Instagram fundraising is one of the most effective ways to raise money for your nonprofit in the present times. You can add a Donate button, fundraise on Instagram Live or Reels, and do more on this trending social media platform. Read this guide for detailed insights into every kind of Instagram fundraising.
Social media has become a primary way for nonprofits to reach larger audiences and share their story. Now, platforms like Instagram have also made it easy for nonprofits to include several ways to promote their organizations and raise funds.
Instagram fundraising can involve adding a donate button or sticker or fundraising on Instagram Live, and more. If you follow the right strategy and some tips (we’ve provided in this blog!), your nonprofit can very well raise a significant amount on Instagram.
This article shares 5 common ways to raise funds on Instagram, how to add each feature, and why you need it for your fundraising events and campaigns.
Instagram lets nonprofits raise funds directly from the app by enabling them to add a donate button, a donation sticker, and a fundraiser to their reels, and also raise funds through a live session.
Nonprofits must enroll and get approved to use Meta’s charitable tools. You must switch to an Instagram business account, then link your business account to your Facebook page.
Organizations can create stories, share images and videos, live stream events, start peer-to-peer campaigns, and use Instagram’s fundraising features. Those who successfully use Instagram also use #hashtags to promote their organization, events, and other campaigns.
Nonprofits can also use Instagram stories to launch their campaigns and update their supporters on how a campaign is going. Finally, Instagram is an excellent place to thank your donors and volunteers by tagging them on your posts. This adds to your social proof as well.
From raising funds to promoting campaigns to spreading awareness to acknowledging supporters – Instagram is a complete solution to your nonprofit’s social media fundraising.
Adding a donation button is hands-down the easiest and best way to solicit donations. The primary reason people don’t donate is that it’s too difficult.
Adding a donate button to your Instagram account lets your supporters and those new to your organization give quickly. If your video or image catches someone’s eye, you want to make it as easy as possible for donors to support the organization immediately.
Instagram makes it easy for nonprofits to add a donate button. Follow the below steps –
When people donate to your nonprofit on Instagram, your supporters can see their gift if the donor makes it public. Sharing donation amounts with your supporters helps excite other donors and encourages them to give.
Peer-to-peer fundraising has gained popularity among nonprofits as it is an excellent way to boost donations as well as their outreach. Organizations are reaching out to their volunteers, board members, family and friends, and ardent donors to raise funds for them.
Instagram makes it easy for you and your followers!
Once a nonprofit is verified on Instagram and can collect donations, it can reach out to followers and share how easy it is to fundraise with only a few clicks.
Your supporters can follow these simple steps to start a charity fundraiser on Instagram –
Nonprofits and their supporters can get the community’s attention by adding a donation sticker to stories on Instagram.
By including this option, Instagram has made it easy for you to catch attention with a video or image and make it easy for people to give. Stories shared on Instagram are live for 24 hours, so that’s ample time.
Your organization can support its peer-to-peer fundraising volunteers with program updates, images, and videos. Instagram then makes it easy for supporters to add donation stickers to their stories.
Your supporters can follow the below steps to add a donation sticker to their stories –
Your supporters can add different images and videos to their stories and include a sticker on each.
“If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million.” Troy Olson and Jeff Loquist.
People have short attention spans, and a compelling video is the best way to get their attention. Fundraising videos help spread awareness and convince more donors to give. Adding a video to your Instagram account helps spread your cause even further.
Instagram lets nonprofits create and share exciting 90-second videos. Nonprofits can also use Reels to add audio, text, special effects, etc. Before adding anything, you must ensure you have the latest version.
After that, follow the below steps –
Your fundraisers are automatically linked to your reel. It will also be automatically added to your profile bio, and supporters can share from this link.
Ask your supporters or fundraisers to start a live video to support your organization and raise funds for you. If they happen to have a good Instagram following, you’re going to highly benefit from such live sessions.
Instead of sharing a static post, ask people who are comfortable doing a live session to use Instagram Live to raise funds for your campaign.
Here’s how your supporters can start a fundraiser on Instagram Live –
If you have a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and your supporters have created their own fundraising pages to raise money for you, encourage them to start live sessions on Instagram at appropriate times to attract more people to their fundraising pages. Donorbox Peer-to-Peer lets you and your supporters create fundraising pages easily and get started for free!
Instagram lets you also collaborate with influencers and public figures to raise more money for your cause. This is extremely helpful when you personally know such people or have worked with them before.
Alternatively, if you know someone who frequently supports causes related to yours, reach out to see if they’d be interested. This method also helps increase the visibility of your campaigns.
The steps are simple as follows –
Instagram has created this detailed PDF guide to help you understand the steps better.
You may think Instagram is simple to use and you have a number of young supporters and volunteers (even staff members) who are willing to help. But using Instagram on a daily basis can be highly different from using the app for fundraising. Even with many people willing to support your cause, without a proper strategy, your fundraising may fall flat.
Decide what your goals are. Is it just raising funds, as much as people can help you raise? Or do you have a specific goal in mind? Or do you want to spread awareness of your campaign or a new research project, at the same time, raise money?
Create a team of volunteers, staff members, people from your board, and other supporters who are comfortable starting a fundraiser on Instagram. Discuss your goals with them. Decide which types of media you’re going to use. Will you be collaborating with an influencer? How to approach them and when to start? What is the best time to start an Instagram Live fundraiser for your audience or your supporters’?
There can be many more questions that you need to ask yourself and your team. Create a detailed plan and start making your strategy at least a month in advance.
Yes, you’re going to fundraise on Instagram but don’t think nothing else will be needed. You may need a number of other tools depending on your strategy. You may want to research prospects who have supported organizations similar to yours in the past. This is especially important if you do not have a decent supporter base on your own yet. In this case, include prospect research tools like Wealth Engine in your strategy.
To fundraise with Instagram Live, you may want to live stream an event or your volunteer activities or you may want to interview your beneficiaries. And that will require proper equipment so the video quality, lighting, sound, etc. are good.
In addition, if you have a strategy in place for posting updates, images, videos, etc. on Instagram on a regular basis to keep the momentum going, your team may need a social media management tool as well. Use tools like HubSpot or Hootsuite to schedule posts and limit time spent on administrative duties.
Finally, your existing donor base must know that you’ll be starting an Instagram fundraiser. A lot of such people may not be following you or your volunteers on Instagram or may not be that regular on the app. Send emails in advance to invite them all to check out your fundraiser and donate. Sendinblue has a free plan that helps you send up to 300 emails a day.
Instagram without hashtags is no good. Of course, you’ll be using the common hashtags such as #fundraising #fundraiser #donate #charity and more. But Is that all? Your nonprofit and specific fundraisers must have dedicated hashtags.
Adding popular hashtags that fit your organization, mission, and campaign can –
Promote these hashtags across your social media accounts. Ask your supporters and fundraisers to use these hashtags. As people make a donation, ask them to add it to their stories using the same hashtags. The more you spread hashtags, the more will be the hype about your fundraiser. Well, everyone may not donate but they will still know about your organization. They will see others talking about you. This helps build trust and convert potential donors into regular ones.
As your campaign gains attention and raises more money, use “Instagram Insights” to see which hashtags are working and which you can eliminate.
Influencers who strongly endorse a cause would love to help you raise more money. Be open to and research these opportunities well in advance. While this is a great option to boost donations, you may also want to collaborate with other local nonprofits. Remember that they have their own sets of supporters. Some of them may be equally empathetic to your beneficiaries. Or maybe your cause is somewhat related to theirs. For example, you can be helping people and families with a rare disease while the other organization may be researching to find a cure.
Why not collaborate and help each other? That way, you get exposure to their networks. People who follow them on Instagram come to know about your work. Many would like to start a fundraiser or make a donation. You can both start a group fundraiser and benefit from it equally.
Momentum is everything you need on social media platforms like Instagram. One day you or your supporters start a fundraiser and the next day there’s nothing about it – people will forget sooner than you might think! Keep posting updates, even the simplest one will do wonders.
A sense of urgency and importance will encourage donors to act. If you convince them they must act now, you’ll see an even better return.
Get pictures and videos from your on-ground work, interview beneficiaries or collect their testimonials, get impact data, and more. Make nice visuals from the data and media files. Canva is there to help – to create them for free! Post them on Instagram at regular intervals. You should also let your volunteers create video messages about your organization (or the fundraiser) and post them on your feed. Also, conduct live sessions frequently.
We all know people these days have a short attention span. They don’t remember what you do online unless you keep reminding them about it!
Want more tips on using Instagram for your nonprofit? Here’s an article where we’ve listed the top 10 tips to help you get started!
Nonprofits that want to reach a new audience and connect with their supporters, especially younger donors, can use Instagram’s fundraising tools. Instagram gives nonprofits several different and new-age fundraising options that are sure to grab a lot of people’s attention.
Would you like to share your Instagram fundraising experience with us and other nonprofits while also learning from theirs? Check out Donorbox Knowledge Community. This is the best place for all nonprofits to interact, learn, and grow together.
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Instagram fundraising is a new fad that nonprofits love to hop on. But you’d still need other trending fundraising methods like crowdfunding, recurring donations, online fundraising pages, peer-to-peer fundraising, event ticketing, and more to create a steady income stream and build lasting relationships. Donorbox is there to help! Check out our website for simple-to-use and affordable features. You can manage your donors on our tool as well! Just sign up for free and get fundraising right away!
Think you need expert help and coaching to fundraise better and acquire more donors? Donorbox Premium has been designed just for you! Pricing is personalized for every organization’s needs. Book a demo today!
Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
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Kristine Ensor