The worst way to fundraise on Facebook

There are only two things you need to do to make Facebook not work for you for online fundraising. The first is writing a bad appeal. The second is spamming your friends.

Let’s start with the bad appeal. Here’s an example of a bad appeal that we’ve found on a Facebook wall (it’s been scrubbed for privacy — grammar errors left for effect):

“I sure could use your help. This month I will run 30 miles in the Summer Marathon for Charity. It is what I do to raise funds to fight the terrible effects of poverty which affects too many. I would greatly apreciate any donation. You can either online link or mail check payable to Charity to 1600 Social Impact Dr. Please help create a world free of hunger!”

It’s not compelling. It doesn’t make me want to donate. There are three things that make this appeal not as effective:

1. The writer goes straight to the ask without building some type of rapport. It is clearly a copy and pasted message. He should include a personal touch instead.
2. The writer doesn’t describe what the donation will do. An urgent and compelling reason should be given to donate.
3. There is no clear call to action. The hyperlink to donate should be clear and instructions to donate via mail should be bulleted out.

In addition to those tips, we have a few tips on writing fundraising appeals that can make a fundraising appeal much more effective.

The second reason is spamming. In the same example above, we saw the fundraiser copy and paste the same message on his friend’s Facebook wall 52 times. Don’t spam your friends on Facebook. It’s insincere and some friends can find it offensive. Here’s a screen shot of what your Facebook wall should not look like (scrubbed for privacy).

Instead, the fundraiser should have…

1. Posted an appeal to his wall once a week
2. Identified people that engaged with the post (“liked”, commented, or shared the post)
3. Followed up with that sub-group of people to get donations or help raise awareness

This helps you narrow your focus on people that are interested in helping. It’ll save you time and help you get more donations.

Lastly, I would suggest creating a personal fundraising page so that friends can engage with your appeal and donations can be easily tracked.

Make fundraising on Facebook work for you. Write awesome appeals and be respectful on how you message your friends.