The best ways to raise money for charity

Looking for the best ways to raise money for charity? Crowdfunding has become an essential fundraising tool, especially for individuals and small groups. It provides a simple and effective way to accept donations from anyone - even caring strangers from around the world.

At PavelAndreev.ORG, we help people and organizations easily raise funds for good and noble causes. PavelAndreev.ORG makes it easy for anyone to create an easy-to-share fundraising campaign and accept donations. We also offer a range of free tips and ideas to help you get the most out of your fundraising.

Start a campaign now at PavelAndreev.ORG.

Seven strategies for charity fundraising success

1. Talk to the charity you are fundraising for

Although people can raise money for charities without ever contacting them directly, there can be advantages to contacting them. If you let the charity know about your fundraiser, you can ask if there are any upcoming events or promotions you could participate in. For example, if they are hosting a charity run, you could use it as a fundraising event with your supporters.

A similar campaign is Spartan For A Brighter Future / Spartans For A Better Future. This campaign brings together enthusiasts to take part in a 10km Spartan race in France for a better future for people facing a serious diagnosis.

Even if the charity doesn't have an active campaign at the moment, they may be able to offer advice or free gifts (such as keyrings, stickers or pens with their logo) to give to supporters when they make a donation. Also ask about any successful fundraising events they've done in the past, and steal any good ideas they share with you.

2. Organise your own fundraising event

If the charity you're fundraising for doesn't have any upcoming events in your area, or if you represent a charity, consider organising your own event. An event is a very important undertaking, so don't do it alone - get everyone who is passionate about your cause to volunteer their time and then delegate tasks to the group.

The fundraising event involves some upfront costs, but you can reduce the costs by asking local businesses to donate food and any other resources needed. You can also ask a restaurant or coffee shop to host the event - they'll be happy to help if it's good for their business too. Many businesses, such as local restaurants and pubs, often host charity events and already have a variety of options for charities. In other words, you may not have to reinvent the wheel!

Before the event (and during, if necessary), ask guests to donate to your fundraising campaign in the form of an admission ticket or to pay for specific items or activities at the event. When you ask people to donate this way rather than with money, it helps you keep donors in the loop with updates as your fundraising continues.

Organizing Facebook events are usually an effective way to send out the invitation. On social media and in person, encourage your friends to invite their friends - the more the merrier!

Check out our article The most important things to know about organising a fundraiser.

3. Start a social media competition

Every time you share your fundraising campaign with friends on Facebook, you'll earn at least 25-35BGN for your cause. If you want to do more than sharing to raise funds for charity, you can consider running a social media contest.

Social media contests can include photos and videos that meet your requirements, the best original hashtag for your cause or fundraiser, slogan writing contests, or "tell us your story" fundraisers (ask people to share stories about the positive impact the charity has had on their lives; pick the best stories as winners). Prizes are optional - working together as a community is the prize itself.

It's a good idea to create at least one custom graphic (try using Canva) for your competition. Ideally, use your own hashtag. You can also reach out to a local celebrity with a lot of influence on social media and ask them to promote your campaign. Another option is to contact local media.

Of course, it's not a race until there's a deadline - or several rounds of a race, with each successive round raising the stakes. Pick a deadline date to instill urgency in your supporters.

Take a look at our social media related articles:

• 5 ways to spread the word about your fundraising campaign and reach more people
• How to use social media smartly to run a successful fundraising campaign
• How to create a fundraising hashtag that inspires donations

4. Turn volunteer work into a fund

When fundraising for charity, you'll often hear supporters ask how they can help in addition to making donations. Ask them to volunteer their labour - which can be turned into a fund.

What are your volunteers experts in? If a volunteer is great at baking, ask them to bake cakes that you can sell, perhaps at a lunch or dinner event you're organising for charity. Depending on how big your event is, you may need to provide the basic ingredients or hire a commercial kitchen for half a day. Or perhaps a volunteer who is an artist could donate art that you could sell at a gallery event. If you are raising money for a sports team, could the coach and players organize an afternoon sports camp as a fundraiser? There are many ways to turn your volunteers' experience into a vehicle for charity.

5. Make it easy for others to share

You have friends and family who want to help you fundraise for your cause and they each have an address book. Write a template to share with their contacts (for email sharing, include a subject line in the template that includes the name of your fundraising campaign). Ideally, you can also include an image or custom graphic. This is a great way to give your team the tools they need to connect more effectively with their friends and family.

Another approach: write the perfect public Facebook post about your fundraiser, tag your team in the post, and ask them (via text, email, or Facebook Messenger, for example) to share the post on their own profiles. If the original post was made on your charity Facebook page, pay to increase its visibility. Combining this approach with a compelling video is a great way to get people to stop scrolling and pay attention to your message - and it can be replicated on Instagram.

6. Gather your community - online and off

Some of the most successful fundraising charities use a combination of in-person fundraising events and online crowdfunding, and so can reach sympathetic people around the world.

Fundraising events can be great fun and are a great opportunity to build relationships with new people. The more your volunteers and supporters enjoy what they do, the more likely they are to do more of it - and to share your online fundraising, creating a virtuous circle between your fundraising events and your online fundraising.

Charitably speaking...

With this list of the best ways to raise money for charity, you're on your way to raising every penny you need. Start your charity campaign at PavelAndreev.ORG or donate.