No fundraiser is an overnight success. Crowdfunding involves careful planning on when to make your fundraiser live, how to take it to the right people and how to get those right people to donate and share. Our fundraising experience tell us that there is no one formulae that works for all, but we've seen some common patterns to assemble some of our most profiting advice. Pick and choose to create your plan!
7 quick checks for a great fundraiser:
Starting a fundraiser on Impact Guru takes only 5 minutes! However, most successful campaigns start planning way before the fundraiser goes live. Effective pre-planning makes sure that no time is wasted once your fundraiser is up and running and you reach your goal quickly.
Facebook and Whatspp are proven to be the most powerful tools next to sending direct emails.
Eg. Here's how we tweeted to Hip Hop International to help raise funds for a team of young hip hoppers who wanted to participate in the championship.
Launching the fundraiser is step 1 of your fundraising journey. Successful crowdfunding needs strategizing. An Impact Guru fundraiser usually runs for a maximum of 90 days during which you will have to make sure it grabs enough eyeballs and lands up on the daily feed of the right people. Here's what you can do:
Presentation is everything. A fundraiser that is complete with proper pictures and a convincing story is bound to get more donations; it's quite obvious. Any potential donor who lands on your fundraiser would like to know the full extent of your condition, why your cause needs his support, if you have been effective in driving change in the past and how urgent is your request. A well thought out fundraiser page, makes up the donors mind faster and urges them to make their donation.
If persuasion is the key to crowdfunding, then storytelling is the key to persuasion. A fundraiser story is your space to talk directly to the donor, to state you cause and raise your appeal. We understand that to most campaigners, storytelling is new and unexplored, especially to raise money. To make it easier, here are some tips to write a great fundraiser story:
Fundraisers that write a good story have ended up raising 5 times more money and reach their goal in half the time!
Here are some good fundraiser stories for you to get inspired:
Need more help? We can write a stellar story for you. Contact your Relationship Manager or email us at helpmeout@impactguru.com for more details!
A good title converts into more number of clicks and donations onto your fundraiser. Think of the title as a one-line pitch that you would make to a donor who may be in a hurry to scroll down his social media feed or may choose not to read your full whatsapp message or fundraiser story.
Donors aren't usually expecting anything in return while making a contribution. Which is why donor engagement is the highest with rewards. It is unexpected and pleasant. It makes the donor feel special and think that he indeed did help you out.
Why are rewards important?
Imagine your friend really needs 100 rupees and approaches you for help. You give him the money with kindness but he doesn't even say a thank you back. Are you likely to give him money the next time he asks?
Appreciating a donor's effort through rewards is a great way to not only genuinely thank them for their help but also keep them coming back and referring your fundraiser to other donors. Although one can go to any innovative level to offer rewards, they don't always have to be fancy. A simple thank you note done right can make the donor very happy!
Here are some interesting rewards you can offer:
You've planned your fundraiser, designed it well and now it's time to take it to the crowd. The internet is a labyrinth and it takes strategy and effort to bring the right audience (potential donors and empathizers) to your fundraiser. A good promotion strategy would mean maximum visibility in the right networks which would most definitely bring in more donations.
Social media is a genie that will get things done, but it works only if you know how to rub the lamp well. Devising a good social media plan needs a lot of insights on how each channel works and who it speaks to. Social media outreach can be the most effective way to spread the word about your fundraiser without spending a penny. The first step for a good social media strategy is choosing the right communication channels. It is essential to recognize where most of your donor base lies. Here are some ways you can optimize your social media strategy:
Videos tell your story far better than words. We can aid you in creating a great video. Contact your Relationship Manager or send us an email on helpmeout@impactguru.com
Facebook promotion is an integral part of any campaign's strategy. Getting Facebook marketing right can help you raise around 55% of your funds. However, in a recent blog, Facebook mentions that at a given time around 1500 posts appear on the feed of an average user. This means you have to compete to grab attention of the donors. Here are some ways in which you could stand out and win with your strategy on Facebook:
We do customised remarketing for our campaigners at a nominal cost. Get in touch with your Relationship Manager or email us at helpmeout@impactguru.com
Twitter is the second most effective social media platform (after Facebook) to reach out to your donors. But unlike Facebook, Twitter is more restricted, crisp and spontaneous. Here's how to conquer the great bird to help your fundraiser fly:
Emails do great at workplaces. Send an email to your office colleagues and contact your HR to help you email it to all the other teams/departments/functions etc.
Here are some good tweets to get inspired from:
No matter what your promotional strategy is, emails are a must. Emails go directly into the donor's inbox, which means the donor will definitely come across it (even if he deletes it or marks as spam, he will at least have read your subject line). Unlike social media, where your posts can get lost altogether, email marketing gives you an 80% higher chance of reaching the donor. But, getting the donor to read the email and persuade him to donate, are both tactful tasks.
Emails do great at workplaces. Send an email to your office colleagues and contact your HR to help you email it to all the other teams/departments/functions etc.
Here are three must-send emailers:
Other optional ones: