Qtego is celebrating its 15th Anniversary in 2024 by looking back. This story is part of a series highlighting pioneering Qtego innovations and how they have changed the event fundraising industry.
2018
FAST CHECKOUT
The most efficient way for fundraising event participants to fund the organizations they love.
If you have been in the nonprofit world for a few years, you might remember the days when attendees waited in long lines at checkout stations as events drew to a close. That’s when fundraising teams had to work a long “second shift” after every event, often including weeks of chasing down money from individual auction winners and donors.
It was frustrating for guests trying to get home and painstaking work for the organization afterward, which is why Qtego introduced Fast Checkout to the market in 2018. With Fast Checkout, every time someone wins an auction item, purchases a raffle ticket or makes a donation, their credit card transaction is pushed through with the click of a button. This was a first for fundraising platforms.
Pam Walker
Supervisor of Event Coordinators
Qtego’s Supervisor of Event Coordinators, Pam Walker, is a former development director for a non-profit. She recalls what life was like for nonprofits before Qtego Fast Checkout came along.
“After an event, you become a collections agency. No one in development wants to be a collection agency. It took a whole day to enter in the winners and then weeks to get all the money from the gala,” Walker says.
“After we switched to Qtego, my Monday after an event looked completely different. We could get to the business of thanking donors and showing them the impact of the organization, instead of reaching out to say, ‘You promised this money. Now pay up.’”
Nonprofits run tight ships and often have small teams. Fast Checkout makes it possible for organizations to get their money faster, which means teams can get to the work of distributing it and integrating it into their mission more quickly. Plus, recordkeeping is thorough and audit-ready.
For guests, Fast Checkout means they can enjoy the camaraderie and fun of a fundraiser, support the cause they care about, and then swiftly settle their bids and donations when they are ready to leave. Eventually, Qtego competitors caught on and developed their own versions of Fast Checkout.
With Qtego Fast Checkout, credit card transactions are almost immediate. Guests receive an itemized PDF receipt, including 501(c)(3) information for tax purposes, as a record of their gifts. Fast Checkout also notifies bidders if they have won auction items so they can pick them up before they leave, streamlining checkout and the item-pickup process exponentially.
“In fundraising, you not only want your donors to give to the cause. You want them to feel a part of the cause,” Walker says. “They are coming to your gala, walkathon or golf tournament and participating with other like-minded people. Ideally, the event is the key to more engagement with the organization.”
Qtego Fast Checkout allows guests to enjoy their time at your event engaged in your mission — not engaged in the logistics of an auction or a distended transaction process. And for the organizers, there is no more waiting weeks to get paid and no more chasing down donors. Now that’s fast.
