Fundraising

If you haven’t seen other places, I’m raising funds for Runners for Public Lands as a charity bib runner for Cocodona 250 next year! You can donate at this link: (and I really appreciate it! ) But that’s not why I’m writing this post today. Sure, it’s a good way to continue to get the word out and hopefully get that last $2,000 or so raised. But—

What I want to write about is fundraising in general. In 2017 I successfully raised $50,000 on Kickstarter to make a feature film. Since then, I have consulted on 6+ other fundraising efforts, helping secure over $100,000 for various projects and adventures. Our world increasingly seeks donations for disaster relief, health care costs, pet surgery, and political candidates— not to mention the creative projects that are looking for funding on Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Seed&Spark. There is lots of “noise” in the funding space at the moment.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for donations for a project or cause that means a lot to you. But it does mean, you should do it well. How can you make yours stand out? How do you do it without seeming tacky? How can you hit your goal?

Lots—I would venture, MOST, — people do not like asking for help or money. And asking for donations combines those two things, so it can be extremely intimidating.

But with a good plan behind you, you can absolutely get other people on board with the things you find important.

Let me say that right away that raising funds for a non profit cause vs a creative project are different. While the guidelines below work for both, the set up for them is different. If you are trying to raise funds for a film or a tabletop game, you need a team of people doing the work with you. You need a budget to ensure the amount raised will cover your costs, and you need a lot of cool graphics for your funding page. That page should be on Kickstarter or similar. There are so many other things needed here too, I highly recommend you contact a crowdfunding consultant before pursuing this!

If you are raising funds for an organization or cause, you can use GoFundMe, or, alternatively, some charities offer fundraising pages directly from their website. (Just please, do not be a creative project on GoFundMe. It gives major ick.)

Once you have your cause/project and funding page ready to go, you have to do the part everyone dreads. Asking people to go donate. Don’t be intimated! You can do it!

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

With everything in raising funds, always be grateful and humble—but also confident. You want to express gratitude when people donate and when you are reaching out for donations. People are choosing to give their hard earned money to you. That deserves major thanks! Additionally, humility is important. If you act like you expect everyone to give you money, or they are stupid if they don’t join in, that is going to drive them away. The confident part means you shouldn’t come off as desperate. You believe in your goal, so don’t apologize for asking for money. Be direct in the ask.

Direct, personal asks are the most valuable and efficient way to get donations. An email, phone call, or text using a person’s name and a little bit about your relationship goes a long way. The ‘information’ portion can stay the same in each email and it should always include: why this matters to you, the amount of money you are seeking overall, and how they can go donate. Make a clear, passionate case for why this money matters. Share why this is important and why you are asking them, specifically, for help. Then ask for support, include a link to the site for donations, and say thanks!

But still: keep the intro and outro of any exchange personal. Ask how they are, share an update from your own life, crack a joke. No one wants to feel like they are being hit up for money. They want do want to help a friend. A personal touch goes a long way.

Posting on social media is a low lift and can have some return, but it’s often not as high an ROI as the direct ask. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it though! Like everything else, do it well. (With gratitude, humility, and confidence)

Not just, “Skip the latte this week and give that $$ to the ASPCA with me!” This comes off as desperate. Again, you never want to seem desperate. You want to seem confident. “I’m raising funds for the ASPCA for my birthday and I’m ecstatic to be at $165 already. Will you help me get to $200? I’d SUPER appreciate it!”

Give a clear call to action with a link or link in bio clearly visible. Do not get me started on how often people post, but the link isn’t easily accessible. Make it fool proof. If you're posting somewhere that isn’t Instagram, make sure to include a photo or gif, as those stand out more. You need to have a post that stops people from scrolling and gets them to CLICK A LINK! (and then a good enough page for them to put $$ down).

Photo by Joe Caione on Unsplash

“My doggo is my very best friend. He wouldn’t be here without my local shelter. So I’m working to raise $500 for them at the Turkey Trot. HELP ME GET STUFFED *link*”

I always tell my fundraising clients that they must create all posts and emails (I won’t do it for them!) because they need to be authentically yours. Make sure every ask sounds like it is coming from you. If you are emailing your cool aunt, be cool. If you’re emailing an old high school teacher, a little more formal is perhaps better. But always sound genuine (one of my favorite words). On social media that means your funding posts shouldn’t be that different from your “normal” ones. Do you swear a lot? Keep swearing. Are you like me with LOTS OF CAPS LOCK AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!???!!! Keep that excited tone!!!

Do not assume any of this will be easy. That a few emails and posts will get you to your goal. Or that you will “go viral”. You need to put in the work. Strategically think of who to email. Tag specific people in posts. And don’t be afraid of a follow up:

“Hey Lucas, I just wanted to let you know I’m thrilled to be over halfway to my goal for the short film Wandering! This project means so much to me as it’s my first time directing. Having your support behind me would really mean a lot. You can check out the details here *link*. Thanks so much, stay well!”

Emails get buried. Posts go unseen. It’s perfectly ok to remind people about things that matter to you. You are allowed to ask for help and donations.

People are always worried about some scary scenario going down if they ask for support. The worst I have faced is people telling me I am annoying or that they don’t believe in my project. But guess what? That just made me laugh. If you care about something enough to be raising money for it, 1 or 2 people having a negative response isn’t that bad. Most often, if people aren’t interested, they just don’t donate. That’s fine! Because an amazing thing happens when you start asking for help.

You get it. People donate more than expected or pass it on to their networks. Friends from long ago donate and show support and enthusiasm for what you’re doing. Like I said, people like to help a friend!

Especially one with a clear ask, a reason the cause matters to them, and easy to follow donation instructions ; )

Make sure to follow up thank people for the donations! A personal email, a text, a handwritten note, and even tagging them in a thank you post on Facebook is good practice. At minimum they should get an email or text thanking them directly. Again—personal touch matters so much! Be grateful. Be humble. Be confident.

If you care about something, let those who care about you, care about it too!