Developing an online fundraising campaign can be a beast of a task. People have a lot of options when it comes to online giving. Creating a memorable campaign is crucial.

Content plays a big role in whether or not your campaign sticks with people. What stories are you telling? Why are you telling them? How are you telling them? Content needs to highlight your campaign’s initiative and compel people to act.

The details of every campaign are different, but there are some fundamental content “do’s” when it comes to crafting any campaign message.

Tell a Story

Everyone loves a good story. They’re engaging, evoke an emotional response from people and have the power to motivate people to act. You want to accomplish the same thing with your fundraising campaign.

What’s your campaign’s story? Answering this question for potential donors is important, but doing so in a captivating way is essential to your success. Bring potential donors into the world of whoever or whatever it is you’re helping with this campaign. The more effective you are at drawing people into your story, the more likely they are to click that “Donate” button.

National Geographic does an awesome job telling their Build a Boma campaign’s story in an inventive way. The video paints a compelling picture of what your donation is accomplishing.

Build a Boma Fundraising Campaign Video

But, if you’re pressed for time, the simple graphic clearly lays out the problem and their solution. It’s a quick read and the information is easily digestible. You know what initiative this campaign is a part of, what specifically this campaign is for and how much each boma costs to create and maintain. They’ve given you all the information you need, and in an engaging way.

Build a Boma Fundraising Campaign Graphic

When you craft your campaign’s story, it’s important to remember your audience. What will resonate best with them? This should inform not only the story you choose to tell, but how you choose to tell it.

Spend Time on Your Call to Action

Once you’ve settled on your campaign’s story, you’ll need to craft an awesome call to action to go along with it. It’s either going to draw people in and convince them to take your desired action, or it’s going to say to them, “Move along—nothing worthwhile going on here.” You don’t want the latter to happen—spend time on it.

You’re not asking for a general donation to your nonprofit. You’re asking people to give to this one initiative of yours. Get specific with your words. Pencils of Promise asked potential donors to “Give a Scholarship” in their Back to School campaign. They got specific and asked people to send one child to school for one year with this one-time gift of $250.

Pencils for Promise Fundraising Campaign

Brainstorm different ways to phrase your call to action. Test to see what best connects with your audience. Make it compelling. Make it impossible to turn down. Drive people to take action.

Share Your Progress

Share campaign goals with potential donors. Let them know how many people you’re hoping to assist, or how much money you want to raise. Providing this sort of context for your campaign shows people you’ve put thought into how you plan to make an impact and what exactly you need to make it happen.

For their Grow campaign, Oxfam America clearly highlights the number of petition signatures they’re hoping to get and how many they have currently.

Oxfam America Fundraising Campaign

Sharing your progress as you’re tracking toward your goal is an awesome tactic. It shows potential donors what you’ve accomplished and what you still need. It creates a sense of urgency, and says, “We still need you.”

Report Back

Similar to sending a thank you email after you receive a donation, let supporters know how you did. How successful was your campaign? How many people were helped? Did you reach your goal? What was accomplished? This sort of follow through cements your credibility in a donor’s mind, and may just contribute to their decision to give to your next campaign, or even become a repeat giver. It also makes them feel a part of the change. It’s not just a showcase of what your nonprofit was able to achieve. It’s a way to share the impact your supporter had in a part of the world they may never see firsthand.

This thank you from charity: water is a perfect example of how to report your success. They’ve shared exactly how much was raised on their campaign page, acknowledged donors are the people that made it happen and highlighted top campaigners.

Charity Water Fundraising Campaign

There’s a lot involved in crafting a fundraising campaign. But, hopefully this post helps you develop content that will make yours stand out from the rest. Focus on sharing your campaign’s story in a way that resonates with potential donors and you’ll be on your way.

Have any content tips for a fundraising campaign? We’d love to hear from you.

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