Running a fundraising campaign

Fundraising campaigns are a great way to kick- start an Appeal for funds in the short term, and hopefully to attract individuals to give on a regular basis long term. There is a lot of competition from other groups, so it’ll take a lot of hard work, inventiveness and   sustained engagement to create a healthy database of donors.

Serves –charities, other voluntary organisations and some social enterprises
Preparation – knowledge of the amount you want to raise and the purpose
Time taken – approximately one month planning, 8 weeks run time

Ingredients

  • campaign group
  • database of contacts
  • time limit
  • campaign target.
  • key events and activities
  • promotion
  • Appeal letter
  • evaluation

Method

  1. Establish a campaign group – this should comprise people with various skills (event organisation, PR, networking, fundraising, admin etc) who are prepared to muck in and work hard as a team.
  2. Start a database of contacts (GDPR compliant) people who are associated with your group or known to be sympathetic toward your aims. This will include those with whom you have had positive dealings in the past, perhaps they have been past volunteers or donors, service users or families of service users, traders, anyone who has had a connection. Identify the ways these people might be contacted, in some cases this may only be via social media or email
  3. Decide on time limit for your campaign, around 8 weeks maximum. A sense of urgency compels action, otherwise respondents may put your letter to one side with good intentions then not get around to doing anything.
  4. Decide on a campaign target. It’s best not to be over-ambitious if this is your group’s first time, unless your appeal is majorly compelling, for example a disaster of some kind. If you intend to do this annually, you can raise your target each year as your list of donors grows.
  5. Decide on key events and activities to run through the lifetime of this campaign. Create a diary of these events. How many and how large will of course depend on your resources, but you certainly should have a launch event and preferably a closing event where you can thank everyone who has contributed and donated.
  6. Promote the campaign and upcoming events offline, and via your website and all your social media platforms to as many people as you can, including the local media, and let them know when this campaign is going to start.
    • Get some compelling press releases ready. In these explain your organisation, why you are running the campaign, your fundraising target and what it’s for.
    • Organise local leaflets, posters and anything else that will grab public imagination, ready for the start date.
    • Create a banner to display on your premises so that everyone who comes in is made aware of your campaign
    • Create an online social media presence for the campaign, including online donation availability.
    • Create a webpage just for the campaign and make sure everyone visits it and leaves their email address along with their donation. Also ask them to spread the word.
    • Encourage every staff member and volunteer to spread the word.
  7. Draft a compelling Appeal letter for the contacts, personalising where relevant. In drafting, bear in mind the following:
    • Highlight or underline your most important points. The reader will be skimming this. Say you are successful now and their gift will make your organisation even better. Make known the events you are planning.
    • Create a sense of urgency, but not a crisis. Donors want to feel needed, but no one likes to try to save a sinking ship.
    • Use storytelling – Open with a compelling story which is likely to excite emotions in the reader. Make it personal. A story about one item or person is more interesting than a story about an entire institution or 1,000 people. Address only one subject, generally what the generosity of donors has allowed you to accomplish and why you need them to give again.
    • Keep it simple and direct – erudite prose might be pretty, but it won’t raise a penny if it doesn’t move your audience to respond. Don’t give too much information. When the letter is “newsy,” it distracts from the purpose of the letter. News is for newsletters.
    • Don’t beg. Avoid an uncomfortable tone, such as signs of “begging” or emotional blackmail. These sorts of things easily backfire. Think of the request as an opportunity for the recipient to be part of your exciting project. Don’t “urge” — suggest and involve
    • Social proof: people like to follow suit. In your letter if you can refer to the success of previous appeals if you’ve launched any, e.g. how many have contributed and how much – this may improve your return.
    • Give recipients options in the way they can respond to you (e.g. GDPR consent, a selection of different one-off amounts, one-off, monthly or annual donations, providing their contact details so they can be kept in touch with your organisation’s progress, options to donate via your website, social media or cheque.
    • Add a P.S., even a PPS. These should not be afterthoughts. Donor psychology research shows many people will read the PSs first. This should summarise the Appeal, thank the recipient for their attention, and remind them of ways they can donate, and ask them to spread the word.
    • Read your letter as your donor will. Skim. Is your case compelling? If not, time for a rewrite. Test new letters against other charities’ letters to find flaws and gems in your approach. You could consider sending test letters to people on your list in order to gauge their responses.
    • About three weeks before the campaign launch event, distribute this letter to all your contacts, if on social media this will likely be in edited form
  8. To synchronise with this, you could run a Crowdfunding campaign – you will need to present a compelling case on one of the Crowdfunding Platforms There are many different platforms – see the UK Crowdfunding Association site http://www.ukcfa.org.uk/. You will need to win people over with the same compelling argument as to why your venture should be funded; showing a short video will help improve your chances. All your publicity should suggest donations could be made via the crowdfunding site as an option
  9. As people respond, update your contact list and database with each individual’s needs and interests. Treat your donors as you would customers, keeping them informed (the way they prefer) of the Appeal and your organisation’s progress. Maintain good relationships with everyone who has provided a donation. This will reap rewards in the future, hopefully in terms of further donations.
  10. Prior to all events ensure a further boost to publicity, and at each one ensure there are plenty of information fliers, people on hand to explain your group’s work, and sufficient opportunities for people to donate there and then online, through collecting cans or by cheque
  11. At the end of the campaign, evaluate how well it went and make changes if needed ready for the next one. Continue building relationships with people who have already given and look forward to creating more donors to support the work you do.

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