The following campaign organisers did an excellent job creating great GoFundMes, and following an effective sharing strategy. Curious how they did it? Here, we give you the top tips that made these GoFundMes successful. 

Blind in Nicaragua - Training

Meet Alan - a Mobility Specialist. Alan has been working in Ometepe, Nicaragua to help the visually impaired. When Alan realised that he needed financial help in order to keep his work going, he started a GoFundMe to gather support from his community.

Here are some winning things that Alan did: 

• Creatively added "bold" headlines to each paragraph so that his story would be a breeze for his supporters to read through.
• Photos throughout the story really livened up the layout. 
• Came up with a sharing strategy to maximise support.

The result? Alan raised $1,410 to support his efforts to change the lives of people in Ometepe.

Help Me Not Live In My Car

Glen had been living in his car in a Target parking lot and was ready for a fresh start in life. The only thing holding him back? Fear of sharing his story with his community. With a little support and cheering on from the GoFundMe team, Glen created a GoFundMe he was proud to share.

Here are some of the strategies Glen worked with Happiness on:

• Making sure Glen’s story was descriptive, focused and clear by dividing the story into easy to understand parts.
• Writing a compelling Facebook Post.
• Sharing the campaign with contacts from all different parts of his life.

Glen shared via Facebook and text messages and within one month he had raised over $1,000 towards a deposit on a new place. Glen’s focus on hope, authenticity and his future made his campaign shine.

Cameron's OI Medical and Camp Fund

Cameron is a ten-year-old with OI, which causes his fragile bones to break often. Cameron’s Aunt Rachel wanted to brighten up his family’s life by sending Cameron to a camp with other kids who suffer from this disease. She decided a GoFundMe was the way to do that. Aunt Rachel did an amazing job creating a campaign that was both easy to read and meaningful.

How did she do it?

• By using “bold” headlines, Rachel broke up the text in an intuitive way.
• Rachel used other GoFundMes as inspiration to make sure she implemented their best practices in her campaign.
• She shared the campaign often and asked others to share for her! Rachel went out of her way to let people know that sharing was almost as helpful as donating.
• Photos throughout the Story really livened up the campaign’s layout.

All of this excellent organising led to Rachel exceeding their $3,000 goal!

Help Sharon Get Back On Her Feet

Justin stepped up to the plate to help Sharon - a 78-year-old widow of a heroic Korean War Veteran. Sharon had recently lost everything in a fire, and as the campaign organiser, Justin’s mission was to get the story across in a simple way.

Justin created a GoFundMe that was moving, easy to read and impactful by following these tips:

• Craft a title that is descriptive and clear.
• Add photos to the Story.
• Set a custom link that is easy to remember.
• Come up with a creative sharing strategy, including asking others to share the campaign if they cannot donate, and posting regular updates.

Justin ultimately raised $1,400 to help Sharon move forward with her life.

Jayce's Prom 

This special family started a GoFundMe to throw a prom for their special needs son, Jayce. With nobody else to ask, Jayce asked his sister to accompany him to his school prom. They were turned away (all dressed up!) when they learned that she exceeded the age limit. The community came together to throw Jayce a new prom, by sharing and donating to a GoFundMe.

Jayce's family made a splash with their GoFundMe by: 

• Creating an awesome Facebook event page, to spread the word.
• Posted regular updates, to keep supporters in the loop.
• Regularly thanked donors, which showed donors they were valued, and contributed to continued sharing.