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Here are Justgiving's top Hints & Tips to help you raise £££s online.
1. Personalise your page
Make your page as compelling as possible by adding your own photograph
and text. Make sure your page communicates the reason you have chosen
to raise money, and why you believe your chosen charity deserves support.
Be creative!
2. Email your family and close friends first
Before sending an email to your entire address book, asking your closest
friends and family to donate first. An empty page can be a little intimidating,
so do make sure to capture a couple of donations before contacting
your entire list of potential sponsors. People tend to match the amounts
already listed on the page, so do target your most generous supporters
first!
3. Tell everyone you know
Email your family, friends and colleagues with a link to your page, but
don't forget other groups of potential supporters: former colleagues,
old school and college friends, fellow members of a church, club or PTA — you
may be surprised how many would like to sponsor you. Encourage them all
to pass on the message to anyone else who might support your chosen charity.
Also think of those people living in different parts of the UK or abroad.
The Internet is global — so make the most of it!
4. Contact your local media
Publicity in the local
media can be an invaluable fundraising tool. A few lines in the local paper,
or an appeal for sponsorship on your local radio station, can yield amazing
results. With Justgiving, attracting sponsorship couldn't be easier — readers
and listeners can simply visit your page and sponsor you direct.
The best way to get some publicity is by sending out
a press release. To give you a helping hand, we've created a mock release
in MS Word format to give you an idea of how yours might look.
Click here
to download the mock release.
There are some tips on how to customise
your press release on page two.
5. Keep your page updated and email your friends — again
Be persistent. It takes more than one round of emails to reach one's target.
Encourage people to re-visit your page by regularly updating it. Change
your picture, post updates on your progress and, if you are taking part
in a sporting event, keep a training diary. Let supporters know how much
you've raised so far. An email update is interesting for those who've already
supported you and a nudge for those who haven't. You know what it's like
- people mean to donate, but sometimes they don't quite get round to it
on the first request. |
6. Use your own email as well as the facility on the
page
Because you are already familiar with your own email system, you can set
up groups and you'll be able to send more emails at once than you can via
your sponsorship page. Some of your potential supporters may feel more comfortable
opening an email that comes from you personally through an email address
they recognise. |
7. Change your email signature at work and/or at home
After your name and title etc, add a line at the bottom including the address
of your web page. This will raise awareness of your event and ensure every
email you send has the potential to prompt a donation. |
8. Communicate what a donation will buy
Let your supporters know what their donation will buy for your chosen charity.
It is more compelling to tell someone £10 will buy a school desk, or £20
will restore someone's sight, than to ask people to support a generic cause.
You will find this information on many charity websites. If not, ring your
charity and ask. |
9. Put a notice up in your gym, church, college, children's
school, etc.
Don't just rely on email. A simple poster asking people to visit your fundraising
page can reach people whose email address you don't have. You might also consider
printing some flyers to hand out to people when you see them. |
10. Ask to be on your company's website
See if your company would be prepared to add your web address to its public
website or private intranet. Many companies like to promote the charitable
and public-spirited efforts of their staff and you could get a lot of extra
donations from this. Some companies may even offer a "matched giving" scheme
where they offer to match any amounts you have raise, so this action could
help you reach your target even faster. |
11. Personalise your thank-you email
When you create your page, you have the opportunity to personalise the
thank-you message each donor automatically receives. In addition to expressing
your thanks, use this opportunity to ask supporters to pass on your web
address to anyone else who might be interested in sponsoring you.
If you
have already created your page, you can log in to your account to personalise
the thank-you message at any time.
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12. Keep fundraising after your event
Some 20 per cent of all donations through Justgiving come in after people
have completed their fundraising event. So don't stop fundraising once you've
cross the finish line. Update your page and email your supporters with news
of your success. Remind those who haven't yet donated to do so, and ask
others to donate again in recognition of your achievement. |
13. Use our local rate telephone number – 0845 021 2110
Add this to any email or press release you send out, just in case people
have difficulties donating. Our helpdesk is available Monday to Friday from
9am to 6pm to answer any queries you or any of your sponsors may have. |
Justgiving's Blog - news, views and other fun stuff from JG Towers
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