Fundraisers

Fundraisers can be a great way for your group to have an impact with minimal effort. Fundraisers come in all shapes and sizes, but the format we recommend most is peer-to-peer fundraising.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising (or P2P for short) involves asking people you know for donations. These can be friends, family, classmates, colleagues, or other acquaintances. Facebook Fundraisers and GoFundMe fundraisers are examples of peer-to-peer fundraising platforms.

You can do fundraisers at any time of year, but people tend to use them around specific events, whether an individual event (such as a birthday) or a group event (such as a group run/walk/bike). However you decide to structure it, it helps to clearly communicate exactly why you're doing what you're doing. Consider aligning your fundraiser with a special event to call attention

There are two ways to run a P2P fundraising campaign with a group:

• Ask for donations from your members, or

• Have your members create their own P2P fundraisers and ask their friends, family, classmates, and coworkers for donations

The latter may have more impact, but also requires more work for participants.

How to run an effective P2P fundraising campaign

1. Make it really easy for people to donate online by creating a fundraising page.

• People tend to be more likely to help our with their friends' fundraiser than the fundraiser of a group they're unfamiliar with, so it's best to get members to each create their own page.

• • Some charities (e.g. the Against Malaria Foundation) have the ability to make fundraisers on their website. This makes it really easy to set up a fundraiser.

  • Depending on where you live, and which charity you choose, you might be able to create a Facebook fundraiser.

  • If you are in Canada, you can set up fundraisers for effective charities through RC Forward. With RC Forward, Canadians will get valid Canadian tax receipts for donating to charities registered in the US.

  • GoFundMe is an easy way to create a fundraiser for charities registered in the USA.

2. Write a compelling message.

• Don’t rely only on numbers to sell your charity. Statistics and hard data are crucial and will convince some people, but others need to put a face on the problem. Get to know some stories of real people affected by the issue so people can connect emotionally. Some charity websites have great stories of people they have helped. GiveDirectly and Development Media International are two charities that do this well.

• Say why YOU care about the issue because many people will be donating because you asked them, and not because of the charity.

• Let people know a real difference can be made. If you portray the problem as too big, some people will disengage and think their contribution will only be a drop in the bucket, and too small to matter.

3. Publish your fundraiser on social media (but don’t let that be a substitute for one-on-one conversations). One 2016 report found that social media was responsible for 35% of donations, and it still continues to be a key resource in fundraising now. Facebook and Twitter are especially effective for sharing fundraising pages and campaigns.

4. Contact lots of people, one-on-one, in a personal, genuine manner. It's ideal if your fundraiser is only a small part of your conversation. Have conversations, ask them what’s new, and tell them about what you’re interested in to warm up to your ask. You’re asking for help, so show them you care. This article includes a good example of how to do this.

• Sometimes people will be grateful for the chance to help. Lots of people want to give to charity, but aren’t sure where to start. Many people (especially people with disposable income) will give to any charity, if asked.

5. Add updates to your fundraisers. Fundraisers who post updates can raise 7 to 18 times more than those who don’t. A short post every week or two can make a huge difference.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask more than once! It’s easy for someone to ignore one social media post or email. Sometimes, it takes a few posts for someone to notice your fundraiser. Remind people about your fundraiser so that people don’t miss it.

7. Acknowledge people for their donation, like sending a kind email or giving them a phone call after they donate.

Peter Wildeford's article, How I Raised $5010.32 for AMF and How You Can Too!, includes more advice on how to run an effective fundraiser.

Other Fundraising Techniques

It's also possible to collect cash donations, e.g. through a bake sale, though this might be a bit harder to do than online donations. Find out if there are any legal requirements in your Uni or City about fundraising on campus or on the street, and contact the charity you want to support. Many locations require a special license to fundraise on the street.