Howdy and welcome to our guide to successful fundraiser page! We’re going to cover a few different things here and will be linking to GoFundMe’s advice too. This guide however is going to specifically focus on making funding drives for transgender, intersex, and non-binary folks!
the Title
Ok, so with this you want to keep it short and snappy! You want it to be easy for folks to understand. “Herb’s transition fund” can be vague and unclear, while “Herb’s top surgery fund” is a lot clearer and the viewer instantly understands the goal. You can also have a bit of fun with it! Consider things like puns, or classic trans jokes! Things like “Getting this off my chest” and “Help me leave the itty bitty titty committee”. GoFundMe recommend you keep it to with four to eight words, so keep that in mind too.
THe Description
This is super important! If you want strangers to donate to your fund, they won’t know you, so you’re really going to want to work on this! It’s a good idea to put a small summary at the top of your description, so people skimming get a good idea about your goal. Then use the rest of the space to go into detail and really tell your story and motivation for fundraising. Some good questions to ask yourself when writing are:
- What will the funds be used for?
- How will the donations help you?
- What you’ve done to reach this goal up until this point?
- When it comes to fundraising, why is particularly important—why do you need this donation?
People like to know the work you’ve already put in before this point to see you are really invested in your goal. Examples of this could include: mentioning surgeons’ names, the names of the clinics you have seen/want to see, names of the surgery and details of what it involves, explanation of the goal and why it costs the amount it does.
Breaking down why you need the amount you are asking for is important too. Think of things like travel costs, consultations, covering the costs of your recovery, emergency funds if things go wrong (some surgeries need revisions), and any other costs that could potentially add up!
You can also add images in here, maybe some photos of yourself, your binders, the clinic you will be going to? These kind of things can help break up big blocks of text!
And finally, you want to get across how important to your wellbeing and life this will be! Explain how it will improve it and emphasise this as cis folks love to see that.
YOU NEED images!
Now you’ve got the rest down, it’s time to focus on your header image! This is essential!! This pops up when people share it on social media, so it’s important! Images of yourself would be best, I know it can be embarrassing, but fundraisers with photos of the person benefiting tend to do better and raise more funds. If you are really self-conscious, consider censoring an image of your face using a heart emoji or a star! GoFundMe also recommends adding more than one photo!
Promoting
Now you’ve got everything else sorted it’s time to start sharing! In your local networks are the best way to start. Share on your social media and ask close friends to share it around too!
See if you can connect with local organizations that may be willing to share it! If you’re in Wales, Trans Aid Cymru shares a different GoFundMe every 2 weeks and donated £50 to help it gain some traction! If you’re not in Wales have a look on social media for places that may do similar work, if you’re in the UK Consortium have a support group finder. www.consortium.lgbt
Events are a great way to get some attention and donations! Things you may want to consider is hosting a pub quiz, gaming streams, movie nights, talent shows and more! Raffles are also a great way to get some money in, ask local business if they would donate gift cards or items to help you out! If you have a talent, make sure to use it! There are so many ways of raising money and attention and the more out of the box you go the more fun! If an event doesn’t raise much, don’t stress, either! Everything you do will help share it further, and it may lead to donations later down the line.
Updates
This is so important! Don’t leave updates until you’ve hit your goal either! Update throughout as people love to know how things are progressing at it reminds them that you’re still fundraising. They may have had a pay check come in recently and decide to donate again!
Updates can be thanking people for their donations, talking about appointments, supplies for your surgery you’ve bought and more!
Once you do hit your goal be sure to share with everyone! It’s always great to see folks joy when they’ve hit a goal and makes everyone who’s donated feel positive about the experience!
If you want more tips check out GoFundMe’s official guides here: