How To's

Your time has been well spent in planning and executing your fundraising strategy to build an extensive community of supporters towards the launch of your fundraising campaign. The next step is to setup your fundraiser page. The goal of this resource is to share our recommended best practices on how to setup a success oriented fundraiser page.

1. Choose the right category - The first step is to select the right category from the 7 categories available on Giveyourbit, under which to setup your fundraiser. The requirement is to select the one that caters for the type of fundraiser you wish to setup. However, there are cases whereby none of the categories cater to your planned fundraiser; this does not mean you will not be able to setup your fundraiser on Giveyourbit. Because we know that your fundraiser might not fall under any of the available categories, we provided for a seventh category ‘Other’, so that under this category, you could setup different types of fundraisers, as long as they are ethical in nature and approvable by Giveyourbit.
2. Ensure your title arouses curiosity - Your fundraiser title is a very important piece in setting up your fundraiser; it is the first point of contact with your fundraiser, thus it is important to ensure that it is simple, straight forward and could arouse the curiosity of visitors and get them to want to read your story. The title should clearly reflect exactly what you are asking for, and be sure to use relevant keywords to make your fundraiser a lot more searchable.
3. Your campaign image should be remarkable – Remember the saying ‘A picture paints a thousand words’, which refers to the notion that one single image can convey a story as effectively as a large amount of descriptive text. Your campaign image is what would be featured on the Giveyourbit homepage and category pages, so choosing or creating your campaign image must be seen as a great opportunity to form a mental image in the minds of visitors that could greatly influence how they view and treat your fundraiser. You must ensure it is of high resolution and effectively conveys your story visually.
4. Tell your story in a compelling way – Your story is another very compelling piece of your fundraiser page, and because Giveyourbit understands the value of communicating your story effectively, and that asking for support with just a few words will not impact positively on your campaign, you would be required to use between 1500 to 1600 characters to convey your story. Ensure to be as clear and as compelling as possible; paying particular attention to your introduction in the first few lines of your story. If possible, let your story convey the true emotion behind your fundraiser so as to arouse the compassion and humanity of the visitors. Let your story be explicitly descriptive; telling how your cause came to be, what has been going on, what needs to be done and how it is not possible to carry the burden all alone.
5. Set your fundraising goal amount – In setting your fundraising goal amount, be sure to be reasonable; assess the true value of your cause and not indulge in trying to reap off well-meaning supporters who are genuinely expressing their humanity towards you. Note that different types of people would be showing interest in your fundraiser; either to offer donations and support, or to catch you out on any false claims you possibly have made. For this reason, it is safer for you to be circumspect in setting your goal so as not to lose your entire donations if you are reported and found to have sold falsehood. Giveyourbit offers flexible funding that allows you to keep all your donations even if you campaign fails to reach its goal.
6. Use videos to carry your supporters along – Your supporters have donated to your cause, they have played the part of advocates; spreading your story and message to as many as possible to help you reach your desired fundraising goal. Be sure that your supporter would love to know of the progress and outcome of your cause. So take pictures and make videos every step of the way. Every eventuality; every milestone and every result should be shared in order for your supporters to feel a part of your cause. Let your videos be short and shareable.
7. Set an end date for your fundraising campaign – Setting an end date for your fundraiser is important, so that your supporters know that there is a timeline to your cause, and that you are not trying to raise money infinitely at the expense of trusting supporters. Also, it would show the urgency of your cause. So in setting your end date, be sure to give your campaign enough time to gather momentum and growth, while considering your goal and the window available to you to access the needed solution.