Fundraiser shares are almost as important as the donations themselves, so we’ve listed some strategies to help you feel more confident when reaching out to your community for this type of support.
Try asking for shares before asking for donations
It may be counterintuitive, but try switching your initial “ask” to a share request instead of a donation request.
Studies on charitable giving show that the act of participating in a non-transactional way, like through volunteering, increases the likelihood of a donation. On a GoFundMe campaign, fundraiser shares are a great way to mimic the way “volunteering” can make people feel.
The best part is, you could potentially raise 3x the amount of what you raised (on average), compared to people who don’t encourage sharing.
Provide pre-written share messaging
Encourage your friends to include a little personal note along with their fundraiser share. This can help build empathy with their friends who might not know you directly.
To help make it as easy as possible, you can provide your friends with messaging that they can either copy and paste, or copy and customize when promoting your GoFundMe to their own social media.
End your share request with a little gratitude or personal touch
It’s a good idea to leave a little note of kindness at the end of your share request. Let people know that you still appreciate them for taking time from their busy day to read your request, and that you hope they’re doing well themselves. Ending your request with a catch-up question like, “How was your summer by the way?” or “What did you think of the championship game?” can keep the conversation feeling personal, warm, and human.
This sort of thing can take some of the pressure off of asking your network for help, and could potentially encourage someone to participate later on when they’re in a better position to do so.
