If you’re looking to raise more money and awareness at your next event, consider incorporating Facebook Fundraisers as a part of your fundraising efforts. Facebook makes donating easy for its users, and you can exponentially increase the funds raised at the event by encouraging your guests to share the fundraiser on their personal page.
What’s more, nonprofits receive 100% of the donations raised on Facebook! Creating a Facebook Fundraiser requires little work to be done on your part, but the payoff can be huge.
Why Facebook Fundraisers work
Facebook Fundraisers work well for several reasons. First, people are likely to support a fundraiser if they feel like they’re supporting their friends. People donate to organizations they know, like, and trust, but they also will donate to organizations that their friends know, like, and trust because they know, like, and trust their friends. See how that works? Word of mouth—or sharing on social media—is very effective.
Additionally, Facebook Fundraisers are convenient for the user and donor.
Ready to take advantage of this tool? Here’s how to incorporate a Facebook Fundraiser into your next event.
- Go to your organization’s Facebook Admin Page and click the Fundraisers button towards the top. There will be an option to encourage supporters to create fundraisers with a link that they can copy.
- Send the link out in a registration email prior to the event to plant the seed for your guests. Guests can start raising money ahead of time for your event if they choose to.
- At some point during the run of show, preferably toward the beginning of the event, encourage guests to utilize social media to help spread the word about your cause. Invite them to share the Facebook Fundraiser on their Facebook page. You should also ask them to post a photo of themselves at your event with your event hashtag to raise awareness and show their friends that they’re supporting your organization.
- If the event is virtual, drop the pre-populated Facebook Fundraiser link in your chat or share it with supporters in other ways. You can also text the link to your attendees if the event, and you’re using an event software. The fewer steps you give your audience to post the fundraiser, the better. It’s important to make your fundraiser as easy as possible for your guests to maximize participation. So share the link and ask them to donate and post it to their timeline.
- Give several reminders during the event to share the link. You can even check your Facebook Fundraisers in real time by going to your organization’s page and clicking on Fundraisers. Facebook will show you how much money is being accumulated on each person’s fundraiser. Share these stats with your audience to show them how much the donations are adding up and the impact that is being made. This may inspire someone who hasn’t shared a fundraiser yet to do so!
Maximizing the opportunity
To maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook Fundraiser, make sure your Facebook page is updated and contains compelling content that will motivate your supporters to take action. Your new potential donors will see your About section—does it accurately promote your work and the impact your mission has on the community you serve?
Additionally, make sure your cover photo is one that showcases your mission or relates to the event. Each time someone creates a Facebook Fundraiser, your Facebook’s cover photo will be shared to their timeline.
The exciting part of this strategy is watching Facebook do the work for you. If just 10 guests raise a few hundred dollars, that’s instantly several extra thousand dollars added to your bottom line with very little effort.
Before you get started, bear in mind that, unfortunately, you won’t be able to see everyone who donated to your campaign. Sending follow-up thank you letters or trying to capture the data of the donor will be nearly impossible unless you reach out to the person who created the Fundraiser to see if they would be willing to share which of their friends donated to their Fundraiser.
Still, that’s not a reason to put off this strategy. Try it at your next hybrid event and see how it works for you. Hopefully this easy technique can help add a few thousand dollars or more to your total dollars raised!
The post Exponentially Increase Donations At Your Next Event With Facebook Fundraisers appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.
