Four simple steps to launching a successful fundraising program

Between the internet and social media platforms, donation campaigns have been more successful than ever at achieving their goals. Your success will depend on your knowledge of these tools and ability to use them to your advantage. We’ve highlighted some of the basic steps to get you started.

1. Create a branded donation page

Research has found that people are likely to donate more when they are directed to a branded online donation page, rather than a generic donation page. By doing so, your campaign makes the donor experience more consistent and fulfilling. This also confirms that their donation is going to the campaign they want it to go to.

A branded donation page should include a specific campaign logo, copy and a call-to-action leading to the donation checkout page. Services like memberplanet provide user-friendly interfaces that will get your branded donation page launched in minutes!

2. Create a sense of urgency

If your campaign timeline is several months long, it may lose its momentum. Potential donors might put off the act of donating until later since they “have time,” and then forget about it. That is why it’s essential to keep your campaign timeline short—no more than one month long—to create a sense of urgency.

Your impact statement should be dramatic and give people a sense that time is running out. There should be a reason for this deadline, for example, that a donor will stop matching funds after a certain date. The more you can create this sense of urgency, the more your contributors will take note and spread the word.

3. Secure a matching fund sponsor

This step builds off of the sense of urgency. Securing a matching fund sponsor—whether it’s a corporate donor or a wealthy individual—can significantly impact your campaign. With a matching fund sponsor, you can broadcast that “meeting a $X monetary goal by Y date will unlock $50,000 towards the campaign!” People are more encouraged to respond to cooperative efforts matched with urgency.

4. Make it easy

There’s nothing more devastating to a campaign than successfully persuading someone to donate and then making it difficult for them to actually make their donation. The ability to complete a donation should take no more than a few clicks.

Ideally, your page should be mobile-friendly so you can convince people to donate on the spot and watch them submit the donation without a problem. If your campaign is utilizing email marketing, make sure to embed a giant “Donate now” button at the end of your fundraising email to take people to the exact page they need.

If you’ve created a video for your campaign, enrolling in the YouTube for Nonprofits program allows people to click right from your video to your donation page. What’s more, a video can be shared through social channels and potentially go viral.

Technology is your friend when it comes to successfully launching a donation campaign. However, you need to be aware of the tools available and find a user-friendly application that best fits your needs and makes your launch easy as possible.

Life simplified is memberplanet’s motto. We’re the first and only cloud-based functional network that aims to simplify the fundraising process. Cheaper than any GoFundMe and Giveforward, we want your contributions going directly to your campaign. Create a free account and discover how memberplanet can bring all the available marketing tools into one space.

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