Email is One of the Simplest, Fastest, and Most
Effective Fundraising Tools You Have
Your fundraising campaign
for the Overnight Walk can be a simple and enjoyable process and
many of our Walkers tell us year after year how much they enjoyed spreading the
word about the Overnight and AFSP’s mission and sharing their stories with
those close to them. One of the most common and effective ways to reach out to
those around you in this process is through email.
One of the simplest and most
effective tools that you have in your Overnight fundraising campaign tool kit
is email. Email and social media sites continue to be among the most used tools
and bring in a significant amount of donations for most Walkers.
Your personal fundraising
webpage has a complete email center that makes sending and tracking emails,
planning campaigns, and recognizing your donors easy.
Making Email Simple and Effective
Following a few basic
guidelines when you are planning out your email campaign for donation requests
will help make your emails more effective, your overall fundraising experience
more enjoyable, and make things simpler for you in the process.
Why Send Emails?
Emails are a personal and
direct way to engage with those around you and to ask for their support and help
with your Overnight Journey. People respond much more frequently to emails and
direct requests than they do to passive donation requests.
Get Personal
Your Overnight journey is
about why you are
participating in the Overnight Walk. Be as honest and open as you are
comfortable being about your reasons for participating in the Overnight Walk
and share your story with your supporters.
Share Your Goal(s)
Letting your donors know
what challenges you are trying to meet will give them the opportunity to participate
in helping you succeed. If you are sending emails 4 weeks from the event, tell
your donors that you are trying to “raise $400 within the next 4 weeks” lets
them help you get to this goal.
Always Include a Link!
A link to your personal
fundraising webpage should be included in every email that you send out
to your donors. Make it simple for them to get to your page and to donate to
your account.
Set Up a Campaign for Yourself
Setting up a campaign to
keep you on track will help make sending out your emails significantly easier
and also will help you track which emails are going to which donors throughout
the season. We have tips and resources on setting up an email campaign in your
resource library and also in our Fundraising
Workshops.
Remember that most of us would like to help support
our friends and family in their endeavors and generally do when we are
approached directly and given a way to help. Email is one of the simplest ways
that you can ask for support and give a quick and easy way for your friends and
family to donate.
If you would like more tips about email
campaigns and fundraising ideas, call our Walker Coaches at 888-THE-OVERNIGHT
(888-843-6837) or send us an email at coaches@theovernight.org
and we’ll be glad to help.
