6 ways to successfully fundraise and raise money for charity

RAISING money for charities and nonprofit organisations is a worthwhile pursuit. It helps many people in need and ensures charities can continue their incredible work.

Charities rely on donations, fundraising, and generous support from the public to do the important work they do. However, people need to be prompted to give. Whether it’s through impactful TV adverts, hosted events, or direct contact with the charity (to name a few), learning how to raise money for charity is all about establishing connections.

In this article, we will share how you can successfully fundraise for your charity and support its continued success.

How to raise money for charity

What follows are some of our suggestions for how to raise money for charity. We hope our tips give you some inspiration and encourage you to try something new and strengthen your fundraising efforts.

1. Make your fundraising efforts known

Finding ways to fundraise for charity is a great thing to do but to succeed, people need to know about it. One of the most important things you can do to successfully fundraise is to tell everyone about your efforts.

Social media is a great way to advertise your fundraising efforts and draw attention to your charity by sharing what you do and how you impact the lives of others through your work. It’s also a great place to share a link to your donations page where supporters can donate their chosen amount with ease.

Many charities also write regular press releases about the work they do. These press releases can be published in local newspapers, on your website and social media channels, and sent out to your supporters via email. Another great way to raise awareness is to create posters and flyers and post these around your local community.

Ultimately, the more effort you put into raising awareness about your charity and the work you do, the more success your fundraising efforts will have.

2. Start a sponsorship

One of the most popular ways to raise money for charity is through sponsorship. This is where you set up something like a Just Giving Page where supporters can donate to your account directly from your social media platforms or email. Just Giving is easy to set up and is a great way to make sponsorship donations as easy and accessible for your audience as possible.

You should make as many people aware of your sponsorship as you can. This will increase your reach and earning potential. Sponsorships come from a wide variety of sources; family and friends, employers, and social groups (to name a few), so be sure to reach out to everyone in your contact list, local area, and social communities (online and in-person). And encourage people to share your information within their local communities, too. This will increase your reach significantly.

3. Make payments easy

It is a fact that the easier it is to make a transaction, the more likely people are to do so. Therefore, if you’re looking for ways to raise money for charity, you should start by reviewing your payment methods.

To start with, it’s important to find the best card reader to support cashless donations from your supporters. This will make a huge difference to the number of donations you receive, especially as according to the Guardian, ‘Britain has been at the forefront of the switch to a cashless society.’ And this cashless trend is only set to continue.

Embracing modern payment solutions is the key to donation success as it allows your supporters to make donations easily on and offline. A few great cashless payment options include: card readers, tap-to-donate devices, QR codes, text-to-donate options, and contactless collection boxes. Digital payment solutions like these make it easier than ever for people to support your charity financially.

4. Host in-person charity events

You shouldn’t just rely on sponsorships when learning how to raise money for charity. A great fundraising tip is to host in-person events. Events provide a great opportunity to establish connections within your local community. The public responds extremely well to in-person events because, according to Concept 3D;

‘These important face-to-face connections are rare in the virtual world, and can really solidify someone’s interest in your group or company. In addition to developing a connection with your organisation, people attending your events can build relationships with each other and strengthen the community. There’s power in attending an event and seeing other people who support the same cause.’

There are many ways you can get the local community involved in your fundraising efforts. You could:

• Run a bake sale
• Host a pub quiz
• Run a Fun Fair in the park
• Organise a concert
• Take part in Red Nose Day
• Host a charity fun run, marathon, or walk.

There are so many fun options to choose from and they all provide the opportunity for people to get involved and raise money for your cause.

5. Tell people why their donations matter

Your audience wants to know their donations will make a difference. They want to be part of the positive change and help you make a real difference in the world. That’s why one of the best ways to fundraise for charity is to tell people why their donations matter. After all, why should they support you? What are you doing to make the world a better place? How can their donations help?

Many charities choose to showcase statistics on their website such as, ‘Together we’ve helped feed over 200 million people’ or ‘With your support we’ve helped house more than 10 million homeless’, etc. These are just examples but you can see for yourself how impactful they can be.

So, concentrate on what it is your charity does, take a look at the statistics and share these with your followers. You’ll be amazed at the positive difference it makes in donation frequencies and amounts.

6. Always say thank you

Learning how to raise funds for charity is one thing but taking the time to thank supporters is just as important. Charities can’t succeed without the support and generous donations of their followers. With the cost of living constantly increasing, life is tough for many people so it’s more important than ever to thank your supporters and express your gratitude for every bit of support you have received.

There are many ways you can say thank you. You can post public thanks on your website and social media channels. You can email individual supporters with a personal message of gratitude. You can write articles on your blog highlighting the generosity of your supporters and showcasing some of the work you’ve achieved thanks to their generosity. And you can send thank you cards, certificates, and merchandise to let people know their gifts are seen and appreciated.

Saying thanks can also encourage people to donate to you again in the future. It helps people realise how much their gift was appreciated and lets them see the difference their donation has made to your charity and the work that you do.

Final Words

As you can see, there are many ways to raise money for charity. Hopefully, the tips shared on how to raise funds for charity have inspired you to branch out and try something new.

As mentioned at the start of this article, successful charity fundraising begins with establishing connections. When your audience feels connected to your cause, they are more likely to donate, take part in events, and support your charity for the long term.