5 Effective Strategies to Quickly Raise Money With Crowdfunding
Do you have a cause that needs immediate attention or a personal emergency that calls for financial support? Knowing how to raise money swiftly can ease some of your stress and make your situation a little less difficult.
If you need to raise money on short notice, crowdfunding is an efficient option. Because of its easy-to-use process, building and sharing a campaign doesn’t require a ton of time.
Plus, when carefully thought out, a campaign can raise almost half of its fundraising goal in the first three days!
To help you raise funds when you’re on a tight schedule, we have 5 strategies:
- Map out your plan of action.
- Create a crowdfunding page that’s easy to find.
- Make it easy for donors to form quick decisions.
- Use online and traditional methods to spread the word.
- Thank your donors frequently.
With these tips, you can quickly raise awareness and money for your cause. Let’s jump right into the strategies!
1. Map out your plan of action.
While it’s tempting launch your campaign as quickly as possible, the best approach is to take some time and prepare a fundraising plan.
The more time you spend before you launch your campaign, the less time you’ll have to spend smoothing out all kinks when you reach a lull in fundraising. With a plan in place, you’ll already know what action to take to keep your campaign going strong until you reach your goal.
Depending on your situation, you might need to ask someone else to lead your fundraiser. Crowdfunding campaigns do take time and energy to gain awareness and attract donors, and you may need to devote your resources to the emergency you’re fundraising for.
Recruiting a close friend or family member to manage your campaign means you’ll have someone dedicated to your cause, rather than you trying to juggle both a crisis and a campaign.
Once you’ve decided on your campaign leader, it’s time to map out your course of action in as much detail as possible.
In your plan, you should:
- Determine your fundraising goal and set a realistic deadline. Your goal should account for any platform or payment processing fees that most crowdfunding websites charge.
- Assemble materials for your crowdfunding page. Choose elements (images, videos, stories, etc) that will clarify your story, evoke emotions, and help donors connect to your cause.
- Make a list of people you plan to ask for donations and how you’ll reach out to them. This list can include people you know as well as influential leaders, local business owners, and other community members.
Before you publish your campaign, spend time figuring out all the details so that you’re prepared to raise money during a tight deadline.
Takeaway: Don’t rush into your campaign even if you do need to raise money fast. Putting some time and effort into your fundraising plan will help keep your fundraiser running smoothly (and quickly!).
2. Create a crowdfunding page that’s easy to find.
The key to a successful crowdfunding campaign is the fundraising page. Donors will learn about your cause and donate through your crowdfunding page. As such, your page needs to be easy to find on search engines so that more donors encounter your campaign.
When making your page easy to find, you should focus on the following elements:
- Campaign title. Many campaign creators overlook the importance of a great campaign title. However, with some thought, you can create a title that draws your donors’ attention and communicates why you’re fundraising. Keep it simple—a long title is often a deterrent for most donors.
- Visuals. Images and photos can add to the experiences and encourage donors to give. But most importantly, they draw donors in and help your page appear professional and legitimate. You should at least include one image in your campaign, but if you want to raise money fast, include multiple images and even a video.
- Description. Your crowdfunding description, as well as its length, plays a huge role in increasing your campaign’s visibility on search engines. With that said, your copy should not only add value but also be concise enough to keep donors engaged.
The key is to create a page that’s easy to find and persuades donors to learn more. When your crowdfunding page is easy to find, more donors are likely to encounter your cause and contribute.
Takeaway: Optimize your crowdfunding page to help donors find your campaign so that you can raise more money for your cause.
3. Make it easy for donors to form quick decisions.
Your fundraising page might be the only location where you can accept donations for your campaign. Therefore, you should make the donation process as convenient as possible and encourage your donors to act.
When you’re creating your copy, you should use direct language and be clear about what you want your donors to do.
If you want donors to contribute, don’t be afraid to ask for a specific amount. This will save donors time as they won’t have to guess how much to give.
Additionally, focus on making your cause easy to understand. For instance, if a donor has unanswered questions or doesn’t have a clear understanding after exploring your crowdfunding page, these points will likely cause the donor to postpone giving.
Therefore, you should address everything that donors will want to know before they contribute. In your description and updates, clarify:
- How you will use the money. Get into the specifics and list out exactly how you plan to use the funds. When you’re transparent about how the money will be used, donors will feel more comfortable giving.
- How donors’ contributions impact beneficiaries. To truly connect to your cause, donors will want to know how their support will affect those in need. Instead of fully explaining this with words, use images and videos to quickly get your message across.
- How the campaign is progressing. When you continue to update your campaign, donors will not only get more information about your cause, but it will also show them that this campaign is important to you.
Provide donors with specific and transparent answers to the questions they’re most curious about. Many crowdfunding campaigns have a FAQ section at the end of their description to clear up some of the common questions that weren’t already addressed in the fundraising page.
When donors have all the facts after reading your crowdfunding page, it will make it easier for them to come to a decision.
Takeaway: The easier you make it for donors, the more likely they are to give to your campaign. Be direct about what you need and provide answers to your donors’ most common questions.
4. Use online and traditional methods to spread the word.
If you want to complete your goal quickly, you’re going to have to exhaust every method when asking for donations. As such, you should use both online and traditional ways to solicit donations.
Let’s look at 3 ways you can reach out to donors:
Social Media
Social media is the most common way to share crowdfunding campaigns—and with good reason! On social media outlets, you can reach out to your connections and new supporters. Plus, the ability to link to your campaign makes it easy for donors to find your page and contribute.
To help increase your reach, use the following best practices:
- Use hashtags to help potential donors find your cause.
- Keep your message short and concise.
- Include an image, video, or another visual to draw your readers’ attention.
- Always link to your campaign.
Email and Direct Mail
Sending out letters is a great way to approach people you already know or companies and foundations that might donate to your cause. With letters, you have more opportunity to express your need and evoke your donors’ emotions.
The key to writing a great donation request letter is to be specific and let your donors know what you want. And don’t forget to address your letters with each recipient’s name.
You can use email and direct mail solicitations to announce the launch of your campaign and at significant milestones (i.e. at the halfway point or a few days before the end of your campaign).
Local Media Outlets
If you want to help your campaign pick up speed and raise awareness for your cause, you should consider reaching out to your local newspaper or other media channels to see if they’d be willing to highlight your campaign.
You can provide them with information about your cause and why it’s important. That way, you can reach people on the channels they already trust and respect to get your community involved in supporting your cause.
Takeaway: Take advantage of not just online channels but also more traditional platforms to reach out to donors. Get creative and think through the best ways to get more people aware of your cause.
5. Thank your donors frequently.
The last thing you can do to raise money fast? Thank your donors and acknowledge them often. Don’t wait until the end of your campaign to complete this step. Instead, you should thank donors within 1-3 days after they contribute.
Showing your appreciation can help speed up your fundraising because it shows donors that you’re grateful for the support and that you care about the person behind the donation, not just the money. When donors see how grateful you can be, they’re more likely to continue to support your cause by sharing your page with their friends and family members or making additional contributions.
You can use many quick and simple ways you thank your donors. For instance, show your appreciation by sending donors a handwritten note.
Alternatively, you can publicly thank donors on social media or in your crowdfunding updates to show your gratitude to all your donors at once.
Nevertheless, make sure your thank-you letters are personal and unique to your cause. That way, you’ll make the most memorable impression on your donors.
Takeaway: Make your donors feel appreciated because they’ll be more inclined to support your cause so that you can meet your goal.
Individuals and even organizations sometimes need to raise money fast. Crowdfunding is a great option because it’s easy to set up your page and share your campaign.
Use these 5 tips to help you raise the funds you need in record time!
For more advice on how to fundraise online, check out these additional resources:
- Crowdfunding Websites. Before you can raise money, you need to find a platform to host your campaign. Picking the right website can contribute to your campaign’s success, so check out this list of top crowdfunding websites to find a platform that fits your needs.
- Keep Your Crowdfunding Momentum Going. Is your campaign slowing down? Use these tips to spark more interest in your fundraiser!
- Amazing Crowdfunding Campaigns That Met Their Goals. Use our list of top crowdfunding examples to get inspiration on how to build your crowdfunding page.