Whether you’re a nonprofit, a startup seeking investment or a school that needs funds for new facilities, a well-organized and effective fundraising campaign can have a significant impact. In this comprehensive guide, we provide an overview of what goes into a successful fundraising campaign, from project timelines and identifying marketing channels to post-campaign communication and leveraging fundraising software.
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What Is a Fundraising Campaign?
A fundraising campaign is a strategy that helps nonprofits and charities gather funds to stay afloat or meet their mission. Fundraising campaigns take place over an extended period of time with a specific goal to create awareness, raise donations or launch new programs.
The importance of a well-crafted, properly executed fundraising campaign cannot be overstated.
It’s an effective method to retain current donors, attract new ones and achieve revenue goals. Think of the campaign as a bus and your fundraising goal as the destination. Different types of donors will hop on the ride, and if they like the journey, they’ll be a part of future projects as well.
Types
There are a wide variety of fundraising campaigns you can use to solicit donations. Some of the most popular ones include:
Online Fundraising Campaign
As you would’ve guessed, online fundraising campaigns are events that are hosted entirely on the internet. They’re convenient, accessible, affordable and allow you to reach a wider audience.
Email, social media and digital marketing are some effective ways to kickstart virtual campaigns. A few famous online fundraising examples include the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and the Hike for Haiti Challenge.
If you’re running low on funds but want to cater to significant donors, you can organize a hybrid fundraising campaign. Major givers can attend an exclusive in-person auction or fashion show, and other donors can catch the action via live streaming.
Capital Campaign
Capital campaigns are a concentrated effort to raise a significant amount of money for a cause or project. They’re useful in soliciting funds within a short period of time. This campaign type is usually for big projects like building construction or renovation, large-scale equipment purchases and relocation.
Crowdfunding Campaign
We’ve all come across compelling stories of people in need of money on social media with a link to sites like GoFundMe or BackaBuddy. The fundraisers assure that even if you have only a small amount to give, it can make a big difference in someone’s life. This is the essence of crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding campaigns rely on small donations from many people to achieve a goal or cause. With the rise of social media, crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular method for nonprofits to collect funds and help engage givers.
Advocacy Campaign
Advocacy campaigns enable you to garner support for a cause, change attitudes around a subject and influence legislation. They usually focus on a specific issue, whether local, regional, state or national. Activities can include circulating petitions, organizing rallies, contacting public officials and fundraising to attempt to reform the judicial system.
Awareness Campaign
As the name suggests, nonprofits and fundraising organizations create these campaigns to educate and increase awareness for a cause or project they support. While raising funds is an important goal of this campaign, it also focuses on gathering as much public attention as possible.
To do this, some charities host campaigns during national awareness months of the cause. For example, organizations that support sexual assault survivors can raise awareness during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.
Text-To-Give Campaign
Convenient, cost-effective and user-friendly — this campaign type allows potential givers to donate even if they’re miles away. All donors have to do is text a keyword to your designated short or long code.
SMS-Magic integration on Salesforce. Source
This action automatically opts them into your text messaging campaigns and sends a mobile-optimized link where they can make donations. The best part about text-to-give is you can easily remind and encourage constituents for future offerings.
Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Campaign
Peer-to-peer fundraising empowers individuals to create their own campaigns and solicit funds by involving their peers in the project. The key to executing this is finding the right donors to share your organization’s mission with friends and family.
Organizers usually host the campaign via social media due to its easy reach and wide-ranging connection. You can take this one step further and lead an ambassador campaign. Well-connected and influential donors take charge of ambassador campaigns and stage big events such as a gala or auction to raise money.
Annual Giving Campaign
This campaign helps nonprofits raise donations that go towards their annual revenue goal. From covering day-to-day costs to running large-scale projects, charities can use annual giving to stay afloat and thrive. They’re hosted throughout the year and provide an avenue to encourage current constituents to upgrade their donation amount.
Giving Tuesday Campaign
Giving Tuesday is a global event that happens on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Every year, millions of people all over the world donate to a cause of their choice on this occasion. These campaigns are a great way to start your year-end events and wrap up the calendar year.
Year-End Campaign
Holidays are a wonderful time that brings loved ones together. Some givers take it one step further and spread the joy by donating to issues that matter to them — which explains why December is usually the biggest giving month of the year.
Capitalize on this and end your year on a high note with a killer year-end campaign. Nonprofits can focus on centering the campaign around holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah. A well-executed year-end campaign can jumpstart your next year’s projects as well.
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Fundraising Tips
Here are some things to consider before you start planning your fundraising campaigns.
Know the How and Why
If you were a donor and had to pick between your nonprofit and five others, which one would you choose? Why should donors pick your charity? Why is it important and urgent? How will their small donation make a difference to the cause, and how can you assure them of that?
Getting clear on your mission statement and vision will help you look credible and reliable in the eyes of constituents.
Create a Campaign Timeline
Unclear on your fundraising goals? Don’t really know what your vision or campaign game plan is? Voila! With this recipe, you’ve made a big old mess with a side of stress and loss of donor trust for dessert.
In all seriousness, having a clear, step-by-step strategic fundraising plan can help you handle the hiccups you’ll face on the way. A good fundraising plan should help manage deadlines, goals and different donor types. Collaborate with a development director, your charity’s CEO, communication and marketing teams, and volunteers to get all hands on deck.
Identify the Beneficiary
“Your donation of $100 can help Priya build back her home and life that was tragically taken away by the unfortunate house fire.”
We all face a psychological phenomenon called psychic numbing. This means when the number of people suffering due to an issue increases, our ability to empathize with them decreases. In a nutshell, we don’t respond to numbers. But we thrive on stories due to their singular focus on a subject. Identify and name your beneficiaries. Post their pictures and videos so your donors connect with the cause on a deeper level.
Use a Compelling Story
After identifying beneficiaries, the next step is to write a powerful story about them.
Who is Priya? How long did she wait to save up money to build her home? What will happen to her children? How is she feeling? What happens to her now that she lost the comfort and security of her home?
Not every one of your donors might’ve experienced or can relate to what Priya felt. But humans understand universal emotions like pain, worry, uncertainty, fear, hope and love. Try to capture those emotions in your story to inspire givers to help people like Priya.
Identify Marketing Channels and Opportunities
Donors come in all shapes and sizes, but you need to determine the best way to let your donors give. Which marketing channels do your constituents use? Do they prefer online or offline methods? Would they like a personalized social media campaign or a large-scale auction? Keeping the donor base’s preferences in mind will help you engage with them better.
Manage social media interactions with donors using Zoho CRM. Source
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How To Run a Fundraising Campaign
Planning out a fundraising campaign will certainly make the process smoother, but executing it is a whole other ballgame. You’ll run into challenges that you need to solve as soon as they come. To ensure you can handle such issues, take note of the following points so you put your best foot forward.
Build Momentum With a Soft Launch
Before rolling out your campaign to the public, consider a soft launch targeted at committed supporters and past contributors. This pre-phase can serve as a litmus test for your campaign’s effectiveness and offer a chance to resolve glitches or errors. Donors are more likely to contribute when they see initial momentum, making a soft launch crucial for gaining traction.
You can start with email campaigns that include event details and ask for feedback on the message’s clarity, relevance and overall impact. Fundraising solutions’ communication capabilities can facilitate this and provide valuable insights for course corrections.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is another avenue to explore during the soft launch. Ask your givers to start personal fundraising pages to extend your campaign’s reach. This initial momentum often snowballs into greater engagement and donations when the drive launches.
Gain Trust Through Consistent Branding
Uniform branding across various campaign elements can build trust and make your fundraising efforts more identifiable. Inconsistency can confuse potential donors and question your nonprofit’s legitimacy.
To ensure brand consistency, you can create a unique campaign logo that complements your organization’s original logo. It should still use your organization’s color palette and typography.
Whether sending emails, posting on social media or hosting offline events, consistent visual design elements help donors immediately recognize that the campaign belongs to your organization. Fundraising software provides a centralized platform that can further help you maintain data and design consistency.
Another reason for consistent branding is to facilitate multi-channel marketing. Your campaign will likely span multiple platforms, and consistent branding ensures that your campaign is easily recognizable, no matter which platform givers see it on.
Make It Easy for Donors To Give
When requesting donations, it’s your job to meet donors where they are and provide them with payment options they’re most comfortable with.
Look for nonprofit CRM software that integrates with payment processing apps such as digital wallets, PayPal, Venmo, ACH and credit card processing. By doing so, you cater to diverse donor preferences, making it easier for them to contribute.
The bottom line is that donors are more likely to contribute if the process is hassle-free. An intuitive and easy-to-understand donation process will make constituents’ lives easier and boost your campaign’s performance.
Engage Donors With Timely Communication
Communication is a cornerstone of any successful fundraising campaign. Keeping donors and potential donors informed helps build trust and strengthens your relationship with them.
Manage donor communication using email capabilities on CRMs. Source
You can employ a multi-platform approach to provide regular updates. Use email newsletters, blog posts and social media to engage your audience and share impact stories related to your campaign. Transparency is critical as it shows givers how you use their funds, making you more credible in their eyes.
Additionally, remember post-campaign communication. Donors appreciate knowing the outcome of their contributions and will likely donate again for future fundraisers. After your campaign ends, you can send a detailed report sharing success stories and specifying how funds will help the cause.
Use Social Proof To Increase Donor Confidence
Social proof, the psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others, can be a powerful tool in fundraising. You can leverage this by featuring testimonials from past donors or beneficiaries on your campaign page. When people see that others have supported your cause and experienced tangible outcomes, they’re more likely to donate.
Make sure to highlight any partnerships or endorsements from recognized organizations or public figures. Such acknowledgment can make your campaign more credible and attract a broader audience.
Track contributions and inspire donors with live display. Source
Quotes, video messages or even simple tweets can serve as social proof. A “donation ticker” or “live update” feature on the campaign page can do the same, showing potential donors that others are actively contributing. It builds a sense of urgency and community around your campaign that’ll certainly help the cause.
Improve Performance With Analytics
Real-time analytics can provide invaluable insights into donor behavior and campaign performance. Tools like Google Analytics and nonprofit CRMs help track metrics such as donor demographics, conversion rates and traffic sources. You should also pay attention to metrics specific to your fundraising platform, such as the average donation size, frequency of donations and abandonment rate.
Fundraising software provides an overview of donors and performance. Source
Once you have this data, use it to adapt and optimize your campaign. For example, you notice that social media drives more traffic than email. In that case, shift your focus and resources to boosting social media engagement.
By routinely analyzing this data, you can tweak your campaign in real time to capitalize on what’s working and adjust what isn’t. This approach enables you to continuously maximize your fundraising potential rather than doing a post-mortem analysis after the campaign.
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Recognize and Appreciate Donors
Donor recognition is an often overlooked but crucial aspect of fundraising campaigns. Publicly acknowledging and thanking givers can build a community around your campaign and encourage further donations. You can send social media shoutouts, dedicated “thank you” emails or even personalized video messages using fundraising platforms to express gratitude.
Consider putting up a donor recognition wall on your campaign site or your nonprofit’s office. This is a perpetual token of gratitude and another form of social proof, encouraging others to contribute. You can also offer tier-based rewards and other incentives to motivate higher offerings.
Showing appreciation goes beyond transactional engagement and helps build long-term relationships with donors — which is essential in sustaining ongoing or future campaigns. Keep in touch with donors through periodic updates, not just about the campaign they contributed to but also about your organization’s broader initiatives and successes.
Engage Volunteers and Staff
A fundraising campaign is not a one-person show. Volunteers and staff are the backbone that helps reach and connect with potential donors. Therefore, it’s important to keep your team engaged and motivated. You can provide training to help them effectively communicate with constituents.
Involve your team in decision-making processes so they feel like they’re contributing and you take their suggestions seriously. Regular team meetings can be a forum for sharing ideas, progress updates and challenges, enhancing collaboration and problem-solving. Remember to recognize and celebrate small wins to maintain team morale and keep the momentum going.
Platforms like Slack help in managing tasks and communication.
Tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams can streamline internal communication. These platforms allow for quick information sharing and ensure everyone is on the same page.
Be Ready With a Crisis Management Plan
Despite the best-laid plans, you’ll inevitably face challenges that can throw your campaign off track for a while. Be prepared to address these issues swiftly, whether it’s negative publicity, a sudden drop in donations or technical problems with your fundraising platform. A well-thought-out crisis management plan can help you navigate such issues without derailing your entire campaign.
Make a contingency plan outlining possible risks, challenges and action steps for each potential problem. You also need to stay on top of tasks and monitor them so you can catch issues early and solve them accordingly. When you fix a problem, it shows your charity’s competence, increasing donor trust and loyalty.
Conduct a Post-Campaign Evaluation
Once the fundraising campaign concludes, it’s essential to have a thorough evaluation to identify areas for improvement. Collect and analyze data on key performance indicators such as total funds raised, donor demographics and engagement metrics. These insights will help you understand what worked so you can replicate it in future campaigns.
Use the post-campaign period as an opportunity to re-engage with donors. Thank them once again, and provide updates on upcoming events. A well-executed wrap-up can set the stage for future successes, ensuring the campaign’s impact extends beyond its end date.
Leverage Technology and Data Analytics
Consider using software that offers campaign management features to improve your campaign’s reach and efficiency. Technology should be integral to your strategy, from CRM systems that help manage donor relationships to data analytics software that can provide actionable insights.
Contacts tab on the popular CRM platform, Creatio.
Data analytics can help you understand donor behavior, optimize campaign elements and predict future giving trends. These insights can inform everything from email communication to the best times to post on social media.
Investing in fundraising software can seem like an extra expense, but its long-term benefits often outweigh the costs. Tools that automate repetitive tasks free up staff time for more complex activities, enhancing overall campaign performance. Moreover, they can help you maintain a cleaner data set, making future campaigns more targeted and effective.
Take Legal and Ethical Considerations Into Account
You must ensure your fundraising campaign adheres to all legal and ethical guidelines. Failure to do so can result in penalties and damage your organization’s reputation. Read up about tax implications for donors and your organization, and make sure all financial transactions are transparent and well-documented.
Consult with legal experts to see that your campaign complies with laws concerning charitable giving and online transactions. You can use security suites to ensure data protection and privacy. When it comes to ethical considerations, a big part of it’s about campaign transparency, so let stakeholders know how you’re using funds.
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Next Steps
Fundraising campaigns are an effective method to raise money and awareness within a short period of time. Now that you know the different campaign types and how to run a project, it’s time to brainstorm fundraising ideas.
We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of 44 unique fundraising ideas that can help you meet (or exceed) your fundraising goals. Once you have a solid plan, you can use fundraising software or nonprofit CRMs to track campaign performance and predict donor trends.
Unsure of which software will be the right fit for your nonprofit? We’ve got you covered! Our requirements template can help you speed up selection and narrow down potential vendors so you make an informed choice. After you determine your requirements, head over to our free fundraising software comparison report, where you can assess different systems based on their features, benefits and limitations.
Which campaign type are you planning to use in the future? Do you have any additional tips that can make fundraising campaigns more effective? Let us know in the comments.