Fundraising Tips To Raise Money For A Friend In Need!
When your friend is struggling for funds, you know you have to step in and help them in whatever ways you can. Maybe your friend is dealing with an illness or their family is, or perhaps he is struggling with unemployment and not able to pay the bills. The reasons may be many but the options are limited. If your friend has exhausted all the resources to get money, maybe an online fundraising platform is the best possible option. Through this platform, they or even you can help them raise money.
Fundraising tips to raise money for a friend in need
If you are wondering how family fundraising can be achieved through the fundraising platform, we will help you with some important tips here.
1. Speak to your friend and their family directly
Reach out to the family of your friend. Understand their problems and how they are coping with the situation. Ask them if financial help in the form of funds is going to ease their burden. Also, make sure that the family is okay with the idea of crowdfunding. Also, analyze the funds needed by your friend and how it can help them come out of this difficult situation. Talking to the family will help you plan the fundraising goal.
2. Set up a donation page
The next step after you have a fundraising goal in mind is to set up the donation page on a trusted online fundraising platform. There are several platforms and you need to study their features and the commission structure to ensure that the maximum money pooled reaches your friend. Once you have zeroed in on the best online fundraising platform, register and set up the donation page.
3. Write a captivating fundraiser title
The first thing a visitor notice is the fundraiser title. An attractive title increases the curiosity and the visitor clicks open the page to read the description. The title is your introduction to the friend and their family. Always include the name of your friend or his family in the title. Write words that will explain the situation. For instance “Help John Rebuild His Home” or “John Needs Your Support To Fund His Sports Shoes” are titles that tell the fundraiser’s cause and the person’s name makes it relatable to the potential donors.
4. Engage potential donors with a fundraiser story
Your fundraiser story is the introduction to potential donors on why you need funds and how their contribution will help in making a difference. Think about why your friend needs the money so desperately. What are they going through? Tell this in a powerful story form to the donors.
If you are setting up a donation page for your friend, specify to the donors how you are helping your friend raise money for the cause. Some tips to keep in mind while writing a fundraiser story for your friend on the online fundraising platform are-
- Explain your relationship with our friend to the donors so that there is no confusion on who is the beneficiary and the fund manager.
- List the breakdown of expenses and prioritize it as urgent. It will help the donors to understand where their contributions will be spent
- Involve your friend’s family in the story. Make it a family fundraising campaign instead of for your friend to make it more effective.
- Emotions help to raise funds. But be realistic on the donation amount you intend to raise.
- The fundraiser story length influences donations. Complete it in the range of 500-800 words.
If you feel that donations in kind will also help your friend, you can list them on the page. In a way, this helps the donors to know that your cause is genuine and you are doing everything to help your friend.
5. Upload images & videos that convey the message
Once visitors are inside the donation page, what strikes them are the images and videos you upload on the page. These help you to connect with potential donors by telling them the story and making an emotional impact. Upload images and videos of high quality and which are captivating. Involve your friend and their family to ensure they are comfortable sharing those photos.
6. Ask for feedback from close friends and family first
The first few days are crucial and donations from your close friends and family will help in building up the momentum. First, share the page set up on the online fundraising platform with your close-knit family. Ask them to share their feedback. Once done, ask them to donate as much as they can. Some people are most likely to donate if they see that the family fundraising campaign has already secured a few donations. It is difficult to build trust among donors if the funding is zero.
7. Share the link to the donation page
Once you have a solid start to the campaign, request your family and friends to share the link to the donation page on social media platforms. People can’t help if they don’t know your campaign exists. So, share it with as many people as possible.
- Spread the word on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
- Post regular updates and messages about the cause
- Include the fundraiser link and ask people to share it with their contacts
- You can tag the donors through an appreciation post and show gratitude.
Successful crowdfunding is the one that gets shared the most. It doesn’t matter if all do not donate. But sharing at least spreads the word and helps your family fundraising campaign gets noticed. It will attract the right donors eventually.
Conclusion
Crowdfunding through a trusted online fundraising platform will suffice if done right. It helps you to collect funds easily and fast. You could even think of holding a fundraiser event. But it needs planning, resources, time, money, and effort. And if you don’t have any of these, it is better to plan for an event.
The best possible solution if your friend is in urgent need of money is to create a donation page and start right away.
