Embracing online fundraising campaigns can propel organisations forward, enabling them to expand their impact and connect with a wider audience of supporters.
Running an online fundraising campaign, such as the Big Give Christmas Challenge, can tap into the power of individual giving and leverage the support of a dedicated platform that is respected and trusted within the sector. Serving as a valuable opportunity to strengthen digital fundraising capabilities, presenting numerous positives for charities.
It can, however, be competitive – you'll have to plan and run your campaign and many other charities will be doing the same. This shouldn’t put you off applying, but we recommend you considering the following points before you do:
- Do you have an understanding of who your supporter base, or potential supporter base could be?
- Do you have an understanding of how your current donors like to give to your work?
- Do you have some digital skills within your team, and do you have social media profiles set up for your organisation?
- Do you have the time as an organisation to plan and carry out a fundraising campaign within the specified window? This will need to be a big focus for the week the campaign is running to maximise its potential.
- Do you have a specific, tangible project in mind that you can focus the campaign around – will people be able to easily understand and connect to your cause?
- Do you currently have, or can you collect images, videos and stories about your work that will bring the project to life?
And finally, set a realistic target for your fundraising campaign – you want to be able to achieve your target within a week and fully use your champion’s match funding.There are some really good resources out there around fundraising campaigns and what you need to consider. If you’d like to do some wider reading we recommend the following articles:
- 10 steps to setting up a fundraising appeal | Fundraising Regulator
- Setting up an online fundraising appeal: advice for the public | Fundraising Regulator
- 101 Charity Fundraising Ideas to Help You Reach Your Final Goal
- Examples Of Successful Fundraising Campaigns | Great Charity Campaigns
We are, of course, on hand to help with your application to the Big Give Christmas Challenge, and if successful, we can support you in planning your fundraising campaign. If you’d like our help, email us at funding@sparksomerset.org.uk.
