Raising money isn’t just about finding the right people to agree with your cause. A fundraiser goes through several stages, and it is up to you to keep things moving during each sequence. Once you increase the fundraiser conversion rate of your fundraiser, take the knowledge learned and apply it to future projects.
1. Establish a Theme
Before you do a car wash fundraiser, think about whether the action is related to the cause. The theme doesn’t necessarily have to match the inspiration, but it helps when there is a clear way to connect the dots. If you’re raising money for hunger, then a bake sale is a great theme. When you’re bringing awareness to strays, then showcasing pets that can be adopted makes sense.
Just like sales, the conversion rate is tied to how a consumer feels about a product or service. If there is familiarity and value, then they’re more likely to move forward with a purchase. But when some things just don’t add up, even if they’re interested the hesitancy will win out. A fundraiser should never stir feelings of hesitancy with the people involved. The atmosphere should always be positive, energetic, and informative.
Always prioritize the inspiration of a fundraiser when you need a callback to raise the conversion rate.
2. Make a Compatible List
Who are the people that support your fundraiser? And how do you plan on informing the people outside of that group about the fundraiser? For the first part, creating a list of co-workers, family, and friends is easy. These are the people that are most accessible to your life and should provide a good starting point for getting the word out. After that comes the hard part, and this is where things get interesting for the conversion rate.
Think creatively about how you would enlist strangers to help your fundraiser. How will you contact this group? Although email is the fastest way to get a message to a large group of people, handwritten letters are the preferred format. This is how the initial request should be made before you move on to advanced invites like Facebook or other social media. Fundraisers that start with the personal touch of a letter have a higher conversion rate than a digital-only campaign.
3. Use Fundraising Tools
There are a lot of great online fundraising tools, both free and paid. You can set up a fundraising page from scratch that automatically tracks the most important stats about the campaign. This information is essential if you want to improve the conversion rate of your fundraiser. Remember, fundraising tools are not only for you but also serve as a convenience for everyone involved. At the end of the campaign, you can use the information saved by the tools to get a head start on the next fundraiser.
Every Cent Matters
More people will be willing to donate to a fundraiser that is run well. Sometimes you get multiple shots to meet the goal, but most times it is a one-and-done deal. Make it count the first time, and the conversion rate knowledge will be worth the effort.
