, so the coordinator can follow up while the event is still fresh.
ReadHow to run event registration and check-in by text
To run event check-in by text, put a QR code on a sign at the door or registration table and a keyword on the same sign. Each arrival scans or texts, gives a name and email by text, and Textiful tags them with the event. When doors close, the list of who came is ready to filter, export as a CSV, or find in your email tool.
ReadHow to share your giving link during a church service
To share your giving link during a church service, pick a keyword like GIVE, say it from the stage, and put it on screen with a QR code. Anyone who texts it to 33777 or scans the code gets a reply with a link to your giving page. Textiful doesn't take donations; the gift happens on the giving page you already use.
ReadHow to use a QR code to collect emails
To use a QR code to collect emails, point the code at a text conversation instead of a web form. With Textiful, scanning opens the phone's texting app with a message already written; the person taps send, replies with their email, and is added to your Mailchimp, Kit, or ActiveCampaign list. QR codes are free and unlimited on every plan.
ReadWhat's a good alternative to paper sign-up sheets?
A practical alternative to paper sign up sheets is a QR code or keyword people text from their own phone. Textiful asks for their email by text, checks that it looks like an email before moving on, and adds the contact straight to Mailchimp, Kit, or ActiveCampaign, so nobody types anything in afterward.
ReadQuestions people ask
Textiful doesn't process payments. The 'Send a text' step can reply with a link to your own donation page, and the guest gives there.
The registration list covers the person who bought the table. Their guests, spouses, and colleagues often aren't on it, and a table card is how you meet them.
Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, and HubSpot are built in. For another donor CRM, use Zapier's New Contact trigger if your CRM is on Zapier, or send each contact to a webhook as JSON.
The 'Run a giveaway' template collects entries by text. Raffle and drawing rules vary by state, so check with your counsel before running one.
No. The results page shows counts and percentages only, never names or phone numbers.
Keep exploring
Event lead capture: a playbook for live audiences
How to turn a room into contacts you can follow up with: what to offer, how to ask from the stage or the booth, what to ask for, and what to do in the 24 hours after.
ReadLead capture
Lead capture is the process of collecting contact details, usually an email address and name, from people interested in what you offer, so you can follow up with them later. Common methods include web forms, paper sign-up sheets, trade show badge scanning, and text-to-join.
ReadOpt-in
An opt-in is a person's permission to receive messages from an organization, given through an action they take themselves, such as texting a keyword, ticking a box, or submitting a sign-up form. It's the record that someone asked to hear from you.
ReadWebhook
A webhook is an automated message one app sends to another the moment something happens, delivered as an HTTP request to a URL you provide, usually with the details in JSON. It lets systems react to events as they happen instead of checking for changes on a schedule.
ReadLive poll
A live poll is a question put to an audience in real time, with answers collected from people's phones or devices and results shown as they come in, often on the screen behind the speaker. It's used for audience participation, quick feedback, and group decisions during talks, classes, services, and shows.
ReadA digital connection card for church guests
A digital connection card for church works from the guest's own phone: during welcome time, they scan a QR code in the bulletin or text a keyword to 33777, give a name and email, and your guest follow-up team gets an email right away. It replaces the card in the seat-back pocket for the people who were never going to fill it out.
ReadConference lead capture for event organizers
Conference lead capture happens in a dozen rooms at once: the main-stage poll, the breakout session survey, the sponsor's booth. Textiful gives each room and moment its own QR code or keyword, asks a question or two by text, and keeps a separate report for each one, with the contacts sent where your team works.
ReadCampus event sign-ups for schools and student orgs
For a campus event sign-up, students and families scan a QR code at the club table or open house check-in, answer a question or two by text, and land in the right list. One account can give every club at the activities fair its own free QR code, so each one gets its own sign-ups.
ReadReady for your next event?
Try Textiful free for 14 days. Set up a QR code or keyword in minutes and see who shows up.