The Secret to Fundraising Websites

Being proactive is essential to a successful fundraising campaign. Even for an established organization, just a share or two on Facebook isn't going to get people excited about your Continue To Give fundraiser. The truth of the matter is, there is a lot of competition for donor generosity.

Regardless of whether you are saving up for a missions trip, asking for help to repay medical bills, planting a new church, working missionaries, or feeding hungry families — being proactive in your fundraising is essential to making your big plans a reality!

In this article, we're going to discuss how to be proactive in with your fundraising websites for your Continue To Give campaign. As with anything worth doing in life, it will take persistence and dedication! That's the first piece of advice!

Plan Ahead

As we just mentioned, there is a lot of competition for donors' generosity. Be prepared to convince donors why your fundraiser is the one they should invest in. Their donation is an investment in the good works you are working to accomplish (more on that later).

Questions to ask (and answer)

• What makes my organization special?
• What is the ultimate goal of my fundraiser?
• How am I going to use donations?
• What is going to happen to funds if we do not meet our goals?

Think through these questions and be prepared to communicate them to donors. This will help convince them of the value of your fundraiser and organization as well as help reassure them you've considered and planned ahead for challenges.

Ask.

"You don't have, because you don't ask." - James 4:2

This may seem like a silly no-brainer, but the simple act of asking is often overlooked. This is a grave mistake as it is an (or the) essential part of proactive fundraising. Creating your Continue To Give campaign is a great start, but what use is it if you don't direct people to it? How does it help if donors aren't asked to visit it and give?

For those with limited fundraising experience, it can often be intimidating asking others for money. Don't be intimidated! Remember: People want to help make a difference. Your cause is a way for them to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They aren't giving away money. They're investing in a good cause. Their donation may be the only means they have of being a part of something they care very deeply about.

Go forward with the confidence you're helping others be a part of something important! Ask them to be a partner in making the world a better place.

Building relationships

View fundraising as a means to network and build relationships with people who care about similar things as you and your organization.

Whether they contribute a lot, a little, or none at all, thank them for their contribution. Do not look down on meager donations — often this is all the money they can afford to give. Remember the story in Mark 12:41-44 (ESV):

41 And he [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Not only this, but a major function of fundraising is building longterm relationships. Just because a donor isn't prepared to give now, doesn't mean they won't be a great and wonderful asset to your cause later! They may be your next great donor, supporter, or volunteer.

With this in mind, take advantage of your interactions. Consider revisiting donors at a later date and asking if they would be interested in volunteering their time. If sending out written requests, include a note your campaign is looking for volunteers and recommend following your group on social media. Don't let any opportunity to build your network go to waste.

Help visualize donations

There is a reason why infographics, graphs, and pie charts are popular — humans like visuals. It is one thing to be told our donation is "helpful", but when we're told our donation can feed a family of five for a week, we suddenly realize just how helpful.

A fundraiser doesn't need to involve feeding families to visualize donations. Most of us have seen the thermometer graph for building projects where strips of red are added as the church grows closer and closer to meeting the goal. With a little bit of of proactive thought and creativity this strategy can be effective for a wide range of fundraising campaigns.

If your mission trip fundraising websites , explain how much is needed to send one person. If a non-profit dedicated to adult literacy, tell how many weeks of courses an average donation may provide. If crowdfunding for medical costs, explain how many treatments or months of payments a certain donation amount may help.

Whatever the cause or ultimate goal, highlight easily conceptualized smaller goals donors can imagine helping meet with their donations and they may be encouraged to give more just to help meet that goal!

Make Social Media Work For You

Social media is a powerful tool for fundraising with the right approach. Sharing a link to your online fundraising websites campaign is certainly better than not sharing a link, but that's not enough to truly take advantage of social media. You don't have to be a social media marketing guru to improve your social reach.

Be Visual

Social media marketing researchers at Buffer found including graphics in your posts can improve user engagement by over 150 percent! Take advantage of this when asking for donations. You don't need to have mad graphic design skills or expensive programs. In fact, Buffer recommends several of tools, many of which are free and can be used from your browser.

Find a graphic that's relevant to your fundraiser such as a picture of the church the youth group will be staying at during their missions trip, or the inside of your bakery, or of a church event. Add some short, simple, black and white text like, "Help us meet our goal!" and include a link to your Continue To Give fundraiser in the description. Voila! You just improved the chances of users clicking on your fundraiser by 150 percent!

Share Often & Schedule Ahead

A common misconception is frequent shares on Facebook will annoy your followers. The truth is, Facebook uses an algorithm which suppresses the posts of pages which don't share very often. Facebook automatically assumes these pages are less important, less active, and as a result, assumes users are less apt to want to see them. In addition, Facebook's algorithms control the percentage of posts any single page will appear on users feeds. Your biggest concern shouldn't be annoying your followers, it should be not reaching them at all.

Post five to 10 times a week on Facebook, suggest experts at Social Media Week.Their research also found posts around 1pm are most likely to result in shares and posts around 3pm are most likely to result in likes.

This may seem daunting or even impossible to remember to post several times a week at specific times, but, with Facebook's scheduling feature, page administrators can schedule weeks or even months worth of posts in advance.

If it isn't obvious, it's probably not wise to post your Continue To Give fundraiser 5-10 times a week on social media if it's the only content your page is sharing. Rather, include fundraising into your [new?] social media regime. Again, be proactive and let nothing go to waste!

Continue To Give Integrates With Facebook

With Continue To Give and a few quick steps, you can integrate your Continue To Give campaign with your organization's Facebook page. Visitors to your Facebook page can see a "Donate" link which takes them to your Continue To Give campaign

Prepared for success

Handling success is as important as handling failure. If you get a pledge, great! Direct them to your Continue To Give fundraiser or to a page on your website devoted specifically for your Continue To Give campaign — the easier the address the better!

Since you're using Continue To Give for your fundraising needs, we offer several very great tools to help collect donations including our new Continue To Give Kiosk Giving App for iPad. Our app can be downloaded for free and offers a safe and secure way for people to donate to your cause!

After receiving a donation, take the time to personally thank each donor with a letter. Avoid using scripted responses which are impersonal and dry. If a person has invested their money and trust in your fundraiser, demonstrate your gratitude.

Take advantage of your thank you letters by telling donors about upcoming events or projects, include links to your organization's website and social media sites.

A Good Start

With a little bit of planning, a lot of hard work and persistence, you can improve the chances of your fundraiser's success. Take advantage of every opportunity to share your organization's message with potential donors and think ahead to potential obstacles.

We can't stress it enough: be persistent and don't lose hope. Find a pace that's sustainable. Don't exhaust yourself and your volunteers. Plan for a marathon of fundraising and go forth confident that with Continue To Give and your donors you're going to make this world a better place.

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