As 2020 dawned, Liberty in North Korea had high hopes for their gala season. Employing a dual gala system, LiNK relied on the events to raise more than just money—these fundraisers brought awareness, support, and hope to the thousands of North Korean people assisted by this freedom-focused international NGO.

Then the world changed.

As LiNK's gala season approached, they decided to go all-in on virtual events, and with the help of Funraise, a few practice runs, and a whole lot of laughter, they tamed virtual events and raised over $1M to rescue and empower North Korean refugees.

LiNK's CEO, Hannah Song described the benefits of their virtual setup:

‍“We embedded the video on our Funraise page and connected the Facebook fundraising pages. Building it with Funraise made it easy for donors to give on the event page without having to miss the program.”‍

Here are the stats for LiNK's dual dueling virtual galas:

• Number of galas: 2; East Coast and West Coast, but all virtual, all over the world
• LiNK's fundraising goal: $800,000
• Total amount raised: $1.06M
• Number of fundraisers for the event: 648
• Number of unique supporters: about 1100
• Number of first-time donors: about 840
• Number of email signups: over 1000

To go even further, listen as Hannah joins one of our favorite conversations on the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast. Justin Wheeler, CEO and Co-founder of Funraise, speaks with Hannah about how LiNK's 2020 events allowed them to reach a wider audience, rake in the email signups, and relate to supporters on a whole new level.

You're gonna be an expert in no time!

• Understand how livestreams work and how to create your own
• Build a simple or advanced livestream using OBS (Open Broadcaster Software)
• Go live to one or multiple audiences simultaneously
• Put together a livestream that is engaging, entertaining, and dynamic