Social Media Tips from a $5000 Fundraiser

From 2012 to 2014, Greg Ripa participated in AIDS/LifeCycle, a 500+ mile fundraising ride that raises money for HIV/AIDS services for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The fundraising minimum was $3,000 per year and Greg raised over $3,500 the first year, over $5,500 the second year, and over $4,500 the third year. That's raising least $700 per month for 5 months in a row! Below are some tips and tricks on how to raise this kind of money so that you can be successful in reaching your fundraising goal for Tijuana.

Sample custom Facebook cover image from 2013

Remember that you'll need to set up your Crowdrise account before implementing any of the tips and tricks shown below.

Ask, Ask, Ask

You'll want to ask people in any way you can... in person, by email, and on social media. 

Email

The best way to ask people is by email. Make sure you write their name, and if possible, include a personalized line or two about them. 

This email shows an update on training progress and asks for a donation. 

How can you do this? Make a sample form letter:

Dear <<NAME>>,

<<MESSAGE>>

I am writing to tell you that I will be going to Tijuana to help with <<PROGRAM>>.  I need to raise $500 by May 17^th so I’m going to ask 50 people to donate just $10 each.  This is very doable if each of you can participate. How will your donation help?  These funds go directly to the building materials and mother’s and children’s programs for the one week we build homes for the poor in Tijuana, Mexico July 11 – 18, 2015.

 A donation of any size will be put to good use.  But even if you can’t donate would you please pray for us and the mission to help those less fortunate than us.

You can see our work on our website:  www.tijuanaministry.org

<<CLOSING>>

Of course, you'll need to copy and paste this to each person. Yes, it takes time, but this level of customization does bring in more donations. Remember to edit the parts in the angle brackets <<>> for your own use. For example, place their name where it says NAME, add your personal message where it says message (such as "it was nice to see you over the weekend, or I can't wait to see you at the end of May, or any number of other messages), put in how you're helping in Tijauna where it says PROGRAM (such as construction, or the children's program, or another program), and your closing could be "sincerely" or "blessings" or "cheers" or any other number of ways that you sign off your typical emails.

See other sample emails here.

Social Media

Social media like Facebook and Instagram are a great way to help raise money. It's less personal but you can potentially reach more people which could help you raise more money. 

One way to use social media is to cross post your email updates and asks.

This is the same message as the email above and includes a donation link.

Social media is a great place to directly ask for donations.

Social media is also a great way to post updates while also asking for donations.

.

Or just post an update and don't ask for any donations. It's nice just to spread the word every once in a while!

And feel free to change you Facebook cover photo, Facebook profile image, Instagram profile image, or Twitter profile image. Use one of the images provided on our social media resources page or if you're feeling creative, make your own.

Applying these Social Media ideas to Tijuana

That's so great since there are numerous training rides for AIDS/LifeCycle giving ready made updates. But what about Tijuana?

There are things you could do as some updates:

• Do a small construction project around the house and take photos to use in your updates
• example caption: performing some <<electrical/construction/plumbing>> work around the house and learning some skills in preparation for my construction activities this summer in Tijuana
• Cook food and take a photo to use in your updates
• example caption: looking forward to similar good tasting food in Tijuana this July
• Play some soccer and take a photo to use in your updates
• example caption: increasing my skills before playing soccer/ futbol with the children and teens of Tijuana this summer
• Other quick ideas:
• church
• crafts
• painting
• and so much more (be creative!)

Just remember to put in your custom Crowdrise url (such as crowdrise.com/yourname) when you ask for those donations (or make your own custom url by using tinyurl or another such web link shortener).

Thank Yous

To close out these social media and email tips, always always always thank your donors with a personalized email, or better yet, a handwritten note.

In Closing

Good luck with your fundraising! You'll do great and you have the power and ability to reach your fundraising goal for Tijuana!