Fundraisers For Individuals
Individual fundraising allows people to ask their friends and family members to help them raise funds for practically any reason. Individuals in need of money can create a personal fundraising campaign, share their page, and accept donations online.
What Do People Fundraise For?
The great thing about personal fundraising is that anyone can create a fundraising page to raise money for themselves or someone in need. People all over the world are creating fundraising pages to help cover tuition, medical expenses, and so much more.
With personal fundraising, individuals are empowered to share their stories and ask for help. The social sharing component helps raise awareness and encourages communities to support someone in need.
Fundraising Tips For Individuals
Here are some fundraising tips for individuals:
1. Write A Description
Creating a description will help donors learn more about you and your cause. Engaging, transparent, and error-free copy are all markers of an effective description. Keep your story to 300-700 words and cover the most important information your donors will want to know.
2. Upload Visuals
Images and videos can help enhance your story as they help donors develop a connection to you or the person you’re fundraising for. Your personal fundraising page should include at least one image so that your page looks complete and professional. Visuals can also be used when sharing updates or thanking your supporters.
3. Offer Incentives
While incentives won’t work for every campaign, when used correctly, they can help motivate donors to contribute. Offer perks that relate to your cause and show your donors you appreciate their support. You don’t have to bust the budget to provide incentives; instead, you can give handmade items.
4. Share Your Story
If people don’t know about your campaign, how can they support your cause? Sharing your story is one way you can spread the word and get people interested in your personal fundraiser. Use social media as your primary method to spread awareness, but don’t forget to use traditional methods, too. Emails and phone calls can be just as effective!
5. Post Updates
Whenever you reach a milestone, you can post updates to your personal fundraising page. These updates will help keep your page current and your supporters in the loop. Letting supporters celebrate your success and see how their donations have impacted your cause generates excitement and shows that you appreciate your supporters.
6. Say Thank You
The great thing about thanking donors is you can show your gratitude in several different ways. You can thank donors publicly by highlighting their contributions on social media or filming a video that expresses your appreciation. With so many possibilities, you can make your thank you unique to show donors you care about more than just the money.
10 Unique Fundraising Ideas For Individuals
Want to succeed with your fundraising?! Then you need to pick the right ideas!
Doing charitable work is available to all, so don’t be put off by the fact that you are unable to do some of the suggestions on this list. Some of the biggest fundraising drives have been those that take very little effort (the ice bucket challenge is a great example) but are fun and can be done by anyone regardless of physical ability.
1. Online Donation Campaign (Crowdfunding):
For most groups and causes this would be the first recommended fundraising idea.
It is without a doubt the simplest and quickest method of raising funds!
Signup and setup an Online Donation page on SFA Crowdfunding platform.
Write a killer fundraising request pitch. That connects readers emotionally to your cause.
They must feel MOVED by your cause and trust that they’ll be making a difference by donating.
Include a Video (and some great images). Stats have shown that videos greatly increase your crowdfunding success.
Make sure that it’s short, sharp, and once again connects emotionally.
And then you must PROMOTE effectively. The more eyeballs on your fundraising page, the more donations you shall receive!
2. Run a marathon – it’s a challenge that many aspire to conquering during their lifetime, and is certainly no small feat. Running 26.2 miles takes a lot of preparation, training, and perseverance, and is a challenge that should be approached with dedication and respect, as it can be very demanding physically. This isn’t meant to put you off, JG staffers who have run marathons often get the bug and have run in multiple events in cities across the world. Fundraising and the marathon go hand in hand, and that sometimes makes it easier to communicate to your supporters how dedicated you are to the cause you are running for.
2. Enter a 10k – For those put off by the long-distance running of the marathon, there are many 10k and smaller running events around the country that are perfect for the more casual athlete. You will obviously still need exercise and preparation in the build-up, but the event can be approached with an attitude of “let’s get in shape” rather than looking to run an elite event.
4. Get on your bike and ride– there are plenty of organised events for those that would prefer a bicycle challenge rather than running to raise money for a charity. Or think of a cycling trip you have always wanted to take and raise money that way, both options are great for those who really enjoy riding their bicycles and helping to change lives.
5. Take the plunge and swim– challenges that involve swimming are great for all ages and all abilities. Organised events such as the Swimathon are becoming more and more popular, and allow people to take to the water to raise money for a cause they really care about. Those who want a more difficult challenge
6. Give up something you love– it might not be easy for some, but it should be relatively simple for most people to give up something they enjoy for a month in order to raise some money for charity. There are many options, we have seen Dechox for chocolate, Sober October for alcohol, and Movember for shaving facial hair. This is another option for the creative among you, as you can choose to ditch the thing that you know your supporters will be most surprised you are giving up.
7. Get your pets involved– India is a nation of animal lovers, and as a population we obsess over our four-legged friends. A number of organised charity events have launched for those that want to spend time with their pets and raise money for a good cause. Some like the Dog Jog are open to all abilities and are a fun way to spend a day out with other dog owners, where both you and your pet get some exercise and help raise money for charity. You can also be creative and use your pet as a focus point for your fundraising, perhaps getting people to donate to animal welfare charities or rescue centres on their behalf.
8. Do an extreme challenge– skydiving has long been a typical fundraising challenge, and it is still quite popular as a way to demonstrate commitment to a charity cause. Likewise, abseiling, long distance runs, or mountain climbing challenges can all resonate with supporters who will realise just how much effort you are putting into your charity work.
9. Organise a school event– A great way to raise money and engage with your local community is to organise a charity event with your children’s school. Having an activity day, that is linked to an online fundraising page, is an innovative way to teach kids about social responsibility and ICT.
10. Have a bake sale– it sounds very traditional, but with the popularity of the Great British Bake Off more and more people are turning to their kitchens to kick start a fundraising drive. A bake sale in your work or your child’s school is a good way to boost your fundraising for your page.
11. Do a year of good deeds – Why not think of giving as something you do year-round rather than once? By organising a series of events throughout a year, you, your family and your friends can all join in the fundraising.
Fundraising Platforms For Individuals
1. Ketto
Founded in 2012, Mumbai-based startup Ketto is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms in India. The platform has been endorsed by several celebrities and ministers alike. It was co-founded by Zaheer Adenwala, Kunal Kapoor, and Varun Seth. It features three major categories: community/social projects, creative arts, and personal development. The three categories include various campaigns like sports, health, women empowerment, animal welfare, education, movies, music, fashion, charity, and more. NGOs can also use Ketto as an eCommerce platform. Fundraisers get a cash pickup facility, helping even those without a bank account.
Depending upon your campaign, Ketto takes 5-8% of the fund raised along with payment gateway charges. The crowdfunding platform is pretty user-friendly with easy navigation.
How to start the fundraiser on this platform?
Take 2 minutes to set up your campaign
Start sharing after approval with no processing fee
Withdraw your money once you reach a milestone
2. Social For Action
Sakal has stewarded several social initiatives over the past several decades with many of the initiatives going beyond Sakal’s own regional markets, addressing needs across the country. Social impact and social change remains the core of the Sakal’s beliefs even today and with this Sakal is introducing its own Crowdfunding platform – Social For Action. We belief that the role of media today has changed from being an advocate of social causes to being the facilitator or the agent of social change itself.
SFA addresses the many challenges of giving (such as difficulty in discovering the right causes, trust deficit, and overall donor apathy). We share stories of (pre-qualified) individuals and groups with a network of its trusted community and partners, who either specialize in providing and supporting the local communities by promoting products or can connect with the cause to help with a donation.
3. Wishberry
Founded by Anshulika Dubey and Priyanka Agarwal, Wishberry is solely dedicated to creative projects and artists. It voluntarily assists them by assigning a Campaign Coach who is a Wishberry advisor.
The adviser will help you design a campaign, write an effective pitch, make a compelling video, and choose rewards. The coach will also guide you through the effective distribution of rewards. To date, they have helped deliver project creators a remarkable success rate of 70%.
The platform has completed over 325 projects, raising around $1.3m worldwide. Having operated in over 60 countries, Wishberry is now a trusted name among creative startups. There’s also something for the contributors, like tickets to movie premiers, merchandise, name in credit roll, and more. Wishberry charges a one-time fee and 10% of the total commission only when the funding goal is achieved. You can also avail their digital marketing services.
How to start a fundraiser on this platform?
Submit a form on the website with your details
A Wishberry consultant will help you with funding after approval
You get up to 45 days to reach your goal
4. Kickstarter
One of India’s oldest fundraising platforms, Kickstarter is also popular for funding creative projects and startups. The platform has had much success in crowdfunding for innovation, research, music, books, and films, among other creative art forms. Kickstarter supports unique initiatives like a photographic series on Indian deities, edible cutlery photography, and more.
The platform also offers various rewards to the donors, depending upon the project. The Sweet Requiem campaign is one of the most successful campaigns on this platform in India. It raised funds for a film based on Tibetan women’s struggles in Tibet and how they’re living in India. Over 300 people contributed to the project, raising over $33,000.
The Edible Cutlery was another such successful campaign. It raised nearly $3,00,000 from over 9000 donors. The platform supports creativity and merchandising and is a delight for aspiring artists and creative startups.
How to Start a Fundraiser on this Platform?
Check out their criteria on the website to see if you’re eligible
Learn about structuring your project with their Kickstarter resources compendium on the website
Submit your campaign and start marketing it around
5. FuelADream
Fueladream-crowdfunding-platform
A fairly recent startup by Ranganathan Thota in 2016, FuelADream is another reward-based crowdfunding platform in India. The platform focuses on supporting charities, social causes, and creative projects by collecting donations. You can choose between All or Nothing or Keep What You Get campaigns.
If you don’t reach the All or Nothing campaign’s target, you won’t get anything, and all the money would be returned to the senders. The company has an in-house content and marketing team that designs campaigns and online pitches and creates compelling reward systems for every campaign. In both kinds of campaigns, the company would charge a total of 9% of the amount raised exclusive of taxes.
FuelADream takes up only 20 projects a month. They choose projects wisely, going for quality over quantity. Battery-powered bikes and a canal to irrigate arid farmlands were some of the platform’s most successful campaigns. It supports campaigns in multiple languages to appeal to local and regional audiences.
How to Start a Fundraiser on this Platform?
- Sign up on the website
- Add story details
- Add rewards
- Add team members
- List team members
- Send campaigns for approval
Fundraisers For Individuals FAQs
Q1. How Can I Raise Money For Personal Causes?
We all know life can sometimes throw us unforeseen curveballs–a medical emergency, unexpected death, a damaging storm. No matter what the situation may be, fundraising is always a great option to consider when you need help!
Fun fact: It’s not just for nonprofit organizations. Of course, fundraising for individuals is a little bit different, but the goal is ultimately the same—to raise as much money as you can for a specific cause.
We know what you’re thinking…that people typically only fundraise when bad things happen and they weren’t prepared financially. Wrong! In addition to the ‘bad things,’ people fundraise on an individual level for all kinds of reasons, such as:
- When people want to support a charity they’re passionate for
- A student’s college/school fund
- An upcoming big trip
- Wedding or honeymoon costs
The list goes on and on! There are always good reasons to fundraise. The best part is that sky’s the limit when it comes to what you can do.
Q2. What Is The Cheapest Way To Raise Money?
Cheap fundraising ideas are a handy way for any organization planning an online fundraising auction to raise cash to cover operating costs of their auction. Fundraising is the best way to get cash in hand to cover operating costs as they arise. This way, no one has to dig into their own pockets to cover costs, or wait for a requisition to clear before they can get funds from the parent organization.
Try one of our favorite fundraising ideas to put cash in your pocket now:
1. Bake Sale
2. Craft Sale
3. Activity Workshop
4. Beverage Stand
5. Car wash
6. Boat Wash
7. Charity Sports
8. Catalog Sales
9. Cleaning Services
10. Consignment Shop Sales
11. Donation Jars
12. Fun Games
13. Online Auctions
14. Raffle
15. Pajama Day
16. Change is Here
17. Recycle
18. Root Beer Stalls
20. Community Service
21. Health is Wealth
22. Yard Sale
Fundraising is a great way to raise money and awareness for your charity.
5. Car wash
6. Boat Wash
7. Charity Sports
8. Catalog Sales
9. Cleaning Services
10. Consignment Shop Sales
11. Donation Jars
12. Fun Games
13. Online Auctions
14. Raffle
15. Pajama Day
16. Change is Here
17. Recycle
18. Root Beer Stalls
20. Community Service
21. Health is Wealth
22. Yard Sale
Q3. What Is The Most Profitable Fundraiser?
Fundraising for individuals involves more than just getting your audience to help spread the word, it’s enticing them to give. Here are some best practices to help reach those goals:
Be 100% real and genuine in your messaging. Try to stay away from stale language that sounds textbook-like and or too desperate.
Consistently promote your fundraiser. Posting on social media a couple times or texting your friends about it one time isn’t going to do the trick. Try to market often on a set cadence.
Lean on your friends and family to help. Send everyone you know all the information they would need to help your fundraiser reach more people. When your friends tell their friends, and their friends tell their friends, you’ll increase the fundraising potential.
- A fitness challenge – marathon or walkathon
- Selling Cadbury chocolate
- Sausage sizzle or BBQ fundraiser
- A movie night or an outdoor movie event
- A trivia night
- Food fundraiser
- Bake sale
- Selling raffle tickets
- School fundraiser
- Silent auction
The Bottom Line
Set Goals & Tell Your Story Well
One thing you don’t want to do when fundraising on a personal level is go in blind. When nonprofits fundraise, they don’t just jump right into everything. They lay out all the details and make a plan first.
We’re not saying that you need to spend hours outlining exactly what you’re planning to do and why. But, setting goals for your fundraiser and flushing out a heartfelt backstory sets the foundation for everything that you do.
Use these questions as a starting point when you’re just beginning to plan your fundraiser:
Why am I fundraising?
How much money do I want to raise?
Where is the money going that I’m raising?
Who has been directly impacted and how will these funds help them?
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