So, you’ve decided to set up a fundraising campaign. First of all, well done to you! There are so many amazing causes out there and so many people in need of help. You’re doing a great thing. Congratulations! Fundraising is so rewarding as you’re helping others and helping to make a change, but you also get to have lots of fun in the process.
I’ve worked on a few fundraising campaigns in the past, and below I’ll be sharing my top tips to help you get the most out of your fundraising, from my personal experience.
1) Set up a JustGiving page
Having a JustGiving page makes it so easy for people to donate to your cause. For this reason, I’d recommend this being the first thing you do once you’ve decided your cause. Setting up your page only takes a couple of minutes and allows you to get stuck right in with your fundraising. JustGiving will also ask you to choose your charity, so the money you raise will go directly to them, making it even more convenient.
Once your page is up and running, you can share the link with anyone and people can donate whenever they please. Some people may still want to give you the money by hand, which is completely fine, however, setting up a JustGiving page makes it easy for those who cannot give you the money in person.
2) Hold an event or virtual event
Last year, I was raising funds to provide water to those in need. My family, friends and I held a small fundraiser in our local community. We managed to raise a good amount of money at the event, while also creating a fun day out for the local community.
Of course, due to COVID 19 restrictions, holding an event isn’t entirely possible at the moment, however, you could always create a virtual event. Whether that be over Zoom or any other online platform, the purpose would be to bring people together for a good cause. You may be surprised at how generous people can be at these events.
3) Word of mouth
A classic, of course. Tell your friends, family and everyone you know that you’re fundraising for a great cause. Hopefully, they will get involved and donate if they’re able to. This is where the JustGiving page becomes useful, as you simply share its link and people can donate in a matter of seconds, with the money going straight to the charity. That’s a win, win, win if you ask me!
4) Share all over social media
Now you’ve told everyone you know in person, it’s time to do the same online. Share with your contacts on WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and whatever else you may use. Again, have your JustGiving link ready and share it all over your social media accounts so people can donate at any time.
5) Ask your nearest and dearest to share
Your friends and family can play a huge part in your fundraising. Firstly, when you tell them about your fundraising, hopefully, they will donate if they can. You can also ask them to share with their friends and family, meaning you’ll reach even more people. And you never know, their friends and family members may even go on to share with their contacts, meaning the campaign will reach even more people.
6) Ask influencers/people with big audiences to share on their pages
You may be surprised at how willing others are to get involved when it’s for a good cause. When I was fundraising, my sister and I reached out to several influencers that we followed (mainly on Instagram), telling them about the campaign and asking them if they’d be willing to share. Thankfully, quite a few ended up sharing! Of course, not everyone replied, but it was worth reaching out just for those that did.
I remember one influencer that we reached out to who had quite a big following. She told us how she had been looking into the same cause a few days earlier but wasn’t sure how to get involved. She kindly shared our campaign and its JustGiving page link with her Instagram followers and quite a few ended up donating, which was amazing! Even if you think an influencer won’t reply or that they’ll say no, you never know unless you try. Just make sure you’re following them first.
7) Set up paid ads on social platforms
Again, I did this mainly on Instagram, but also on Facebook. Running Instagram and Facebook ads is so affordable, and you can choose how long you want them to run. The cost starts from a couple of pounds a day and you can customise your target audience as you’re creating the ad. Something I’d suggest is to make your ad visually appealing and eye-catching, especially for Instagram. Of course, paid ads will cost you money from your own pocket, so doing this is your decision. I didn’t mind as it helped us to reach more people and to reach our target.
8) Challenge people to get involved
There are so many different ways to raise money for charity. Fundraising is the perfect opportunity to get creative and challenge yourself and others to do all kinds of fun things. For example, if you decide to bake and sell cupcakes to raise money for charity, it could be an idea to challenge a friend or family member to do the same. Or if you decide to go technology-free for a few hours, why not challenge your best friend to do the same? The opportunities are endless, however, remember that you can’t force anyone to do a challenge if they don’t want to. If someone doesn’t want to get involved, don’t take it personally and challenge someone else who may be willing.
9) Ask the charity you’re fundraising for to share
In the same way that you’re reaching out to friends, family members and influencers, ask the charity you’re fundraising for if they’d be willing to share your fundraising story and link. Hopefully, they will be willing to share, especially as you’re raising money for them.
If they don’t reply after a few days, don’t assume that they’re ignoring you, as they’re probably quite busy or may have fewer staff members working. It’s okay to send a polite follow-up message to see if they’ve had a chance to read your original message. I reached out to the charity I was fundraising for via Instagram, and they were happy to share. Don’t underestimate the power of social media (especially Instagram!) during your fundraising.
10) Post updates to your JustGiving page to let people know how it’s going
To my knowledge, when a fundraiser posts an update to their JustGiving page, everyone that has donated will receive a notification of that update. Sharing updates is an effective way of staying in touch with those that have donated and notifying them of the campaign’s progress. It also reminds people about the fundraiser and that they can donate if they want to. Lastly, it’s a great way of keeping people informed about what stage the fundraising is at as it’s a team effort, especially when other people have donated their money to the cause.
And there we have it, my top 10 tips on making the most of your fundraising! I hope you found them useful. As I mentioned earlier, these are the things I did, and they worked for me. If you or anyone you know ends up using any of these tips, I’d love to hear how useful you found them.
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