Kate Nare has straightforward advice for those who are looking to build effective do-it-yourself fundraising campaigns.
Keep it simple.
Nare, peer-to-peer marketing manager for Team World Vision, says P2P fundraisers who manage do-it-yourself fundraising platforms face a number of barriers that don’t exist for more traditional P2P programs.
Because most DIY programs aren’t built around physical events, it is often more difficult for organizers of these campaigns to create the sense of community that exist for campaigns such as runs, walks, and rides. What’s more, DIY campaign organizers can’t follow a set communications schedule, since each fundraiser hosts his or her event at different days and times throughout the year.
But Nare, who manages World Vision’s MyCause do-it-yourself platform, said it’s not impossible to overcome these barriers.
And the process begins with keeping things simple and direct.
Rather than bombarding DIY fundraisers with tons of information and complex instructions, World Vision instead relies on a straightforward platform that includes short, simple words and clear calls to action.
Each page on its site is clean, simple and direct. And users are easily able to figure out what to do next.
On its main page, for example, World Vision offers a clear headline — “Build a Cause By Being You” — followed by a short note of supporting text:
“It’s easy! Use your passion to raise funds for clean water, child protection, or health care through an event, special occasion, or just because.”
If a visitor decides she wants to learn more, World Vision then offers four fundraising options — each of which is explained in short, crisp language.
This theme continues once supporters sign up to manage a campaign. WorldVision communicates regularly with these fundraisers through e-mail, text messages, and even phone calls. It also provides toolkits that offer fundraisers everything from posters, social-media messages, and thank you messages.
At every step, the language is clear and direct and the directions are easy to follow.
“We do everything we can to make it easy to follow and to make things easy to share,” Nare says.
You can learn more about World Vision’s DIY program by listening to the recording of our recent webinar with Nare, Stewarding Your DIY Donors.