Joining in with a charity challenge event, whether it is a London to Paris bike ride or a marathon, is an exciting endeavor and a great way to raise money for a good cause. However, sometimes the raising of funds can be more challenging than the actual physical event itself. Your friends and family may be hesitant to part with their hard-earned money, even if it is for a good cause.
How can you maximize the amount of funds you raise, so that you can do more for the charity you have chosen and achieve success with your charity challenge event? Here are some helpful hints that you can use when you are fundraising for a charity challenge event.
- The most important step is to choose a cause that you care deeply about, so that your passion will shine through when you are promoting it. The more you are personally invested in your cause, the more energy and inspiration you will have when promoting it.
- Make the most of social media – it is a very valuable tool for fundraising. Create a website for your event and cause and then share it on all your social media channels, encouraging your friends to donate.
- Make sure that the website is complete with all of the information that visitors need to know if they want to donate to your charity walks.
- When you are setting up your page, make sure that you explain clearly why this charity is important, what it does and how the donations will help.
- Go beyond just asking your immediate friends and family. Reach out into your community and get to know people in order to let them know about your cause.
- Practice your “elevator pitch.” This is a short explanation of the event, how it works and what cause you are raising money for. It shouldn’t last more than 20-30 seconds, otherwise it is too long winded and people will lose interest.
- You should be able to concisely explain why people should donate to your charity challenge and support this particular cause. What kind of work do they do in the community? How do they improve the environment or the quality of life for people or animals? What are some of their recent projects? Where does the donation money go?
- Remember that when you are using social media to promote your fundraising efforts, you will be much more successful if you treat it as a conversation and take the time to engage people rather than just broadcasting your information.
- Try experimenting with different media on your fundraising page, such as videos. Sometimes a video can be so much more effective than text when it comes to conveying a message.
- Always thank someone when they donate. A heartfelt thank you in person is best, but if they donated online and you aren’t geographically close to them, then a personalized thank you email is great too.
- When someone donates to your charity challenge, ask them if they can tell their friends about what you are doing or share the update on their social media channels. The more everyone spreads the word about your event, the better.
- Offer your donors a reward or something special as a thank-you if they donate a certain amount. You could offer them something like a t-shirt or a keychain, or display their name in a public way at the charity challenge.
- Don’t be afraid to be silly and playful and laugh at yourself. For example, you could make a promise that if you raise a certain amount you will do the charity challenge in a funny fancy dress costume. People will be more likely to donate for the entertainment factor. Of course, if you meet your goal you will have to go through with it – so make sure that the costume is practical!
These are just a few tips you can keep in mind when fundraising for your next charity challenge event. It can be a real challenge just to get the money that you need for the charity, but when you are successful you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you achieved your goal and supported a good cause.