Sharing is the key to success! This checklist covers the best sharing strategies and helps your GoFundMe maintain momentum.

Starting Your Campaign: Planning

So your GoFundMe campaign is live; now what? At this point, you have completed signing up and most likely already shared to Facebook. Now it is time to get strategic with sharing your GoFundMe and organising your contacts. 

Not on social media? No problem! You will want to rely on the accounts that you do have (we see you Snapchatters) and seek out your friends who are on social media to have them help you promote your GoFundMe. See: How to Share Without Social Media

Form Your GoFundMe Ambassadors: Think of your closest friends and family members. Now, let us think of 2-3 people who would be willing to share your campaign for you. This can be through any type of communication (online or offline), as long as they share! Every additional person that shares your GoFundMe increases your sharing network by 100%, so finding these ambassadors is very important. Not sure what to say? See: 9 Message Templates to Send Right Now

Gather and Organise Your Contacts: Dig into your phone and email contacts. Are those same contacts on social media? If so, be sure to add them as followers and friends on your social media accounts. You will want to divide your contacts into 2 groups:

• Potential Donors: Are there certain contacts you feel are more likely to donate than others? These should be grouped together as “potential donors” and sent personalised messages via text, email or even a direct message on social media.
• Potential Promoters: These are people who you feel are less likely to contribute due to extenuating circumstances. However, these people can help you promote and share the GoFundMe.

Update Your Social Media Accounts: Even the most active social media users should update their accounts from time to time! Now is the time to update your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even your LinkedIn to share your GoFundMe with your network. Add your link to your each of your profiles, and write a new status/post to share the exciting news. You can even use the “suggested friends” features on these sites as well to add new contacts. See: How to Make the Most of Facebook

Consider Incentives or Rewards for Donors: Reward levels are a great way to show appreciation and incentivise donors to contribute certain amounts. Adding them to your GoFundMe can help you promote your GoFundMe and receive more donations. See: How to Use Reward Levels to Increase Donations 

Create a Soft Deadline: GoFundMes with a sense of urgency often receive more donations. Including a soft deadline or end date in your GoFundMe story will encourage supporters to donate sooner, rather than later!

Mid-Campaign: Momentum 

Direct Messages to Targeted Groups: The best way to share your GoFundMe with your contacts is to share your GoFundMe link with them in emails, text messages, phone calls, Facebook posts or private Facebook messages. When sending the link, include a bit about why your campaign is so important to you, and even ask them to share with their networks on your behalf, too. 

Frequent Multi-Platform Social Media Posts: Challenge yourself to share daily across multiple platforms. For example, Monday could be a Facebook share, while Tuesday could be a fun Instagram post! This ensures you are not over sharing on one platform. See: How to Share on Other Social Media Sites 

Update your Supporters: The best way to engage your supporters to build and maintain donation activity is to post frequent updates on your GoFundMe. This allows you to share your progress with your community, keep them interested in your GoFundMe and encourages them to share and donate as well. A compelling update can include any of the following: a thank you to your supporters, a personal story or quote related to the situation, any recent news and photos or videos. See: How to Use Updates: The Key to Success

Ending Campaign: Transparency and Communication

Create Urgency with Final Updates: Campaigns do not actually have an end date, so you can continue to raise funds for as long as you would like. However, you can create a soft deadline by making a countdown within your update posts on social media. Try posting a "final update" at least two days before the end of your GoFundMe.

Thank Donors and Send Rewards: Do not forget to thank all of your donors for their support, as well as send out any reward items! Showing appreciation and gratitude for your donor’s support is a key part of fundraising.