How To Set Up A Facebook Birthday Fundraiser

Recommend Birthday Fundraising Ideas

Thereâs an important reason you encourage your fundraisers to jazz things up. Many people balk at the idea of directly asking their friends, co-workers, and relatives for money, even if itâs for a good cause.

But what doesnât feel so strange is pledging to run one mile for every $10 donation, or bake one pie for every $35 donation. Help your birthday fundraisers feel comfortable â and get excited â by suggesting interesting fundraising events and activities. Here are some of our favorites:

Make A Specific Request Of Your Supporters

People are often more likely to donate if you ask for a specific donation amount. Why not ask everyone to give up their daily latte for your birthday and instead donate $5 to your cause? This type of very specific request enables people to donate a reasonable amount without having to overthink the process.

Use Social Media To Spread Your Message

To get the most from your birthday fundraiser, take advantage of all the tools that social media offers. If youre consistent about sharing your fundraiser, youll be able to turn social media followers into donors. For specific social media fundraising ideas, see these blog posts:

• 25 Fundraiser Sharing Tips to Increase Donations

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How To Set Up A Birthday Fundraiser

Happy birthday fundraiser to you!

Many Australians are adding a fundraiser to significant events, like birthdays, anniversaries, memorials or other key personal dates. By donating a date, you can create a meaningful connection to your fundraiser or cause, and encourage your friends and families to chip in instead of buying you a gift.

On GoFundMe, we often see people tap into special occasions to give their crowdfunding efforts an extra push on their big day.

Why And How You Should Run A Birthday Fundraiser

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Running a fundraiser for your birthday can have a big impact by mobilising your friends and family to donate to charities. It might even encourage them to continue donating effectively in the future. With just a few hours of effort, you can raise thousands for effective charities.

Here, we cover the basic “whys” and “hows” of running a birthday fundraiser. We also provide some insider tips for getting the word out, personalising your call to action, and having fun along the way.

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Highlight Your Donate A Birthday Option

Your first step is to let your supporters know that you offer a birthday fundraising option. One of the best places to start? Your organizationâs website! Add a âDonate a birthdayâ to the list of giving methods to your homepage. That way, supporters can learn more and get to the sign-up process in a few clicks. Include simple instructions on how to launch, whether theyâre using a peer-to-peer fundraising platform or Facebook.

We also recommend providing a birthday fundraiser resource toolkit where your supporters can get fundraising tips and download materials to use on their personal fundraising page. This might include:

• Email, text message, and social media templates
• Cover images for their fundraiser pages
• A list of fundraising ideas
• Answers to FAQs

Email and social media announcements are another effective way to spread the word. It could be as simple as a âDonate your birthday!â post with a blurb about how to get started.

Target Your Most Passionate Supporters

If youâre launching a birthday fundraising option for the first time, start with your loyal supporters.

These are the champions for your cause â the ones who donate or volunteer regularly, show up for events, and actively promote your cause.

Need a little help? Go mining in your donor management software or fundraising platform. You can pull a report with your top fundraisers and create a tailored marketing campaign just for this group . Make your ask and provide them with any support or incentives they need. Theyâll quickly get the ball rolling on your program.

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Support Sean To Help Himself And His Community

Around Christmas last year, Sean found a wallet in a dumpster while he himself was experiencing homelessness. Sean wanted to do the right thing, so he returned the wallet with everything in it to its owner, a woman with a 12-year-old granddaughter named Mikayla. For her birthday, Mikayla and her mother, Vanessa, organized a fundraiser for Sean to help get him back on his feet as he waits for a housing voucher in Marin County, California. Long term, Mikayla and her family would like to partner with Sean to create a tiny house community for people experiencing homelessness in the City of San Rafael. So far, they have raised over $55,000, though theyre still actively seeking more donations to make the tiny home community a reality.

Contacting Friends And Family

Asking your friends and family for donations can be overwhelming. Some may not be open to donating or are not in a position to do so. In your messaging, always make clear that a donation is voluntary.

If you persist through the initial barrier of doubt, you will likely find that most people are more than happy to chip in. Seen from their perspective, you have vetted a charity and provided them with a quick opportunity to do good.

One good way to inform friends of your fundraiser is to send personal messages to each friend. You could also send one group message to all of your friends at once. A group message can more efficiently reach people, while the response rate to personal messages is often much higher. You may choose to do both you can send a group message to a large group of friends as well as personalised messages to a smaller group of friends. Finally, consider recording and distributing a short video message with a link to your donation page. These can be even more personal and mobilising, though they may take more time.

We recommend contacting a large pool of potential donors perhaps more than initially come to mind. Donations can sometimes come from unexpected places, and people in your extended network might be very supportive.

Crafting a strong message

No matter the exact contents of your message, what is most powerful is that you reached out and offered your friends an opportunity to do good.

One example of a great message

More message examples

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How To Set Up Your Facebook Birthday Fundraiser:

Why Not Fundraise For Other Important Dates Too

You can borrow the idea of starting a fundraiser thats tied to a special dateyour birthdayand fundraise for other important dates as well. Think of any anniversaries, yahrzeits, memorials, or other dates from your personal life that could have a significant connection to your fundraiser or cause. Raising money on Giving Tuesday or Breast Cancer Awareness Month are just a few other ideas.

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Draw Others Into Your Story

A birthday or other special date creates a natural storytelling opportunity, and telling your fundraiser story is a crucial part of crowdfunding. Your story should answer basic questions any reader would have: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Youll also want to give your fundraiser a catchy title to grab readers attention. If you have decided to raise money for a specific charity or nonprofit, explain to potential donors why the organization youve chosen is so important to you. Consider this an opportunity to educate your readers about the charity or cause you are fundraising for.

Also, make sure to answer these questions in your fundraiser story:

• What will the funds be used for?
• How are you connected to the cause?
• Why is the charity or cause special to you?
• When it comes to fundraising, the why is particularly importantwhy does the recipient or organization need this donation?

Dont forget, adding fundraiser images and videos can also help readers engage with your story and want to learn more.

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Your Birthday Can Change Lives

By donating your birthday, you can equip young people in Guinea-Bissau with life-changing job skills! Celebrate your big day by asking your friends and family to donate to WAVS in lieu of gifts through a .

Its simple. Click below and let us know youll be donating your birthday to WAVS this year, please include your birthdate and well send you a reminder before your birthday with steps on how to set up your fundraiser.

How To Get Your Supporters To Donate Their Birthdays

The birthday fundraising trend really gained steam when Facebook unveiled its own fundraising tools . Some of your supporters might have social media newsfeeds and timelines bursting with birthday gift donation requests. Others may be unaware, unclear on how it works, or intimidated by the thought of asking for donations on very visible platforms.

Below, weâve put together a list of ideas you can use to reach a variety of audiences and get people interested in participating on their special day.

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What Are The Benefits Of A Birthday Fundraiser

• You may have chosen a nonprofit who has assisted you in your time of need and can now give back.
• This fundraiser may be in honor of a loved one who has benefitted from the work and services the fundraiser provides.
• You do not have to donate a penny. Your friends and family can make the donation.
• Facebook gives 100% back to the nonprofit you choose. There are no fees associated with the fundraiser and no portion of the donation is taken out.
• You are giving a tax-free donation to those nonprofits who are set up as IRS designated nonprofits with a tax ID number on Facebook to receive funds. This is the only way nonprofits can be listed and receive funds on Facebook.
• There are plenty of folks who want to do good and pay it forward to those in need without giving volunteer hours. This is a perfect way for these folks to give from their heart.

There are so many wonderful causes to select. Millions of people have given millions of dollars via a Facebook birthday fundraiser over the past few years. I have done birthday fundraisers myself for other organizations and found it to be very easy.

I set up a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 2016 after a second breast cancer diagnosis and successful DIEP flap breast reconstruction. It can be . We are one small organization you can choose and certainly hope you do. I want you to know why you might choose DiepCFoundation for a birthday fundraiser.

A Successful Birthday Fundraiser

Erica Flament started a GoFundMe fundraising page for her friends daughter Maddie who was battling Leukaemia. Erica raised over $10,000 and $1,500 of that was raised in the space of just one day: Maddies birthday. This is how she did it.

For Maddies sixth birthday, Erica asked friends and family to each donate $6 to help Maddie beat cancer. She sent out a request on Facebook, asking friends to donate and share. News of the birthday fundraiser spread and more than 85 people donated. A lot of the donations were for the requested $6 but the majority were for $16, $26, $56 and even $106.

But Erica isnt alone, meet the other inspiring Aussies donating their date:

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Use Social Proof To Attract Fundraisers

Birthday fundraising campaigns are particularly powerful because they take advantage of social proof.

Social proof is the idea that when people see others being generous and talking passionately about a cause, theyâll be inspired to donate too.

You can harness this âpowerâ by featuring stories and testimonials from successful fundraisers on your registration page. For instance, you could talk about someone like JK Kim, a birthday month fundraiser who raised nearly $3,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Another tip? Shout out numbers that show the size of your passionate community. charity:water did this on their registration page, where they keep a count of the birthday fundraisers theyâve had over the years.

Make The Birthday Or Other Key Date The Fundraiser Deadline

With any fundraiser, you set a deadline for meeting your fundraising goal. With a birthday fundraiser, you can make the birthday the deadline. The countdown to a deadline can create a sense of urgency and make donors respond more quickly. If youre doing a fundraiser thats also connected to an existing national awareness campaign, such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, think about making your deadline the same as that one and using the birthday or other special date as a call-to-action, as Erica Flament did.

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Special Needs K9 Roccos Birthday Fundraiser

Animal lover Rocco Reyes dedicated his birthday to raise money for rescue dogs. His fundraiser is supporting Special Needs K9, a nonprofit that rescues dogs with medical problems and behavioral issues from high-kill shelters. Often, these dogs have been abused, used for dogfighting, or have expensive-to-treat conditions. Special Needs K9 funds healthcare for these rescue pups, and gives them training so they can be welcomed into the homes of foster families. Right now, Roccos birthday fundraiser is just a few hundred dollars short of its $1,000 goal.

Suggest Realistic Fundraising Goals

Fundraisers with unattainable goals will be stressed or discouraged before the campaignâs started. So, help them estimate a realistic dollar amount. One way to do this is to figure out how much your average donor gives and about how many contacts each supporter might have.

For instance, letâs say each of your fundraisers will get at least 5 donations, and your average first-time donation is $20. You could encourage them to raise $100, $150, or $200.

Hereâs another pro tip: Explain the impact of each fundraising level. On your page, you might say, â$100 allows us to supply 50 books for young children.â That gives everyone a tangible outcome to work toward.

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Make Your Birthday The Fundraiser Deadline

Deadlines are ticking clocks that inspire donors to respond faster. Raising funds around a birthday creates a natural deadline that compels people to donate, and it also gives you permission to gently remind people to make a donation to your birthday charity of choice. With a birthday fundraiser, you can make the deadline the date of your birthday, or the day after your birthday.

Tip: Start your birthday fundraiser a few weeks before your actual birthday to give people enough time to see it and donate!

Curious How To Set Up A Birthday Fundraiser

Each year as December rolls around and I celebrate another trip around the sun, I am reminding of the many blessings bestowed on me. I witness a great deal of generosity during the holidays and toward the end of the year during giving season. There are simple ways to help organizations and I would like to share one easy example. Are you curious how to set up a birthday fundraiser?

Log into your Facebook page.

Step Two:

In the top search bar, type in the words, Donate my Birthday.

Step Three:

Look for the words, Create a Birthday Fundraiser and click the arrow to visit the page.

Step Four:

Step Five:

Begin to type in the name of a nonprofit of your choice you would like to support and click on the nonprofit with the photo of their logo.

Last and Final Step:

You can accept the text as written or you can personalize why you are raising funds for the nonprofit you chose to support in your birthday fundraiser on Facebook.

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