Proven ways to make your fundraiser stand out

By: Jasmine Marfatia

Published On: December 15, 2018

Crowdfunding in India is one of the most practical, and easy ways to raise funds for any cause, be it a medical cause, a creative project, a nonprofit initiative, or a business. But it takes a significant amount of time and effort to create a campaign that will stand out - after all there are hundreds and thousands of crowdfunding campaigns launched everyday, all over the world.

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As a result, many great crowdfunding ideas tend to get overlooked, go unnoticed, and fail to reach their fundraising target. Fortunately, we at Impact Guru have identified the elements for a successful crowdfunding campaign that are common to all fundraisers that do achieve their target.

There are three phases of every campaign with their own elements for successful crowdfunding, that campaigners should include.

Pre-launch campaign phase
Intra campaign phase
Post campaign phase

Tips for crowdfunding success in the pre-launch phase

This phase is where you will create the most compelling campaign. Your pre-launch phase should include the following elements:

1. The creatives

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An attention grabbing title and tagline are the first thing that will catch the attention of a reader who’s scrolling through their Facebook or Twitter feed. Only if your title and tagline are creative and interesting, will the reader be motivated to click and learn more about your cause in detail.

That said, while planning your title, be mindful of keeping it short, crisp, and to the point. It should provide a basic idea of what the reader can expect if he/she decides to click the title.

An emotionally compelling campaign story is one that not only strikes the right cords on the hearts of the reader, but also encourages them to act on it immediately.

This means that your campaign narrative should be written in a way that the reader instantly decides to make a contribution towards your campaign. An ideal campaign story should be emotional, truthful, informative, and encouraging.

A campaign pitch video is the best way to ensure that your readers are actually able to visualise your cause and the work that’s going into it. Besides, it can get monotonous to read paragraphs of just text.

For instance, if you’re raising funds for a school in a small village, your video could include clips of the students in that school, perhaps some of the students speaking about their dreams and aspirations, and finally, it must have an appeal for donation along with the process of making the payment.

2. Fund utilization plan

How many lives will your campaign impact? Who are the beneficiaries of your campaign? Why are you running this campaign? What inspired you to take up this cause/ project? What do you hope to achieve through your cause? Answers to all these questions are important for your donors to know before they decide to donate to your cause.
A concise summary should be shared with your potential donors stating how much money you are hoping to raise and in how much time.. A well planned budget and schedule for the campaign will add structure, and credibility to your cause.
The donor needs to know exactly what his/ her funds are going to be used for. This means you must prepare a break up of all the expenses, and allocate a part of your budget to each expense. Getting down to the smallest details on fund utilization will give your donors some reassurance that their money will be put to good use.

3. Rewards as incentives

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A personalized thank you note or a token of appreciation is a very small gesture in return for your donors’ contribution. It will make them feel like their contribution is truly valued, and that they’ve been able to make a difference.
A shoutout on social media will make a donor feel grand about their contribution, and will cost you nothing at all.
Tax exemptions are one of the most important incentives that encourage people to donate towards a good cause. If you’re crowdfunding in India, some platforms like Impact Guru, offer tax exemption to their donors. In addition, NRI donors in the UK and USA can get a tax exemption from their own government for their contribution, due to Impact Guru’s association with Global Giving.
Invites to an event can make for an interesting reward in return for a contribution. These are especially good rewards when raising money for films, exhibitions, workshops, performances etc.
Brand merchandise is not only a great gift, but also an excellent branding strategy for yourself or your organization, who will benefit from the visibility that merchandising brings. Brand logos may be printed on apparel, stationary, mugs, etc to make for good gifts.

4. Gather your supporters

Reach out to friends and family, for they will form the first layer of your supporter network. It is through them, and their friends and family that you will be able to organically reach out to many more. So be sure to involve them in every step of the way.
Build an online community on social media, by reaching out to your target audience through mail, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram. Use social media creatively, to form pages, and create communities of your supporters.
It is vital for organizations to develop and maintain a healthy relationship with the public, in order to raise funds, spread awareness, and invite volunteers to partake your cause.

That being said, what better way to gain public attention than the press? PR activities involve proactive communications using the press as a medium to convey your initiative to a large number of people.

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Therefore it is of great benefit to any social impact or venture to employ a PR agency, or develop an internal PR executive that handles all communications with the press, especially when you pitch your project to the press.

Build associations with influencers who will help you draw attention towards your initiative. Influencers include actors, bloggers, social media influencers, politicians, speakers, businessmen etc. Influencers often look for appropriate opportunities to use their celebrity status to do good.

Fundraising tips for the intra campaign phase

Once your campaign is launched, you need to maintain the traction that it received in it’s pre-launch stage.

Continue to share your campaign regularly on all digital platforms, and ask others to do the same.
Stay connected to your supporters and give them regular updates on the progress of your campaign.
Reply to all messages and comments on social media.
Convey urgency by counting the days left till the campaign ends.
Give social media shoutout to new donors, especially those who’ve contributed a large sum.
Generate referral contests to grow your community