How to Update Supporters on Fundraising Campaign Progress

One of the most effective ways to keep the momentum going for your fundraising campaign is to regularly update your supporters on your campaign’s progress. This lets your supporters know how close (or far) you are from reaching your fundraising goals while also providing you with the opportunity to reiterate the importance of reaching your goals. Below are three ways to update supporters on your campaign’s progress and show the impact their donation is making. 

Social Media

One of the main ways to promote any campaign is to utilize your social media channels. Campaign progress and updates should be regularly posted with unique content for each social media channel. On Instagram, you may choose to use a graphic of the progress circle from your Event Page, while on Facebook, you can link directly to your Event Page where supporters can see the Progress Circle as well as a Donor Wall thanking those who have already supported you. 

Another great way to utilize social media to give progress updates towards your fundraising goals is to create short, prerecorded, or live videos to share using Facebook Live/Stories, Instagram Live/Stories, Youtube, etc. Create a short video (less than three minutes long) with a staff/board member/volunteer in front of a television or projection of your Fundraising Thermometer. In the video, you can include a quick update of where you are in terms of your goal, thank those who have already donated, and add a call to action with your text to donate keyword. 

Text Message

While social media is great for sharing your campaign and campaign progress, not all of your supporters are on social media or your posts may be missed amongst the endless content available on these channels. A great way to cut through the clutter and ensure your supporters receive your update is to send a text message. With an open rate While social media is great for sharing your campaign and campaign progress, not all of your supporters are on social media or your posts may be missed amongst the endless content available on these channels. A great way to cut through the clutter and ensure your supporters receive your update is to send a text message. With an open rate of 98%, your message is sure to get in front of your supporters. Keep your text message concise while always remembering to include your organization’s name or acronym. In addition to a quick update on progress towards your goal, you can include a link to your page where supporters can make another donation, share your page with friends and family who haven’t donated yet, and view your progress and donor wall.  

E-mail

Depending on the length of your campaign, you may also want to incorporate regular email communications. For longer campaigns, send a weekly email update on your progress with a link back to your Event Page as well as special shout-outs to those who have already donated. Don’t forget to encourage those who have already donated to your campaign to forward your email to their friends and family with a personal note about why they should also take a moment to support your campaign.  

All too often, nonprofit organizations ask for a donation, receive the donation, send a thank you letter, and then nothing else happens. Take advantage of your existing communication channels to celebrate your campaign’s progress. Providing regular updates will not only ensure donors their contribution is making a difference but might even encourage them to donate again! 

Campaign progress updates can and should be shared with those who have already donated to the campaign as well as those who haven’t. With email and text messages, consider segmenting donors and nondonors for two different messaging strategies on your campaign updates. For donors, focus on thanking them for already supporting the campaign and encourage them to take their support one step further by sharing your page with their network of friends and family. Messaging for non-donors can still reflect your gratitude for how close you are to your goal, but can emphasize why you need additional donors and support to hit the goal. Exceeded your goal before the end of your campaign? Let your supporters know that you have increased your goal and ask for their help to reach your new milestone. Always focus on what the funds raised will mean to your organization, your beneficiaries, and the community at large. 

Our goal at GiveSmart is to help nonprofit organizations create and manage successful digital fundraising campaigns, raise more money and retain donors longer. Request a free demo with one of our fundraising experts to learn, step by step, how GiveSmart can simply help set up your campaigns while transforming your results.