The best ways to promote your fundraiser

You can promote your fundraiser in many ways. Today, we want to present the opportunities available on 4fund.com and outside our site.

On 4fund.com, you can get the following premium features:

• A customised fundraiser alias to keep the website address simple and easy to remember. You'd probably prefer a link like this: www.4fund.com/gift to www.4fund.com/2x1t3z, right?

• Promoted fundraiser status [will be available soon], with which your fundraiser will appear on the list of promoted fundraisers (automatic sorting of the list shows the fundraisers with purchased promotion first).

• A highlight in the list of promoted fundraisers [will be available soon] so that your fundraiser appears at the top of the before-mentioned list.

• A Facebook ad that our specialists can help you set up. You can target people who have visited your fundraiser or any other audience of your choice.

You can purchase all premium features separately or as a package, for 7, 14 or 30 days. To get them sign in and go to the "My fundraisers" page. Then, find the fundraiser you want to promote and click on "More". Finally, choose "Promote".

• Comprehensive guide and checklist for fundraisers: How to successfully organise a fundraiser

• Tutorial on preparing content for a fundraiser: How to write to make people donate.

• Facebook advertising on your own - how to set it up for a successful fundraiser: Setting up your own Facebook ad.

• Advertising on Google - how to use Google Analytics and set up Google Ads effectively: Using Google Analytics.

Ways to promote outside the site:

1. Set up a Facebook fanpage or event to promote your fundraiser (don't forget to add a link to your fundraiser in the description).
   
2. Invite your friends to the Facebook fanpage or event and ask your friends to do the same.
3. Share the link to your fundraiser on Facebook and ask your friends to do the same.
4. Launch your website to promote your fundraiser and place your fundraiser widget on it. To generate one, go to your fundraiser page and click the "Widget" option. To create your website, we recommend the free WordPress.
5. Ask your friends with blogs or other websites to add a post promoting your fundraiser and, if possible, include a widget for your fundraiser.
6. Set up your email footer by adding a link to your fundraiser and a rationale for why it is worth donating to. Ask your friends to do the same.
7. Configure your footer on discussion forums by adding a link to the fundraiser and an invitation to visit it.
8. Print flyers and posters promoting your campaign with a link to the fundraiser. Examples of places where you can hang posters and leave leaflets are kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities, local shops, poles and notice boards, churches, bus stops, stations, community centres, offices, bars and restaurants, kiosks, car washes and car services, department stores, sports fields and halls, playgrounds, florists, hairdressers, solariums, beauty salons.
9. Enlist the help of local media to promote your action: radio stations, television, Internet portals, newspapers. Present your campaign briefly and concretely. Explain why it is important to you and how the support of local media and the community around it can contribute to your success. Offer to mention your patronage on the fundraiser's website with your logo. One of the more effective ways to reach out to such media is to write a handwritten letter detailing your story, including traditionally developed photos and personal thank-you notes from the heart. Remember not to be discouraged. These media have enormous power and reach. It is a good idea to follow up your handwritten letter with an email and visit the editors in person.
10. Ask well-known personalities such as celebrities, singers, actors and actresses, writers, politicians, sportsmen and sportswomen for their support in the promotion. Maybe one of your friends knows such a person personally? It's difficult to say no to a friend, so direct outreach is hugely helpful. Sometimes all it takes is one Facebook post with a link to your fundraiser to raise tens of thousands on the same day. The more Facebook fans a person has, the better.
11. Send SMS messages encouraging people to visit your fundraiser page and donate. Many phones now have a bulk SMS function.
12. Send emails to all recipients in your address book. Remember to set a catchy subject for your message to increase its readership. Describe your action briefly, specifically and don't forget to add a link to your fundraiser. Ask recipients to pass the message on to their friends.
13. Approach companies close to you. The quickest, most convenient, but unfortunately least effective way to do this is by email. A better form is a direct phone call preceded by a handwritten letter. The most effective form combines all those mentioned in the previous 2 sentences with a personal visit. After getting support remember to share the information with employees and on your social media channels. It will be easiest to start with companies run by your friends.

Good advice: 

• Don't spam! Nobody likes to be harassed or attacked. Comments under other fundraisers or all Facebook posts do not help - we have tested this. Also, when interacting with other people, try to keep your distance. Don't push or demand. Support for your action will only come from goodwill, which you will not get if you encourage "by force". 

• Keep your fundraiser short and specific. People get too much stimulus from all sides. They often don't have the time or sometimes the inclination to read/listen to everything. Try to keep your message short and focus on the most important aspects. Leave it up to the recipient to make their own choices.

• Encourage whoever you can to support you in promoting your fundraiser. Not everyone can afford to donate, but sharing on Facebook doesn't cost much. In our experience and research, such sharing brings the most donations to the fundraisers.

• Be nice and maintain a culture. Otherwise, you won't gain trust. And without it, you can forget about success.

• Use a widget for your fundraiser. To generate one, go to your fundraiser page and click the "Widget" option. It looks nice and encourages people to click!

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Thinking about creating your fundraiser? Get to know us better and find out why it's worth a try!

First of all - how does it work?

It's simple - go to 4fund.com, enter how much money you want to raise, what are you going to spend them on and you're done! After a short verification, you will be able to use all the features of the portal without limitations. You can withdraw funds from your fundraiser whenever you want as often as you need, and thanks to the express withdrawal option, you will receive the funds in your account within minutes of ordering it! What's important - 4fund.com is maintained mainly by donations - you can use the portal 100% free of charge. We do not charge any mandatory fees from Organisers or Donators.  

Secondly - does it work?

After 10 years of development, we are coming to you as the leaders of the Polish crowdfunding market. Poles have raised funds over one billion PLN on zrzutka.pl (the Polish name for 4fund.com)! Our biggest actions include the #TogetherForUkraine fundraiser, which raised almost EUR 700,000, or the fundraiser for the Crisis Helpline, which raised more than EUR 380,000 in just two days. 

However, 4fund.com is above all tens of thousands of private fundraisers - birthdays, trips, settle joint initiatives and others. 

Collect one-off or in a subscription model and realise your goals with 4fund.com!