Fundraising Tips: How to Raise Money in Five Easy Steps
If you’re wondering how to raise money quickly, consider crowdfunding as your solution. If you’ve never raised funds online before, the process may seem overwhelming. But if you follow these five simple steps you’ll have everything you need to start a fundraiser for yourself, a loved one, or your favorite cause.
How to raise funds online
1. Define your goal
Start by determining how much money you need to raise. This is very important because it helps your potential donors understand how much money you need to raise for your specific cause. People are more likely to give money to a cause that is clearly defined, so calculate your goal based on your total cost breakdown. For example, if you’re raising money for a medical procedure, don’t list just the big-ticket price of the procedure itself, but also related expenses such as lost income, rehab, medications, and medical devices.
2. Choose an online fundraising platform
When picking a platform for fundraising online you should look for:
- The lowest fees (both platform fees and payment processing fees)
- Ease of use and website design
- Customer support options
- Safe and quick access to your funds
- Fundraiser sharing capabilities
To dive deeper into crowdfunding platform comparisons, see our blog post Top Crowdfunding Sites: Pick the Right One for Your Needs.
3. Tell your story honestly
We, as humans, are hardwired to respond to powerful stories. Personal fundraising stories help facilitate an emotional connection between the reader and the beneficiary, which can ultimately lead to more donations. This is why it’s important to be as honest as you can about your situation.
We understand that asking for help can be scary, but you don’t have to do it alone. To help, we came up with a few questions you can ask yourself when writing your story:
- What will the funds be used for?
- How are you connected to the cause?
- How will the donations raised aid you or help others?
- Why does the recipient need this donation?
Make sure you answer basic Who, What, Where, When, Why, How questions to increase the likelihood of donation. Remember, when it comes to fundraising, the why is particularly important. If you would like additional guidance, learn how to write a captivating fundraiser story with our guide.
Write a captivating title to match your story
Come up with a strong title after you’ve written your personal fundraising story. It will help you summarize your story in one standout phrase. Titles are really important because you’re giving the audience a glimpse into what your fundraiser is about. Make sure it reflects what your fundraiser is for in a clear way so that people click through and donate. Check out some great ideas for naming your online fundraiser.
4. Share your fundraiser with your friends and family
Once you’ve posted your fundraiser, get feedback on it from trusted friends and family. Use any good suggestions to refine your story, images, etc. Then ask your inner circle for donations. Why? If potential donors see that some funds have already been raised, people are more likely to donate. Once your inner circle has donated, share your fundraiser with everyone everywhere.
Sharing on social media
A common question we see asked is “how to get my GoFundMe noticed?” The more visible your fundraiser is, the more donations you’ll receive. If you create a Facebook page for your fundraiser, consider paying to boost posts if the costs will be outweighed by donations. If you want to use email try using one of our email fundraising templates to help simplify the process.
Sharing without social media
While social media is a great way to connect potential donors with your fundraiser, there are other ways to share. If you want to know how to raise money online without using social media, consider trying one of our 42 ways to share your fundraiser offline like creating flyers for bulletin boards.
5. Show appreciation towards your donors
When a person makes a donation to your fundraiser, it’s because they believe in your cause. This is why thank-yous are so important–they serve as a way for donors to remain part of your story. Simple, personalized thank you letters are an easy way to show your appreciation and strengthen relationships with donors. If you’re not sure how to thank donors for their support, check out our blog, 20 Affordable Ways to Thank Donors.
6. Host offline fundraising events
A really great way to firstly make your fundraiser known and secondly to see donations roll in is hosting an offline fundraising event. The possibilities here are endless too. Just make sure you make people aware that the day is in honour of your good cause and publicise the link to your GoFundMe beforehand. You could event print QR codes to have up and around, too.
- A sports day: A sports day is a brilliant way to raise money. It’s versatile and can be tailored to everyone with multiple sporting abilities, and is also age appropriate from children upwards. Get together a group of colleagues, friends, parents at your child’s school, family and get them to contribute an entry fee and see the competitive spirit play out.
- Coffee morning: Coffee mornings are really simple fundraising events. Either host at home or in your office for example, providing coffee and cake that people can get involved with for a small fee. You could bake your own or buy the treats.
- Baking competitions: Another great idea for fundraising offline is hosting a baking competition. Get members of your office to whip up their favourite bake and ask someone to judge it.
- Craft events: Maybe you and your friends are already crafty – or maybe not so much. Tap into some creative spirit and host an evening where you try out a new craft, anything from knitting to clay pottery.
- Sporting challenges: A sporting challenge is a brilliant way to get sponsorship. It doesn’t have to be ultra-marathon running either – you could commit to a 5k each week or doing yoga every day for a month. Sporting challenges are also easy to complete in teams and you can also fundraise in teams on GoFundMe.
How to raise funds quickly: getting started
Now that you know how to raise money online in five easy steps, start your fundraiser on GoFundMe today. If you need additional guidance, we offer a wide range of resources to help you double your donations and cover topics ranging from raising money for surgery, rent assistance, and much more. For more ways to raise money through crowdfunding, check out our fundraising tips, fundraising ideas, and many other guides on the GoFundMe blog.