Raising funds for an important cause is an excellent thing to do, period. Needless to say, the less fortunate can always use our help. As a business owner, initiating a fundraising campaign is also an excellent way to shine a favourable light on your brand. What are the best ways to go about trying to secure donations? Let’s discuss how to start a successful fundraising campaign.
Soft launch your campaign before your hard launch.
What’s the difference between a soft launch and a hard launch? A soft launch is one that is promoted to a small group of people. Take your friends and family, for example. Promoting your fundraising campaign to them first helps to test it out. You can work out any kinks, if necessary. As well, it helps you to secure some practically-guaranteed donations. A hard launch is one that involves the general public.
According to Will Schmidt on Classy.org, people are more likely to donate to your campaign when you’ve already got some money raised. “Send an email to your supporters and ask for their feedback,” he recommends, “Would they change anything? Is the message clear? Does it excite them? If they’re peer-to-peer fundraisers, ask them to start a personal fundraising page and start reaching out to friends and family for donations.”
Create a sense of urgency.
Just like a short-term sale, a fundraising campaign requires immediate action. Naturally, no initiative lasts forever. So you don’t want to give potential donors the idea that they can sit and wait to lend their support. In some cases, people will simply forget to offer their donations if they are under the impression they can do so at a later date. According to Upleaf.com, you should keep your campaign timeline short – ideally just a week or two.
“A short campaign creates a sense of urgency,” insists the site, “Your impact statement or rallying cry for the campaign should be dramatic, your deadline looming large. The consequences of not meeting your deadline should be dire – a donor will stop matching funds after a certain date for instance.”
Offer to match donations.
When you promote the fact that you or a business partner is committed to matching donations, you automatically double the fundraising total. This often encourages people to support a fundraising campaign. According to Schmidt, matching donatios can ignite excitement among your supporters, especially if you unveil the match during the mid-campaign lull.
“During the initial planning phases of your campaign, reach out to potential partners, sponsors, or major donors and ask if they would like to participate as your match provider,” he advises, “This way, when the time comes to let your audience know about the matching period, you’ve got dates set in stone, maximum amounts decided upon, and copy approved to promote on your email, website, and social media channels.”
Stay ahead of the curve with Unity Payments’ advanced Unity Fundraising technology. Give your donors an easy-to-use method of making donations directly to your business. We’ve developed our kiosks that work directly with our processing technology. This integration also gives your organization a seamless way to accept donations across multiple platforms. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
