How to setup a fundraising page: A step-by-step guide

Fundraising has been made a whole lot easier thanks to the growth of various platforms online. Gone are the days of scribbling down donations on a pen and paper and collecting coins in a jar at school events. Fundraising online is a sustainable way to bring extra finance into your school, so you can keep improving your facilities, buy new equipment or whatever else can help your school to kick on.

Just getting started with fundraising online? In this piece we’ll take you through the process of getting a fundraising page setup in just a few steps.

Setup a fundraising page: 7 steps

Step 1: Pick a platform

The first step is to pick the platform which will house your fundraising page. This is the page that, ultimately, people will head to in order to donate to your school’s fundraising efforts. There are plenty of options out there, and we’ve gone into greater detail on them in our guide to crowdfunding for schools. For now, here are four providers worth considering:

• DonateMySchool: A platform dedicated to schools. Offers additional services such as marketing help for a small cut of funds raised.
• Rocketfund: Also heavily focused on schools, but more on an individual project basis. Also hooked up to lots of extra funding opportunities throughout the UK.
• JustGiving: Probably the UK’s biggest crowdfunding platform. Used by major charities and noteworthy crowdfunding campaigns such as Captain Tom’s “Walk with Tom”.
• GoFundMe: Similar to JustGiving in size and accessibility but is based in the US. Fees could turn out to be lower if you choose this platform over JustGiving.

Weigh up the needs of your school with the features and fees that come with each platform. We’d recommend selecting one and running with it, rather than taking a more scattergun approach. You might think maintaining multiple platforms could increase takings, but it will quickly become confusing for donators and difficult for you to manage.

Step 2: Single event or ongoing?

One of the most significant questions you need to answer is what are your fundraising goals? In relation to choosing your platform, you’ve got two options:

1. Raise money for a single project, such as new sports equipment or to take donations for a fun run.
2. Raise money on an ongoing basis, tying all your fundraising efforts together to push people to one central platform where you take donations.

There are pros and cons to each. If you go down the single project route fees can often be cheaper, but you’d have to setup a new page every time you need to raise funds. Plus, you often have to set a target for the project and won’t get the money unless you hit that target.

As for an ongoing campaign page, it’ll be much easier to maintain in the long run, but fees will likely be higher. Plus, you might find it easier to raise money if those donating have a clear idea of what their money will be spent on, which only a single project can provide.

Step 3: Write an engaging title

Once you’ve picked a platform and setup your page, you can start to customise it. Start by giving it a catchy title. Imagine you’re a headline writer for a newspaper – how can you encapsulate everything the fundraising campaign is about in a single, punchy sentence?

Be sure to include your school’s name and what it is you’re raising funds for (if a single project) in your title. If you can, use emotive language and appeal to the heart of those donating. We looked on RocketFund and found a few great examples:

• Secure the future of Outdoor Learning at Holt Hall
• End the digital divide for Lewisham Children
• Lambeth Appeal: End the Digital Divide

Step 4: Tell your story

Once you’ve got a strong title, begin to fill out the rest of your page. You’ll have plenty of space to tell your school’s story, which will play a vital role in drawing people onto the page to donate.

Things you should be sure to include:

• Background about your school. Who you are and what you stand for
• Why you’re appealing to the community
• How the money will be spent
• How people reading the page can truly make a difference
• Updates as you go that show the impact of money that has already been donated

Again, be emotive and passionate wherever you can. Show how much you appreciate donations from the local community and do your best to show the impact it serves on children in your school.

Step 5: Add other media

Telling your story shouldn’t just be confined to the written word. Add photos of pupils and staff members in your school, bringing a face to the name and building on the human element of your campaign. This will help your fundraising stand out in a busy crowd on fundraising platforms too.

If you’ve got the time, a video can do this job even better. You don’t need any expertise or skill in this area, just pull out your smartphone. People will appreciate the authenticity.

Step 6: Submit the page

Looks like you’re all set! Why don’t you go ahead and set the page live?

Step 7: Start fundraising

Now your work really begins. Pointing people towards your fundraising efforts isn’t going to be straightforward, but there are plenty of ways you can look to draw in donations. We’ve compiled 15 of the best of them in this post, but here are just a select few:

• Setup Amazon Smile
• Run a school raffle
• Host a virtual event
• Ask people to donate their commute