How to Promote Your Charity Fundraiser
Everyone wants their charity fundraiser to be a success, but with so many different ways to promote yourself, it can be difficult to know where to start. Online or in-person? How big should you make your fundraising target? What’s the best way to share your challenge? Questions like these can seem daunting, but they don’t need to be. Here are Scotty’s Little Soldiers’ top tips to help you start raising money, boosting your reach and smashing your fundraising goals.
Explain Why Your Chosen Charity is Worth Supporting
Helping everyone understand why your chosen charity is worth supporting is the most important thing you can do to promote your fundraiser. If you can make people want to support the charity as much as you, then everything else will fall into place! You can do this by:
- Getting across your passion. If people can tell how much you care about the cause, they’re more likely to be inspired to donate. It’s always worth sharing if you have a personal connection to the charity, too!
- Setting a tangible goal. Most charities can tell you how much money they need to offer their support. For example, approximately £1000 will allow a bereaved military family supported by Scotty’s Little Soldiers to enjoy a Scotty break and make new happy memories following the death of their hero. Don’t just say your goal is to raise £1000, say it’s to give a bereaved military family a respite break BY raising £1000!
- Clearly explaining the charity’s mission, linking to their website or social media pages and sharing stories that illustrate their work.
- Letting people know if you have matched giving, as this can encourage them to donate more. Matched giving is when a company or individual agrees to match the donations you receive, either partially or in full. For example, if your employer offers matched giving, they might double every pound you raise.
- Reminding people to use Gift Aid. Gift Aid allows your donors to add an extra 25% to their donation at no extra cost.
Use Social Media to Share your Fundraiser
Social media is invaluable when it comes to spreading the word about your charity fundraiser. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are great for keeping friends and followers updated on everything you’re doing, while Twitter and TikTok are useful tools for attracting new faces to your fundraiser. If you want to go after corporate sponsors, LinkedIn is the place to be.
Here are some tips to draw as much social media attention to your fundraiser as possible:
- Post about your challenge regularly, link to your fundraising page in every post and include relevant hashtags to help the right people see it.
- Share photos and videos of your training or preparation in the lead up to the event.
- If a post is particularly important, tag your charity, your donors and any supporters with lots of reach, as they may want to share it.
Send Personalised Messages to Boost your Fundraiser
Sending personalised messages to your contacts, asking them to support your challenge and linking them your fundraising page, is a great way to make sure people know what you’re doing and give them an incentive to donate! If you want to contact a large group of related people, such as work colleagues, email is a good way to connect with them all at once. In your messages, make sure to include:
- A catchy subject line that will grab people’s attention. The easiest way to do this is to already have a great fundraising idea.
- A clear and friendly message, explaining your challenge, your cause, and how their donation will make a difference.
- A link to your fundraising page, asking them to donate and share with other people.
- Any images or videos that show challenge you are taking on or the cause you are supporting.
After your challenge is complete, send another email or message to the same people, letting them know how it went, including any new images/videos and, if they haven’t already donated, asking them to do so. One final push!
Spread the Word and Promote your Fundraiser
Sometimes, the old-fashioned way just works. When it comes to fundraising, that often holds true! Word-of-mouth is one of the most tried and trusted ways to promote your challenge and boost your fundraiser, and there are loads of ways you can get people talking:
- Ask your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbours to share your fundraiser with their networks.
- Attend events and activities related to your cause and network with other likeminded people.
- Ask local clubs if they’d be happy to share your charity fundraiser with their members.
About Scotty's
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a military charity dedicated to supporting children and young people (0 to 25 years) who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.
Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, following the death of her husband Corporal Lee Scott in Afghanistan in 2009, the charity, which was set up in 2010, provides support and guidance to hundreds of bereaved military children and young people throughout their childhood.
Scotty’s currently supports over 650 bereaved children and young people. Services offered include access to child bereavement support, guidance to parents and carers, personal education and learning assistance (including grants), and fun activities such as holiday respite breaks and group events. These are all designed to remind the children and young people supported by Scotty’s that they are not alone.
