Ahh, fundraisers. Months of brainstorming ideas, planning, coordinating, organising and promoting all with the aim of meeting your funding goals and raising awareness of your organisation. Is the end result all you hoped it would be? Has all the blood, sweat and tears been worth it? Truth is, often it isn’t the fundraiser itself that causes the most stress, but the way in which you plan, coordinate and organise it.
The aim of this post is to showcase a handful of tools and resources which can make your quick and easy fundraisers just that – quick and easy.
Identifying Necessary Tools and Resources
Depending on the size and scale of your fundraiser, you will need a range of tools and resources to help you make it a success. The more you can automate the administration side of your campaign the better – it pays to look at integrated tools to help you do this. Below are a handful of tools worth considering:
- LoveAdmin: Our membership management software also includes features to help you run email campaigns, collect donations from your members, run fundraisers through our system, and manage your events.
- Asana: This suite of collaboration tools can help organise your volunteers and improve communication and productivity. Through the project management tools, you can set milestones, assign tasks and prioritize work schedules so your fundraiser runs smoothly.
- Paypal: Through Paypal, you can collect monies easily and securely. You can also add a donation button to your website or blog so visitors can easily donate to your campaign. Hardware can also be rented to allow you to collect monies offline, for instance, at a silent auction event.
- Dropbox: Keep your fundraising committee up to date and connected by using the free cloud storage available from Dropbox. Each committee member can access documents and files shared with them from any device, allowing them to stay in touch with the day-to-day running of your fundraiser.
Promoting Your Fundraiser
If your fundraiser is to be a success then you need to spread the word. Depending on the size and scale of your event/campaign, you may want to consider drawing up a publicity plan to help you manage the best ways to promote your fundraiser, as well as the best tools and resources to use.
Below are 4 of the most popular options for online promotion, which will offer you the best opportunity for reaching a wider audience.
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Email Campaign
Utilise LoveAdmin to run an email campaign sent to all your members. This will inform them of the planned fundraiser as well as the ways in which they can help make it a success. You can also reach out to non-members who have expressed an interest in your organisation through the group email tool.
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Press Releases
These can be a good way to utilise the power of the media to help spread the word. This can be a good option if you are looking to fundraise on a national level or are organising a big event. Be sure to use a follow-up press release after your event to let everyone know how much you raised.
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Social Media
If you want to reach a far wider audience then you need to utilise social media in any promotional campaign. If you don’t have one already then set-up a Facebook page for your organisation and then create an event detailing your fundraiser. Let all your members know so they can join your page and share your event across their own networks. You can also use Twitter to send out regular updates on how your fundraising efforts are progressing.
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Blog/Website
Use your website or blog to inform visitors of your upcoming event or fundraising campaigns. Use it to ask for donations with donation buttons that link to LoveAdmin. Here, your donations can be processed and donors will be added to your database so you can keep them up-to-date with all your fundraising efforts. Make sure you regularly update the content on your site and share your blog posts across your social media networks.
Following Up After The Event
It is possibly the last thing you will think about, but following up after your event or campaign ends is an important part in understanding its success.
Review how your planning and organising went, look at what you could improve upon in the future, and areas where you could use further tools and resources. If you didn’t reach your fundraising target, ask yourselves why. Did you simply pick the wrong type of campaign? Or, was your target unrealistic to begin with?
Finally, ask your members for their thoughts. Send out a survey by email and ask them where they think improvements could be made and any ideas they may have for future fundraisers. Showing an interest in their opinion is often a good way to get them more involved in future events and campaigns.
