You just created your fundraising plan (awesome!). How do you get the word out to friends and family?
- Social media is a great way to reach a wide audience quickly. Check out our sample Facebook posts and Tweets in the Toolkit if you’re feeling stuck on what to say. Don’t forget Facebook and Instagram Live! Live videos can help raise excitement for your project, as well as provide an informal setting to answer questions from potential donors.
- Create a Facebook group and invite all your Facebook friends!
- Brainstorm an email list and email them a personal explanation of your project. Sample emails can be located in the “Additional Inspiration” at the end of the Impact Ambassador Tool Kit
- Snail mail letters and invitations, because who doesn’t LOVE getting mail?
- Hang posters up around your school and community advertising an event.
Consider Your Audience
When writing an email or talking to prospective donors, keep in mind who you’re talking to and what they might find value in. For example, if you’re asking your high school teacher to help host an event, try to emphasize the educational benefits of your project.
In addition, one of the most effective ways to spread the word is by talking to family and friends in person about the project. Seem overwhelming? Not to worry! Here are our best tips on speaking to someone about your fundraising project for the first time:
Pro-Tip: Knowing what’s important to your audience can be invaluable when it comes to successful fundraising. Try to find a perspective which strikes a chord with them! Marketing 101 🙂
- Be engaging and make eye contact.
- Get specific. People tend to respond better with more facts in a fundraising conversation. Tell them why this project means so much to you, the exact amount you plan to raise in a timeframe, what specifically this money will go towards, and the effect this will have in a local community. Be as knowledgeable as you can!
- Have something physical to give them at the end of the conversation like a card, poster, or pocket-sized paper with the URL to your fundraising page on it.
- And most importantly… be you and let your personality shine through! Tell your story authentically.