Raising funds for charity can be a difficult task. If you are doing a long distance charity trek or a charity cycle ride, you might find that the physical feat of the journey itself is more straightforward than the complicated task of raising a specific amount of money.
After all, it’s hard to ask your friends, family and everyone you know for cash – even though it is going towards a good cause. Many people are cynical these days and are less likely to part with their hard earned money. However, if you get it right you can find success when fundraising for a charity – you just need to make sure you are avoiding some of the common mistakes.
Leaving Out a Call to Action
You take the time to write a message or a letter to solicit money for yourcharity challenges, but when it comes to the end you forget to ask your donor to take action and give money. This is known as a “call to action” and it is when you tell the reader exactly what the next step is that they should take. For example, saying something like, “We need your help today, please click here to make a donation right now,” will be more effective. By using words like “today” and “right now” you will convey a sense of urgency and a deadline.
Not Using “You” in Your Writing
When you are writing communications to people who might donate to your charity, whether it a Facebook message, an email or website content, it is important to use the word “you” as much as possible. Using that word makes your writing feel more personal and it will immediately pull people in emotionally. It will make you feel like you are speaking directly to them and it will make them more likely to donate.
Making it Difficult to Donate
Take a look at the process that people need to go through in order to donate to your charity. Can it be done within minutes with the click of a few buttons, or is it a long and complicated process that is difficult to find and understand. If people want to donate to your campaign but it is too complicated, who knows how many potential donors you might be missing out on.
Not Showing People Why They Should Donate
When people are deciding whether or not to donate to your charity fundraising cause, it is very important to show them the concrete real-world benefits that the charity has to offer. This allows people to see where their money is going and understand the benefits of their donation. For example, if you are raising money for a charity that builds schools in Africa you could show a video of a school the charity has previously built, so that potential donors can see the children learning in the classroom and get a visual picture of the positive benefit it has had on the community.
Not Being Transparent
Many people want to know exactly what they are donating to when they are giving money to a charity, so when you are fundraising they might ask you difficult questions such as how the donations are allocated within the company and how much the head staff of the charity are paid. It is important to know this, so that you can answer these questions honestly. When you are honest and transparent about what you are fundraising for and how your chosen charity works, people will be much less mistrustful and suspicious and will be more likely to want to support you.
Not Spreading the Word Widely Enough
When you are raising money for a charity challenge event, such as a long distance bike ride or a charity walk, it is important to spread the message as far as possible. Let all of your friends know and ask them to tell all of their friends. Try to post the message on social media in order to spread it even further. The more people who know about the charity fundraising event the more donations you are likely to get.
These are just a few mistakes that many people make when they are fundraising for charity. Make sure that you avoid these fundraising blunders so that you can be successful in your campaign.