7 Ways to Promote Your Fundraising Campaign

Technology has helped us transition from being bystanders into active samaritans and help millions worldwide. However, a decade ago, NGOs and individuals relied on door-to-door campaigning and cold-calling to gather donations for causes that were close to their hearts. 

With the advent of online fundraising platforms, not only has it become easier to start a fundraiser, but you can also reach the goal quickly. 

Easy access to the web, mass outreach, ubiquitous nature of social media, and push given to ‘giving’ as a humanitarian obligation have all come together to make online crowdfunding a massively popular medium for charity works. One of the most significant ways online platforms such as Ketto have given an impetus to making the world a better place is through crowdfunding. 

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What is online crowdfunding?

As the term suggests, online crowdfunding is getting funds for a project or a venture through donations from several people. 

To start a charity online, you must be familiar with the concept of crowdfunding. An individual or an organisation can start a crowdfunding campaign for whatever cause they believe in. It could be to raise money for someone’s cancer treatment, or it could be to raise money to rebuild a whole village ravaged by a typhoon. Once the campaign’s financial goal has been identified, its narrative written, it is shared online and offline, through different advertising mediums. 

It is easy to start a fundraising page. Making it a successful campaign takes a little more effort. Here are seven ways to help you increase the chances of running a successful online crowdfunding campaign:

Plug into social media

Share your campaign as far and wide as social media will allow you to. Ask your friends and family members to share your campaign in their social media circles to gain more traction and donors. Consider paid promotions for your crowdfunding campaign on social media so that it reaches the people who are most likely to donate. 

Find like-minded handles online

Let’s take an example. Suppose you are fundraising to build a local animal shelter. In that case, you can share a small write-up about it along with the link to the crowdfunding page on animal welfare pages. You can do the same on pet adoption forums and social media groups. Comment on celebrity animal lovers public posts with details of your fundraiser. The objective is to get the word out to people who may personally feel invested in your cause. 

Engage the real media

Reach out to online news channels, or magazines and request them to promote your campaign on their platforms. You can tell them about the campaign’s beneficiaries and how the money will make a difference in their lives. You can offer to do an interview or write a guest piece to make it a win-win situation. 

Take out an ad

This seems almost counterintuitive, but it works when you want to raise a considerable amount over a relatively long period. Let’s say that you are raising a significant amount to build schools in a cluster of villages. It is by no means a small feat, but it will have a colossal impact when achieved. You can talk about this vision of educating thousands of girls in a print ad. Add a call to action and include the link to your crowdfunding page in the ad.

Find co-campaigners

Ask your friends and beneficiaries to promote the campaign as well. This is different from typical link sharing; beneficiaries will talk about their life narratives and engage authentically with the potential donors. Your friends can speak from your shared belief system as well. This way, sharing becomes personal and relatable. 

Create a hashtag

Put on your thinking cap and come up with a witty or heartfelt hashtag for the campaign. Are you working on caregiver mental health? Then a hashtag such as #CareForTheCarer can be quite catchy. Use puns, wordplay, and include other trending words to create your hashtag. This will make your campaign more exciting and it will stand out from the hundred other fundraisers out there.

Give shout outs

Appreciate your donors online. Put up a simple ‘thank you’ post, tag them, and mention the amount they donated (of course, with their consent). Sometimes, the donor may wish to remain anonymous. This will promote your fundraiser as authentic and worth donating to. 

You have put your heart into the campaign. Use the above methods to promote it, and while you are relentlessly trying to help, make sure to have fun and remain optimistic that you will reach your goal.