Fundraising Tips

1. Define Goals and Deadlines

People are more likely to give money to a cause that is clearly defined where they know exactly what their money will be used for. Make a list of expenses you’d like your campaign to cover and add them up—this will help you get a better sense of what your campaign means and make it easier to persuade people to donate to it. Make sure your goals are realistic . You can start with a moderate goal, once the campaign is reaching its stride and halfway to its goal, consider raising the figure to inspire more donours to help. Your goals can be increased at any point if you find the financial needs of the campaign have grown since the campaign kicked off. Make sure to update your campaign descriptions as new costs, new updates and events take place during the case of the fundraising so potential donours can easily see what their donation is supporting or intended for.

After you’ve established a goal, estimate how long it will take you to reach it and set a deadline for your fundraiser. Be smart when you set your deadline. Deadlines are important because they create a sense of urgency that will make donours respond faster. If circumstances change or progress is slower than expected, consider raising your goal or adjusting your deadline. If you update your deadline, increase it just by 30-60 days at a time to ensure a strong sense of urgency. Let all your donors know about your new deadline or updated goal and encourage them to take action.

2. Name your campaign well

Pick a name that is attractive, one that will make people want to know more

• Make it short, clear, inspirational, descriptive and easy to find when typed on search engines.
• Keep in mind that your campaign name will be part of the link you share and included in any message you share on social media platforms.
• It is an added advantage to add the name of the beneficiary as it makes it easier to find when typed on Google or our sites search field.
• Include the cause to give people a clear understanding of the need. e.g. Help Peter in his fight against Cancer.

3. Be Honest

For your campaign to be successful and garner the empathy and attention of donours, you have to be honest. Tell your story with vivid, heartfelt words clearly highlighting your goals, deadlines and giving specific details that paint a unique, personal and compelling picture. Add clear pictures of the situation to back up your story and appeal to donours.

Answer any question any reader would have when your campaign is visited:

• Describe your relationship with the beneficiary.
• Detail what funds will be used for.
• Explain how soon you need the funds.
• Talk about what the support means to you.
• Share how grateful you will be for the help.

Use headlines, sub headlines, highlights and bullets in your campaign description to make your pitch scannable. Tell your story in your headlines to allow people to understand the gist of your text if they only read the headlines.

4. Actively Upload Pictures and Videos

High resolution and quality pictures and videos have a way of enabling fundraising success and garnering empathy from donours towards your cause. It is advisable to upload more pictures because multiple images show different aspects of your cause, broaden the appeal and with little or no words give powerful insights. Make sure to choose large, clear, high-resolution photos that will attract and persuade donors to lend support.

5. Supporter Engagement

Engage your first level network of supporters who are your Family, friends, colleagues and relatives. Once you have created a campaign or fundraiser, written the perfect pitch, the sooner you start asking for donations the earlier you start raising funds. Do not assume that people and other campaign supporters will automatically see your campaign and start donating towards it or fund it. You have to spread the word. Share your fundraising/campaign page on social media, through email and by word of mouth. The more visible your fundraiser is, the more donations you’ll receive.

A single post asking for donations at the beginning of your campaign is simply not enough to reach your goal. You should constantly remind people to donate by posting updates and pictures that will keep them engaged in your cause. consistent is very important in all aspects of your campaign.

6. Be Consistent

Update your fundraiser regularly.

The regularity with which you give updates on your campaign page will show in your fundraising success rate. We recommendposting updates at least once a week . A new text, new photos or video update to enable potential donors make donations and supporters see the progress of what they are donating it to. This will keep your fundraiser fresh, grab attention, and invite compassion. Share both the good as well as the bad news . Make sure to share all these updates on social media platforms as well.

7. Be Grateful

Show your appreciation

Show gratitude for every donation you receive. After the completion of your campaign, it is important to use every platform necessary to thank your supporters and donours for helping your cause. These people want to know what happened and how the beneficiary is doing. Wrap up your campaign success with updates that share your gratitude, along with photos, links or videos to new development and new updates.