10 Impactful Ways to Boost Your Fundraiser

So you’ve launched your Fundraiser – congratulations! What now? Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place to raise both funds and awareness. At Custom Ink Fundraising, it is our mission to help you raise as much money as possible to support your cause. With that said, your success depends entirely on how many people you are able to reach. Advertising your Fundraiser may seem like a daunting task but fear not – we’re here to help! We’ve gathered the tips and tricks of our most successful Fundraisers to really help you spread the word and maximize your potential.

1. Get personal.

Always be sure to share your story or the story of the person or organization you want to support. Too often, we see campaign organizers have left fields blank that allow them to really tell the story of their cause. This is a shame, as potential customers are much more inclined to support your fundraiser when they have some background on the cause you care about! Don’t be afraid to get specific—explain how not being able to work due to chemo treatments is affecting your family, or how losing a loved one really opened your eyes to a cause that desperately needs more awareness. It’s your experiences that will encourage people to get on board, so let your heart sing!

2. Show and tell.

Not to be cliché, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words! While speaking to your cause is very important, it’s refreshing to see Fundraisers that include pictures and/or videos. Whether it’s a picture of an adorable child or a video about the benefits that small fundraisers have in the long term, pictures and videos can really help illustrate the message you are trying to convey to your supporters. There’s no better way to put your message into focus than showing your supporters who (or how) they’re helping!

3. Optimize your product offerings.

Did you know that Custom Ink Fundraising allows you to offer up to 6 items within your Fundraiser? Often, we see people pick the default white or grey t-shirt and neglect to offer a variety for their supporters to choose from. If you’ve already added multiple products this point won’t apply to you. For everyone else, it’s important to think about who you’re trying to target with your Fundraiser and what items they are most likely to get excited about! Might it benefit you to offer the shirt you selected in a variety of colors? Could adding a ladies shirt, a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt option lead to more purchases? We’ve certainly seen that you attract more sales when you offer more options to your supporters, so this is definitely something worth considering. If you’re interested in adding different products your Fundraising page, please reach out to us here and we’d be happy to help!

4. Harness the power of social media.

Now that we’ve added the finishing touches to your Fundraiser and sold a shirt or two, let’s start to think about how best to get the word out there. Our most experienced fundraising organizers will tell you that social media can be your best friend if you use it to your advantage! Here are some helpful tips when it comes to using social media to benefit your cause:

• Share your fundraiser! Draft a Facebook post announcing the launch of your Fundraiser. Be sure to include the link to your Fundraising page as well as a brief description of what you’re raising money for. You don’t need to get too in depth in your post, as you’ve already perfected the story you have displayed on your Fundraising page!
• Be strategic about how often you’re posting. While it is important to keep your supporters in the know and offer gratitude to those who have donated, people tend to lose interest when you over-share. Each post should include a fresh message, so avoid recycling old posts as people will overlook things they’ve seen before. Check out the Promotional Calendar we’ve included below for more information as to when and what you should be posting!

• Take advantage of your pre-existing network. Do you have a large Twitter or Instagram following? Rally the troops by crafting a thoughtful post! Are you a member of any groups on Facebook? Don’t be afraid to post within these groups or reach out to the group administrator and ask them to share for you. It’s important to take advantage of any opportunity to get the word out to people who may share the same interest in your cause!
• Create a dedicated group just for your cause. If you are not already part of a group you can share your fundraiser with, you can always create one! It’s been proven that people like to follow specific causes they care about, so why not create a forum where people can share their thoughts, invite their friends, follow your progress, and be part of the solution?

5. Mention your Fundraiser in regular communications.

Share your Fundraiser in an email to your team, include it in a company newsletter, or send it home with kids in a flyer to their parents. Whatever your everyday means of sharing information are, be sure to use them as free advertising!

6. Go Old School.

Do you have a student activity fair, a tech expo, or some type of trade show that provides an opportunity for some in-person advertising? Whatever the event, you should always take advantage of an opportunity to make a sale face-to-face. You can bring flyers to your event to hang up and hand out, as well as creating a spreadsheet to take cash orders. After the event is over, you can go use the cash and the information collected to visit your Fundraiser and purchase on behalf of those supporters. Another great idea would be to bring a laptop or tablet and pull up your Fundraising page so people can purchase in real time!

7. Share relevant content that speaks to your cause.

When drafting your social media posts or announcing your fundraiser in other promotional material, an interesting approach is to share articles, graphics, press releases, or personal stories from other reputable sources. If you’ve come across a truly touching story of somebody who went through a similar fight or uncovered an article that perfectly summarizes the impact of donations to your cause, then share it! Let the content speak for itself, but be sure to clarify how it relates to your fundraiser! Oh, and don’t forget to include the link to your Fundraising page at the end of the post!

8. Consider accepting donations in place of a purchase.

While the most important step in running a successful Fundraiser is selling the items you’ve created, there is also an option to turn on the “Donation Only” feature within your Fundraiser. Though these donations will not count toward the print minimum you need to reach, turning this feature on will allow people who are not interested in buying merchandise an opportunity to support your cause! If you would like for us to turn this feature on for your fundraiser, please reach out to us here and we’ll be happy to help!

9. Get supporters excited and involved!

Another way to draw in support is to provide an incentive for people to participate. There are many ways you can do this, so don’t be afraid to get creative! For example, provide a prize or a social media shout-out to the 25th person to purchase, offer to shave your head if you sell 100 shirts, or allow people to wear their shirt for a percentage or dollar amount off their purchase at your local business. Anything you can do to get your community involved is sure to make a difference!

10. Be tech savvy.

If you have a knack for technology, we have some tips that can help draw in support for your fundraiser. While these methods are not as tried and true as those listed above, they could certainly help to bring in potential supporters!

• Embed the fundraising page into your own website. If you already host your own website with its own traffic, it’s a great idea to advertise the fundraiser there. We’ve created a post that details how you can embed the fundraiser into your personal webpage, so if you are interested take a look at that here.
• Create a QR Code to easily share your fundraising page. Have you ever seen promotional flyers with what looks like a square barcode at the bottom? These are called QR Codes, and they allow people to visit your website without having to type or click any links. While this option will only prove beneficial for people with a smartphone and a corresponding QR scanning app, it’s very easy to plug your Fundraiser’s URL into a generator to create a personalized QR Code. If you’re interested, here is one website that allows you to do this for free.
• Shorten your URL so that you can share on Twitter. For forums like Twitter that have a character limit, it can sometimes be difficult to plug your Fundraiser and also share the link in the same post. If you’re running low on characters, check out the Google URL Shortener which will create a simplified link to your Fundraiser!

Now that you have the tools at your disposal to run a successful fundraiser, take a minute to consider which of these tips might work for you and your cause. Remember, you’ve set up an awesome fundraiser with unlimited potential; all you need to do is get the word out to as many people as possible!