This is both in the way we have designed our platform – such as not charging any set up or subscription fees – and by helping you to avoid some of the most common pitfalls you may face during your campaign.
Below, we have collated some of our experts’ top tips to help your campaign perform well and run smoothly.
1. Build trust with your community
Building and maintaining trust is the most important factor when increasing the likelihood of the success of your fundraisers. Your donators want to be sure that their money is being used responsibly and appropriately for the cause advertised.
Without trust and transparency, people may be hesitant to donate at all, or may feel reluctant to donate again if they feel they don’t know where their money went in your last campaign.
To avoid this common pitfall and to ensure that your community feels confident supporting your campaigns, be as transparent as possible when creating your fundraising page on what donations will be used for.
After your campaign has ended, be sure to follow up with your donators to thank them for their contributions, and continue being honest and communicative about how much was raised and exactly where the funds are going. If applicable, follow up again a little while later to give your donators an update on what has been achieved with their donations.
2. Keep your community engaged
In order to build and maintain a supportive community, it is vital that you communicate regularly both during and between your fundraising campaigns. Without a regular presence, you can risk losing your supporters’ interest.
The thought of running active and responsive social media accounts or running a regular e-newsletter may feel daunting when your schedule is already busy, but setting aside even a few minutes here and there to publish a social post or two each week with updates and news that your community might be interested in can make a huge difference to the engagement levels of your audience. Only little more time is needed to also respond to comments, answer questions, and share relevant posts from other members of your community.
If you have a little more time to spare, photographs, graphics, and videos can be a great way to add visual interest and diversify your content, and surveys and polls are also easy to set up on social media and can show your audience that you care about their input and what they’d like to see from you.
If you choose to email out e-newsletters, these can take a little more time, but one per month is enough and perhaps a few members of your organisation can take it in turns to share this responsibility.
3. Make it easy for people to donate
These days, cash donations are a bit of a hassle for everyone involved. The use of cash has widely diminished amongst the general public, and it also creates more admin for your organisation to manage.
Digital fundraising on an easy to use, secure platform such as GoodHub can remove this stress completely. Anyone with access to a computer or smartphone can donate in seconds – either selecting a one-off donation, or for regular giving campaigns, members of your community can set up ongoing, automated donations at the frequency they choose so they can continue to support your cause without ever having to set up a payment manually again.
We also find that an additional benefit of fundraising online is that people tend to donate larger amounts than when using cash or card (the average donation being up to £40 more online).
4. Use GoodHub Premium
Remember, the best way to set your campaign up for success and avoid common fundraising challenges is to use GoodHub Premium. With Premium, our fundraising experts help you elevate your campaign and outreach efforts to be the best they possibly can, with a wealth of additional engagement tools and features at your fingertips.
Keen to start your own fundraising campaign with GoodHub? We can’t wait to help you reach your goals.