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.
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.
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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How To Set Up A Fundraiser
You’ll want to make it as easy as possible for your friends and family to donate to your selected charity or fund. Here are three options for setting up your fundraiser. Depending on your circumstances, there may be other options available too.
Starting A Birthday Fundraiser Is Easy
This National Foster Care Month, you can support our young people on the path to their full potential by holding a birthday fundraiser on Facebook.
Our Board Member, Darryl Glass, has held a birthday fundraiser for First Place since joining our Board of Directors two years ago. We chatted with Darryl to hear about his experience and tips on how to hold a successful fundraiser.
Darryl, we know that donors have a lot of choices when it comes to supporting a nonprofit. What inspired you to hold a birthday fundraiser for First Place?
Ive always been drawn to helping and supporting youth achieve their dreams during college, I worked with a youth center for the city of Davis. So, for me and my husband, First Place has always been in our hearts and now that Im on the Board, even more so. We chose to donate to First Place because we know how fortunate we are and we want to help young adults aging out of foster care to have those same successes in life.
Can you share a bit about your experience holding birthday fundraisers on Facebookis it an easy process?
Yes, its really easy. Ive held a birthday fundraiser to support First Place for a couple of years now. You can start a donation campaign anytime and for any reason, but birthdays or anniversaries are occasions Ive found that people love to show support for. Facebook makes it super easy and transparent to hold fundraisers because it shows what charity you chose and what your fundraising goal is.
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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:
Why You Should Run A Birthday Fundraiser
Perhaps you are on the global rich list, and so are the people around you. Yet most of your friends don’t give much money to charities. Maybe they have been blunted by the countless moral appeals by TV ads or pushy charity salespeople. So, what if you could offer your friends a quick and easy way to do good?
Running a birthday fundraiser will help you live up to your values by mobilising money towards causes you care about, and getting your friends involved too. With only a few hours of effort, GWWC members have raised hundreds even thousands of dollars at a time using birthday fundraisers.
Creating a birthday fundraiser doesn’t mean that you can’t receive any other gifts or should forego the traditional birthday party. You can throw a party if you like. By including a fundraiser, you will make your celebration all the more meaningful.
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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!
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.
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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.
Plan A Birthday Party That Doubles As A Fundraising Event
Who doesnt love a birthday party? And when its also for a good cause or nonprofit organization, theres more reason to celebrate. A birthday party fundraiser event serves a few purposesthey help you raise money for your cause, bring communities together for a common purpose, and spread awareness of your cause in unique ways. Meeting with your friends and family face-to-face in a casual environment also gives you an opportunity to ask for support in a low-pressure way.
For ideas and inspiration, see our blog post Top Nine Fundraising Event Ideas.
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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.
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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