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5 tips for running a successful project

We’re often asked about how you actually make a project successful. How should I contact my donors? How should the project page look, so it really makes people want to donate?
And how can I get my donors to keep coming back and donating?
So, we’ve decided to put a few ideas together …

1. Make the most of your project

Potential donors will only take a few seconds to decide if they want to donate to your project – or not. Just like you dress up when you want to make an impression your project page also needs to create an immediate impact. Rather than a quick shower and some fresh clothes however, your project will need some other key elements:

  • A really good photo! The photo should show your organization working on the project and it needs to be of high quality. You’ll get bonus points for pictures with people, who should ideally be looking into the camera.
  • A top-notch project description! Tell people who you are, what you do and what you need the donations for. Who are you helping and why? And what could a donation help you do? You’ll get bonus points for writing in paragraphs and using a variety of different text formats – which will make the whole thing a lot easier to read. 
  • A motivational title! Make clear exactly what your project is about and don’t be too general. Rather than “Wildlife Protection in Brandenburg” go for something like “Save the bats of Cottbus!”. And how about some more bonus points? Really good project names encourage people to help and donate straight away. So how about: “Let’s save the endangered bats of Cottbus!”?

 2. Make sure you tell absolutely everyone about your project

As soon as a project has been activated, you’ll find a short link in your admin area which you can use to direct interested people straight to your project. You’ll need to spread the word about this link as widely as possible! You can do so by using messaging services such as WhatsApp. Send your friends the link and tell them why you’re getting involved in the project. They’re bound to be infected with your enthusiasm!  

Email is also a fantastic channel for fundraising. Send your supporters a newsletter with the link to your project and tell them about what you’re planning to do and why you need support and donations. Email signatures also provide a great opportunity to include your project link in every email that you send out.

 3. Use the power of social media

As we all know, social media is everywhere. And social media is a lot more than just a bunch of cat videos – even if some of them are really cute. It’s also a super effective tool for online fundraising. Simply post your project link on Facebook and write a short text, asking your friends, family and followers to either donate or pass on the link. Better still, both!

Apart from that, you can also integrate the betterplace.org donations form into your organization’s Facebook page. 

4. Don’t forget to say „Thank you“

Having used the magic work to ask for donations, it probably won’t be long before you hear the voice of your grandmother asking, „What do you say?”. The answer, of course, is, “Thank you”. Saying thank you to your donors is a vital part of online fundraising courtesy. That’s also true for relatively small donations of say “only” 5 or 10 Euros. As an organization it’s easy to show what your donors mean to you by immediately using your admin area to send out a thank-you message. Donors who’ve been thanked are much more likely to return to a project and might even make two or three additional donations. It still pays to be polite!

5. Take your donors along with you

Do you have something exciting to report about your project? Have your donors helped you reach a new milestone? Then tell them about it! Post some news about your project and describe all the things the donations have helped you to achieve. Use pictures and videos so that your donors can actually see you helping. You could also send an update to your donors in the form of a newsletter and ask them to pass on the good news – along with your project link.

So now it’s your turn! With the help of all of these tips your project is bound to succeed. We wish you every success, lots of donations and lots of fun!

If you have any other questions just send us an email (support@betterplace.org) or give us a call on 030-56 83 86 59 – we’re always happy to help!