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Friends for Funds: Tips to Fundraise for Sarvoham

Okay, so you have decided to help Sarvoham by starting a fund-raiser. We’ll make sure we hold your hand at every step and provide you with all the necessary help you need with giving a title to your Fundraiser, writing your Fundraiser story, designing your emails at various levels of the Fundraiser journey and anything else that we may offer help with.

This leaves you in-charge of promoting the Fundraiser through various channels. And no matter how simple it sounds, there are many subtle, nuanced and strategic tips and channels to keep in mind for successful promotion of such Fundraisers. Not only does the promotion need to be cost-effective, it also has to be worth your effort. Here, we have curated for you a section-wise list of things to consider to make your Fundraiser promotion as effective as you wish it to be!

Channels of Promotion

  • Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp are the major social media platforms that increase the visual attention your promotion may get. In the year 2021, about 4.48 billion people have been reported to use social media and this is a whopping 13.13% increase from the 3.69 billion people in 2020. This clearly shows an upward trend and indicates the massive impact social media promotion may have on your Fundraiser success. Refer to the next section to know how to utilize these platforms to their optimum level.
  • Email: No matter how much people think that email promotion is an outdated method, research has shown that even today, a great number of people read their emails if the subject line is designed carefully and smartly. A catchy subject line is something that even the busiest of us will click on. So do not underestimate the power of a well-designed and well-timed email. For various levels of promotion, you will need different emails. For example, one email would be needed to introduce people to your Fundraiser and making an appeal to them to support you. A second and third email may be required to update people about the success of your Fundraiser and the impact the donors have made. A final email is important to thank the donors for their contribution. In this manner, a short, impactful email will get your message across at the various stages of your Fundraiser.
  • Press: Share an informative, accurate and interesting press article about your Fundraiser and how it is going to help so many innocent animals to the local newspapers. Animal welfare is certainly a matter of social importance and your article should emphasize that. This will get your Fundraiser a wider readership and reach.
  • Events: There is nothing better than a one-to-one communication event that ensures on-the-spot action. Conduct offline events to let the general public know about both your Fundraiser and our efforts to help street animals. You can use a specific festival, International day of importance or any other special occasion to organize a small event where people are expected to gather. Use this opportunity to spread awareness and convince people to take action at the event itself.
  • Celebrity Tie-up: Get in touch with a celebrity who has a similar passion of philanthropy and has a deep intention to help animals. Reach out to them and request them to make a short appeal through a video or to have a short live session to spread a word about your fundraiser and to ask people to support it by donation. The impact and influence celebrities hold may thus be utilized for the benefit of animals in distress.

Different Social Media platforms and how to use them effectively?

Facebook:

Most people still use Facebook as their primary mode of social media consumption. Despite a declining interest among the youth regarding Facebook, it still holds a place of importance among a majority of people. Make sure you keep the following considerations in mind while using Facebook for promoting your Fundraiser campaign:

  • Create short, attractive posts with pictures and content that grab attention of the audience.
  • One post a day is the ideal frequency for Facebook and anything more or less than that may go against your desired aim.
  • Make sure your posts follow an order where you first introduce the fundraiser and then remind the audience to take action by posting at regular intervals.
  • Always end the post with a call for action. It should ideally be a call for donations but can end with asking people to share instead of donating.
  • Add a donation tab or link so that people who wish to support your fundraiser can do so conveniently.
  • Use Facebook insights to time your posts and to know which age-group or geographical location is contributing most to your cause. You can use these insights the next time you promote your fundraiser for better results.

Twitter:

According to a recent research, more than 1.3 billion people use Twitter and that’s what makes this platform a perfect place to share information about your fundraiser. Moreover, due to the large number of users on Twitter, you can use this platform to drive traffic towards your fundraiser website. Keeping the following in mind will provide a better reach to your appeal and will certainly inspire action:

  • Create tweets that are accompanied with visual media for better retention and action. It has been observed that tweets with pictures or other visual elements garner more attention.
  • The frequency on Twitter can be slightly more than Facebook. It has been observed that three tweets a day is the ideal number of times one should post on twitter for maximum effectiveness.
  • Create a Hashtag especially for the Fundraiser. For example, since your fundraiser appeals to donate for Sarvoham animals, you can start a hashtag #Savesarvoham. A hashtag makes your tweet stand out and give it a specific identity and goes a long way in creating impact. You can also use this hashtag for connecting your fundraiser on different social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
  • Share tweets on Facebook. Connecting different modes of social media is a good idea to get the maximum attention for your fundraiser. Once you tweet on Twitter, post the link of the tweet on your Facebook account to introduce the content to your Facebook friends as well.
  • Follow closely the Fundraisers that aim to contribute towards similar causes. This will give you a treasure of ideas to utilize for your own campaign.

Instagram:

  • Instagram is a more visual medium of social media. To use this medium for the benefit of rescued animals, you need to click clear, attractive and meaningful pictures and accompany them with crisp and interesting verbal content.
  • One post a day is a good frequency for Instagram but make sure every post is accompanied with a call for action.
  • While posting on Instagram, make sure the first picture is not something that a viewer does not want to stumble on unprepared. If you want to share a delicate post about animal suffering with pictures, make sure the first picture prepares the viewers and the sensitive picture appears after a warning or a picture.
  • Use stories to create short, impactful updates or information that are checked way more often than the feed. You can also add the donation sticker to your Instagram stories.
  • Tag celebrities, partners or corporate supporters. Thank people through stories.
  • Do not hesitate to utilize emojis to make your content a little peppier and a little less monotonous.
  • Use your “link in bio” space to insert your campaign website address to maximize engagement and drive traffic to your campaign website.

LinkedIn: It is more of a professional networking medium than social media platform but it is an excellent way to get companies to contribute towards the fundraiser. On LinkedIn, you may come in contact with professionals who have the power to decide how they utilize their CSR funds and if you pitch your fundraiser correctly and effectively, you may get substantial corporate help. You may appeal through LinkedIn once a week, and Wednesdays have proven to be the most responsive days at this platform.

WhatsApp:

  • Create a good video with an impactful message. Use this video along with some short and crisp written material to be shared across the platform for maximum engagement.
  • Make a group or join a pre-existing one that is dedicated to the cause of street animals. Share your message (and the video and the written content) on these groups.
  • With WhatsApp you should not be so frequent as to become unwelcome to the receivers. Just remind them once a week to make a contribution or write to them when they take action.
  • Do not forget to add the fundraiser link to your Instagram and Facebook pages to the Fundraiser. This shall connect all these platforms and increase the reach of the campaign.

Things to keep in mind while promoting

  • Build a community before campaigning: Jot down the details of the people you expect to contribute right at the beginning of the campaign. Share with them personally when and how you plan to launch the fundraiser and let them know that you expect them to help. Let these people feel like the insiders to the campaign so that they feel connected to the fundraiser and help in spreading the word about it.
  • Be completely honest: You are raising funds for a great cause. The help that you will gather shall go a long way to reduce the suffering and better the lives of so many helpless animals. All you need is to truthfully tell your story so that the readers identify with what you have to say. This is a way to connect with people and the more connected they feel, the more they will help you to raise funds.
  • Engage: We know that you would want to tell as much as you can about Sarvoham and the work we do. But also make sure that you listen to what the audience has to say. Your posts should also ask questions and try to make your audience compelled to participate and make them feel they are actively involved. Respond to them patiently when they want to ensure their funds are going to a credible cause.
  • Visuals matter: A visual account of the why, how and what of your Fundraiser is imperative for the success of your Fundraiser. Once people see the animals who need their help and are familiarized with their suffering, they are more likely to take an action and contribute to your cause.
  • Watch your tone: Twitter likes to-the-point, short tweets, Instagram likes visual content accompanied with friendly verbal matter that resonates with people, even if it is long, Facebook likes shorter posts along with visual media in a casual language. LinkedIn is a professional platform where a formal register has to be maintained. Take care of the nature of the platform and ensure you follow the codes of conduct regarding the tone of the visual and verbal content.
  • Do not hesitate: Express your emotional side while campaigning for the fundraiser. Make sure you share how you feel about the animals of Sarvoham and why you think we need help. Chances are that if you were moved and motivated to help us, your views will also resonate with many others and inspire them to come forward for help, only if you let them in on your feelings towards the cause.
  • Remind but do not impose: Remember how each one of us has at some point of time blocked a person or a page because they were too intrusive and too frequent. With all platforms, maintain the limit of posting/writing/ messaging. Remind but do not impose.
  • Keep them updated: It gives one immense pleasure to know that the action they took is helping someone else. This is the reason why you should remember to frequently update your donors about the progress of the fundraiser and how much amount out of the total target amount has been collected.
  • Be there to help: There may be a flood of questions and queries, doubts and comments on the various platforms you have used for promotion. Take help from a friend or supporter but make sure each and every person who wants to know something is made to feel heard and that the gaps in their understanding addressed. The more heard the potential donors feel, the more chances of them taking an action to make your Fundraiser a success.
  • Make them feel impactful: Make sure your messages in various forms include numbers that quantify the impact the donors have made to your Fundraiser. For example, let them know that the amount they contributed will help 20 animals who need physiotherapy, or it will cover the meals of 100 animals for a day and so on.
  • Show gratitude: For each and every kind word, we get a plenty of hope and this keeps us going from one day to another. So, if someone is kind enough to donate to us or even say a thoughtful thing about us, we should always show our gratitude in a few words.

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