Why you don't need a big organisation to run a successful fundraiser
Taking on a fundraiser by yourself can feel daunting. There is no team to share the load and no established charity name to lend instant credibility, so it is easy to assume that running something like an online auction is only for bigger organisations. Jessica Gullett's story is a reminder that it is not.
Jessica lives in Dallas, Georgia, just outside Atlanta, and every Christmas she takes on a fundraising project. Some years it is someone else's cause, and some years it is her own. This one was hers.
Her community has a growing homeless population, and a friend who works with unhoused people through a local ministry shared a story that stayed with her. Jessica decided to help, and created a project she called Holiday Blessing Bags: care packages that the ministry could hand out while doing its work on the ground. Her goal was to raise around $500 to put the bags together.
She knew Christmas was a hard time to ask for money, and that on her own she would need a way to look credible to people who did not know her. With one good idea, some generous donations from her community, and a platform that handled the set-up, the payments and the trust factor, she ran a polished campaign entirely on her own.
The goal was simple: raise around $500 for the care packages, and make giving feel effortless rather than like one more ask at Christmas.
The result was a low-barrier online auction, her Bidding for Blessings campaign, that let supporters shop for something they actually wanted while funding care packages for people in need. As Jessica puts it:
"I consider it a really big success, and it was fun."
In this case study, Jessica shares why she chose GalaBid, how she built trust as a first-time solo fundraiser, and the small decisions that made her auction easy to run.
Turning an Ask into an Offer
Jessica knew that Christmas was a difficult time to ask for money. Finances are already stretched, everyone is buying gifts, and plenty of other causes are asking too. So instead of simply asking for cash, she decided to give people something in return. She lined up strong donations from connections in the community and ran them as an online auction, so supporters could treat it as part of their Christmas shopping.
"If I could combine the idea of Christmas shopping with making this very low barrier, very low friction, I'd really be able to pull off something successful."
Fundraiser takeaway: At a time when supporters are being asked for money from every direction, giving them something they genuinely want in return can turn a hard ask into an easy yes.
Building Trust as a First-Time Fundraiser
Because Jessica was running this herself rather than under an established charity's name, trust mattered. Some of the people bidding, and some who won items, did not know her personally. She used GalaBid to give her campaign a professional, credible feel, adding her own banner at the top and creating a personalised link.
"Even if you didn't know me personally, people knew they could trust the process, and that I would deliver on the promise."
Fundraiser takeaway: A polished, personalised campaign page does more than look good. For an individual fundraiser, it is what reassures supporters that their money is in safe hands.
Keeping the Set-up Simple
Jessica had a clear sense of what she needed: something straightforward enough to set up on her own, with the legitimacy of a real platform behind it. She found GalaBid through a Google search and found the set-up easy to manage, with the FAQs guiding her through anything she was unsure about.
"It's easier than listing something on eBay!"
Fundraiser takeaway: Simple set-up is not a nice-to-have for a solo organiser. It is often the difference between a project that happens and one that stays on the to-do list.
Looking Ahead
For Jessica, the Holiday Blessing Bags auction was one of a series. She takes on a giving project every Christmas, and having found a process this straightforward, she has a ready-made way to run the next one.
"You made it easy for me. It was a successful experience that I could not have done without GalaBid."
By keeping the barrier to giving low and the setup simple, Jessica turned a story that moved her into care packages that reached people in her community who needed them.
Key Lessons for Fundraisers
Give supporters something in return
Offering items people want can turn a difficult ask into an easy decision, especially at expensive times of year.
Make it easy to say yes
Low barrier, low friction giving reaches people who might otherwise scroll past a straight donation request.
Build trust with a personal touch
A branded, personalised campaign page reassures supporters, particularly when you are fundraising as an individual.
Keep the setup simple
Straightforward tools make solo fundraising achievable rather than overwhelming.
Know support is there
Fast, human help at the payment stage keeps small technical issues from derailing your campaign.
For Jessica, the auction was not really about the technology. It was about making it easy for her community to give, and turning good intentions into care packages that reached people who needed them.
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GalaBid supports silent auctions, live auctions, raffles, ticketing and donation drives, run on their own or combined in a single seamless campaign. Whether you are hosting a major event or a quick online auction, you get the flexibility to engage supporters your way and make the most of every dollar.