Thanks for supporting Breathing Matters. This article is to help you get the basics right when fundraising for us.
Setting up an online fundraising page
Set up your own online page on Justgiving from the Breathing Matters Justgiving home page https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/breathingmatters
Personalise your page with information on who you are doing it for, how you are doing it and why you are doing it. Adding a personal story sees average fundraising increase by 300%.
Who: Is this for someone special, perhaps you are setting up a tribute page? If so, write about them, add lots of photos and explain what this person means/meant to you.
How: What are you doing? Write about your challenge and how difficult a challenge it might be for you. Tell your story.
Why: Explain a bit about Breathing Matters and why you chose to support this charity, and what it means to you to help us in our commitment to find a cure and better treatments for pulmonary fibrosis and lung infections.
There is a new AI facility on Justgiving called, ‘Story Enhancer’ which can help you write your story and get the tone right for your audience.
Remember to add a target total.
People will be much more inclined to help with your fundraising if they know your story and what this means to you, and how much you want to raise.
Spread the Word
Use social media to publicise your fundraising. You can use email, facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, email, YouTube, blogs and texts. Every share is worth a £5 donation.
Email your friends, family, work colleagues and perhaps members from your health club or other hobbies you may have with your fundraising page address and tell them why you would like their support. Use an exciting subject title to grab their interest. Don’t use words like ‘free’ or ‘exciting’ as this might get lost in spam folders. Share your passion and explain your motivation for your challenge.
Put regular updates on your facebook page and regularly post/repost your challenge. Follow Breathing Matters on Twitter/X @breathingmatter and like us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and we can share these. You can also share our social posts to help explain why you and your contacts are supporting us.
Ask that your emails and social media posts are forwarded/reposted/shared.
Tip: Ask someone you know will be generous to be your first sponsor – others will see the amount and may be encouraged to match it!
Tip: Consider donating to your page yourself: participants who do this raise 81% more on average.
Tip: Make sure you have a photo of you smiling on your fundraising page: you can raise three times as much if you upload a profile picture. You could take a photo with you wearing a Breathing Matters T-shirt or running vest. See our shop for more info.
Be honest in your social media messages; tell your supporters if it is difficult and challenging, tell them if something funny happened. Tell them if you have cried or laughed. Your supporters will share your pain and the laughter with you.
To keep people visiting your page, make regular updates to your page and email your contacts to let them know there are new things to see. People who have already sponsored you will be interested and it is a polite reminder to those who have not had time to donate. Those posting fundraising page updates raise 73% more.
Keep people updated with your fundraising tally and ask for their help to reach your target … or smash through it!
Think about when you send out emails – people tend to be more generous around payday!
Ask your employer for a donation. Some of our fundraisers have had their totals matched by their workplace.
Contact the local press to see if they can help advertise your event. Here is some advice about contacting the press.
After the Event
Strike while the iron is hot. People still like to donate after the event, so remember to update your page with photos of the day and email/tweet/facebook/etc thanking those who have supported you and asking those who haven’t to do so now to help you reach or surpass your target. A large amount of money is raised after an event – in fact up to 20% – so it is an important part of fundraising.
When your fundraising page has closed and you have your final total, thank your supporters again and tell them what they have helped with. Just saying thank you increases average donations by 39%. Perhaps include a thank you message from Breathing Matters …. remember, you may do another challenge and you want them on your side next time too!
Thank you all so much for your fundraising – and thank you for helping us find a cure and better treatments.