Fundraising for Individuals: Simple Steps for Success

If you’re new to personal fundraising, reaching out to your network of loved ones and local community members to ask for help might seem overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.

In fact, you don’t need any fundraising experience to make an impact as long as you’re willing to give it a go. In our simple step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through fundraising tips for individuals and help you set up for success. We’ll cover how to set up a fundraising campaign, promote it, and maintain connections with your donors.

Whether you need to raise funds for a family emergency or a much-needed family vacation, we’ll equip you with the tools needed to run an effective fundraising campaign for your good cause.

GoFundMe is a safe, trusted, and effective fundraising platform to help you reach your fundraising goals.

Start a GoFundMe

1. How to create a fundraiser

Getting started might seem like a huge hurdle, but setting up a GoFundMe fundraising page is easier than you think. Whatever type of fundraiser you’re hosting, there are some simple steps to follow that will help you raise funds and awareness.

All you need to do is come up with a fundraiser title and goal, and a photo and brief description, and you’re ready to hit publish. Don’t worry, we go into more detail below:

Write a catchy fundraiser title

Your title is one of the first things people will see when your fundraiser is shared on social media, email, and text messages. It’s important that your title makes it clear why you’re raising funds while also enticing people to visit your donation page.

“Jared’s Medical Bills” describes a fundraiser’s purpose well, but it’s not very memorable. The title “Help Jared Walk Again” describes the fundraiser and also describes the specific way donations will help Jared.

Examples of great fundraiser titles:

The GoFundMe fundraiser Graham the Blind Busker – 30 Years has a unique title and instantly grabs our attention. It makes us wonder, “Who is Graham, and how does he need help?”
Another fundraiser titled “Empowering Women In Tajikistan” is clear and to the point, but still makes us interested in the lives of these women in Tajikistan and how we can lend a hand.

If you’d like more information about titles, read our blog post on creating the perfect title.

Set your fundraising goal

When setting your fundraising goal, we recommend crunching some numbers and determining exactly how much funding you need.

In general, we recommend starting small. People are more likely to give to your cause if they feel they can make a measurable difference. If your fundraiser goal is $50,000, people might feel like their $30 donation won’t have a significant impact. But if your fundraiser goal is $2,000, your donors will be excited to help you reach a more attainable goal.

Keep in mind that you can change your fundraiser goal at any time. If you’re close to reaching your goal and decide you need more help, you can easily increase it.

It might also be wise to include suggested donation amounts. For example, “$50 will cover transport costs for my hospital visits for a month.”

Write your fundraiser story

Having a compelling story is crucial for your fundraiser’s success. A good fundraiser story will do two things: make donors feel connected to your cause and inspire trust.

It’s best to begin your story with a few short sentences that contain the most important information. You can think of this as a brief summary of exactly why you are raising funds. After that, you can provide more background information that will paint a broader picture of why you’re crowdfunding. Fred and Paul followed this format when they wrote the story for their fundraiser, “Help Fred & Paul Save the Universe.” This made it easy for readers to understand immediately why they’re asking for help. Their fundraiser raised more than $44,000.

Your story should clearly explain the reason behind your fundraiser, because this helps build trust with your donors. A vague story may not inspire confidence. Ryan Dunn used bolded text in his fundraiser story to emphasize exactly how people could help his sister, and raised more than $100,000. Read his story “Sister Paralyzed w/ Rare Condition” for inspiration.

Be sure to include important information like:

Who you are.
How you’re connected to the beneficiary (if you’re not raising money for yourself).
Exactly how you plan on using the donations. Listing a budget is a great way to be transparent and gain your donors’ trust.

Here are some other pointers:

Make sure your story isn’t too long or too short. We’ve found that writing a minimum of 400 words can help your fundraiser’s visibility. Learn more in our blog post on building your fundraiser with a title and your story.
If your fundraiser is to help with a difficult situation, explain how you’ve tried to overcome it yourself. Donors may feel more charitable if it seems like you’ve exhausted all other options.
Allow donors to connect with your story by being vulnerable. If your fundraiser is for an emergency situation, describe the emotions associated with it, like fear or uncertainty. If you’re fundraising for something positive or exciting, describe how much it means to you. This encourages empathy in your donors and helps them understand how much their help means.
Ask a trusted friend for feedback on your fundraiser story.

Take a look at our blog post for a comprehensive guide on writing a fundraiser story. Still stuck? We’ve got an enhanced story tool. Start writing around 50 words and then click “Enhance”. We’ll make suggestions around word choice, grammar, and tone to help improve your fundraising story.

Add photos and videos

Adding images to your fundraiser is one of the best fundraising ideas to capture the attention of your fundraiser’s visitors and keep them engaged.

Be sure to use a clear photograph of the person, place, or thing you’re raising money for. Be sure to avoid using a logo, a grainy image, or an unrelated image, all of which don’t encourage donations. A smartphone will do just fine, so don’t worry about using a professional photograph if you don’t have one.

Keep in mind that, along with the title, the image is one of the first things people will see. Not only should you choose a picture that’s relevant to your cause, but you should also choose a picture that inspires people or incites strong emotions.

Videos are also powerful fundraising tools that can elevate your fundraiser to the next level and help donors feel even more connected to your cause. Whether it’s a simple video you recorded on your smartphone or it’s something more produced, a heartfelt or powerful video can be a great fundraising idea.

2. Launch your fundraiser

Now that you’ve added all of your fundraiser information, it’s time to launch your fundraiser and share it with your network officially. Below, we outline the best ways to reach potential donors and establish an early network of supporters.

How to reach out to family and friends

Most of your early donations will come directly from friends and family members, so it’s best to start sharing with them first. Doing this builds trust, as people are more willing to donate to your good cause if the fundraiser has already received donations.

Once you have those initial donations, you can begin sharing your fundraiser with a wider audience, such as your local community. When you feel ready, ask two or three close friends or family members if they would be willing to share your fundraiser on social media.

Read more about the five types of donors for online fundraising on our blog, or look through our blog post on tips for promoting your fundraiser online for some more inspiration.

How to write a message to potential donors

Whether you’re sharing your fundraiser through email, social media, or text message, it’s important to write a message that encourages people to click through to your donation page.

If you aren’t exactly sure how to ask for donations, simply think about how you would like to be approached about giving to a fundraiser if the roles were reversed. Here are some other tips:

Entice people to click on your fundraiser link by writing a brief introduction that encourages them to keep reading.
Explain how important the fundraiser is to you and how much you value their support, even if it’s just to visit the fundraiser and read your story.
Check out our guide on writing a persuasive fundraising email template to friends, family, and more in our detailed guide.
Keep it as personal as possible. At this stage, where you’re asking people you already know for support, it is important to send personalized messages asking for donations.

Where to share your fundraiser

There are numerous places to share your fundraiser, so you’ll want to use the avenue that is best for you. In general, anywhere you connect with people you know is a great place to share your fundraiser. Here are the most common ways to get the word out:

Social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok
Text messages
Emails
Fundraiser flyers that you post around your community
Word of mouth

One huge benefit of using social media to promote your fundraiser is that it’s a fairly low-effort way to reach a lot of people at once. Read our blog post for more information on fundraising on Facebook.

Try to make your post stand out in some way. This is especially true when sharing on social media, where your post will be one of hundreds in your network’s social media feeds. Using a clever call to action or an emotional introduction can help. Check out our fundraising tips for social media here.

How often to share your fundraiser

While you don’t want to bombard people with donation requests, sharing your fundraiser once is not enough to reach your goal. It’s a tough balance. Some people may have the intention to donate but get distracted or busy, while others may be hesitant to donate until the fundraiser has already received some support. Sharing your fundraiser multiple times is crucial for getting as many people to donate as possible. Remember: even small donations count towards your goal, so prompting people to give will help reach your fundraising goal.

You may also consider sharing on big days that correspond with your fundraiser. For example, if you’re raising money for your friend’s cancer treatment, use cancer awareness days and months to amplify your message.

3. Promote your fundraiser

Once you’ve shared your fundraiser with your extended network and local community, you can use the methods below to cast a wider net and reach more potential donors.

Share on social media

Social media is one of the most effective ways of reaching a mass audience at once, which makes it a crucial part of any fundraising strategy.

If people leave comments on your fundraiser or social media posts, be sure to respond. Taking the time to engage with your supporters is also another way to turn social media followers into donors, and it also builds trust with them.

Another benefit of using social media in your fundraising efforts is that it offers plenty of ways to be creative. Here are a few ideas you can use to promote your fundraiser on social media:

Create a hashtag for your fundraiser that will make it easy for others to follow along.
Ask everyone if they would be willing to forgo their $5 coffee for the day to support your fundraiser instead.

Share through email

If you aren’t very active on Facebook or other social media platforms, it might be better for you to share your fundraiser via email marketing.

One advantage of sharing your fundraiser through email is that people may be more likely to see an email instead of a Facebook post, which may get lost in the shuffle of their Newsfeed.

Reaching out to potential donors through email also offers an opportunity to add a personalized touch. A short but thoughtful message that accompanies your request for financial help can make all the difference.

If you’re having trouble thinking of how to make your message memorable, then take a look at our blog post on different fundraising email templates you can use in your email outreaches.

Get coverage from the local media

Getting local media attention is another way your fundraiser can receive more exposure and gain support from your community. It takes some work to get your fundraiser in the news, but if the local media covers your fundraiser, the payoff will certainly be worth it.

It’s best to wait until you’ve received some donations to pitch your story to the media, because journalists will want to see that your fundraiser is generating interest in the community. When contacting local journalists, focus on why your story is compelling and why readers would find it interesting—don’t focus on how the media coverage would help you.

Take your sharing offline

Social media makes sharing easy, but it isn’t the only way to make your fundraiser known. If you’d rather branch out from social media, here are just three of the ways to share your fundraiser offline:

Make fundraiser flyers that you can post around local businesses.
Chat with people in your community. Co-workers, small business owners, and neighbors are all people you can approach and share your fundraiser with. Be sure to have a flyer handy so they can look up your fundraiser online.
Call friends and family members to tell them about your cause, then offer to email them your fundraiser link.

4. Keeping up the donation momentum

If you aren’t sure what to do when your fundraiser stalls, we have some easy fundraising ideas to help you pick up steam again.

Throw a fundraising event

If online fundraising has begun to slow, offline fundraising events can help renew interest in your cause and reach potential donors outside of your usual network. Not only that, but people will realize you’re serious about your fundraiser when they see the effort you’ve devoted to hosting a fundraising event.

There are plenty of easy fundraising event ideas to rally the community around your cause. Hosting a bake sale, car wash, or movie night are low-cost ways to raise awareness and funds. To raise money, you can charge a small entry fee or host a raffle with donated goods. Partnering with a local business can be a huge help, whether it offers a free space for your event or sponsorship opportunities.

Hosting an IRL event allows you to meet the local community in person and helps them connect with your good cause, which is important for recurring giving.

Tips for writing fundraiser updates

Every time you post a fundraiser update, it serves as a little reminder to your donors that you still need help reaching your goal.

Another benefit is that it helps people connect and engage with your fundraiser by giving them more content to read. Lastly, updates build credibility if you include pictures and share any progress made possible because of donations.

First, learn how to write a fundraising update that will engage people.
Rotate between the types of updates you write. Your updates can be about finances, gratitude, or any recent news related to your cause. You can even simply include a photo with a line of text.
Keep updates relatively short and include a photo if you can.
How often you check in is up to you. You could send regular updates or save contact for fundraising milestones, for example, “We’ve reached 80% of our fundraising goal, can you help us hit our total by the end of the year?”

Thank donors

Expressing gratitude for your donors and their financial contributions is paramount. Everyone loves feeling appreciated when they do something nice, so be sure to send thank-you messages. Aside from making your donors feel good, showing them gratitude can encourage them to give again.

Our blog post on how to write a donation thank you letter can provide some guidance if you aren’t sure where to start. And if you’d like to express gratitude with more than just an email, we’ve put together ways to thank your donors.

Finding support through individual fundraising

No matter what your financial needs are, GoFundMe is here to help you along your fundraising journey. Running a successful fundraiser takes time and effort, but the payoff is worth the effort. Start fundraising for individuals today and receive the financial help you need for causes that are important to you.