Written by Debbie Leazer
Raising funds for your organization should be FUN! Remember the 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? It was a huge success and FUN! Using social media and peer-to-peer fundraising made it easy to participate in and build momentum and interest – Everyone wanted to be challenged!
Events and activities created to raise support for your non-profit should be mission focused, include those benefiting from the proceeds and engage the community. Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County has the Polar Dunk Tank that combines the sense of mission with social and competitive aspects of charitable giving, making it one of the Clubs most engaging, successful fundraising events. Carroll Arts Center has the Peep Show, Carroll Community College sponsors Starry Night and Carroll Youth Service Bureau’s Chocolate Ball are just a few of our communities other unique fundraising efforts that continue their theme from year to year, building on participation and engagement from returning participants all while spreading their reach in our community and beyond.
Peer-to-peer fundraising gives your organization an unprecedented level of flexibility and reach, giving your participants the opportunity to call on their networks for support. People are four times more likely to donate when asked by someone they know. Similarly, donors tend to give when they are supporting their personal connection with the people who are promoting the campaign regardless of their familiarity with the organization. As a result, you could see an uptick in new (first-time) donors because these are people you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach. Once these new donors are on your radar, you’ll have the opportunity to convert them into repeat supporters over time.
Follow up is just as important as the initial fundraising efforts. Share gratitude using the same channels you made the asks – social media, email, etc. Fundraising success is always share-worthy, feel-good news! Pay it forward by giving your fundraisers and supporters a public round of applause for their fantastic work.
Make it FUN!
Activities with a virtual component for participation – Teams of supporters and those that benefit from your mission can participate.
Personal challenges are when individuals raise funds on their own to benefit a charity, and at the end of the campaign period they take on a challenge of some sort – such as shaving their head, or walking across an entire state, or in our case – being dunked in the dunk tank!
Viral social media challenges typically involve users recording themselves performing unusual, dramatic, or funny actions and sharing this content with others who can then perform the act themselves, thereby accepting, completing, and continuing to share the challenge. It’s not always possible to determine what goes viral but something that evokes an emotion in people will get a reaction faster.
