Whether purchasing or building a new facility, making updates to a current structure, or launching a new program, taking on a major project takes time - and money. Read on to find advice on how to raise funds for a project, including actionable tips and tools that will help you reach your goals.
Raising funds for projects is often required when specific needs arise for your organization. These projects may include a new program, updates to your current building, or even the purchase of a new location or facility.
In this article, we share effective tips and ideas on how to raise funds for a project. We’ll also include several Donorbox tools to help you accomplish your goals and take your project fundraising to the next level.
While fundraising for your organization’s general needs is always important, you might have some unique opportunities arise that require extra funding. This is where project fundraising comes into play.
Project fundraising is more time-bound than your ongoing fundraising efforts – although, depending on the size of your project, this timeframe may last months or even years. Like with other types of fundraising campaigns, raising funds for projects typically requires a specific goal as well as a deadline.
This specific goal will be centered around your special project, and all money raised will go towards funding it. Just about any nonprofit can raise funds for a project, including community organizations, schools, and churches.
If you’re not sure how to raise funds for a project, we’ve got you covered. Check out these five ideas to give your creativity and planning a boost.
If you don’t already have one, your first step to getting funding for any project should be setting up an online donation form and fundraising page. Every nonprofit needs to be able to collect donations online, as this is the way many donors now prefer to give. Simply include a link or QR code to your giving form in any appeal letter, email, or social media post about your project.
You may choose to create a separate fundraising form and page for every special project, enabling you to add information, stories, and a call to action specific to each one. If you would like to use a single donation page for all of your fundraising efforts, be sure to include a drop-down for designated funds, allowing donors to select the project they want to support.
Take a look at how Dordt University uses a pop-up Donorbox giving form on their website to raise funds. Donors can choose to give to the ‘Area of greatest need’ or the ‘Hope Fund’, which raises scholarship money for students facing unexpected challenges.
Sign up for your free donation form
Take raising funds for your project online to the next level with crowdfunding. This type of fundraising campaign employs social proof – the concept that people are more likely to do things if others are doing them.
Crowdfunding is best used for time-bound campaigns with a set goal and deadline, making this tactic perfect for project fundraising. Use a goal thermometer to show donors how far you have to go to reach your goal in time, building a sense of urgency.
Share regular updates about funding your project on your page as well. And add a donor wall that lists gifts and messages from current donors, showing potential supporters that others are giving to your cause, making them more likely to donate.
Also be sure to include social sharing buttons on your crowdfunding page, enabling your supporters to quickly share your campaign page with their networks.
Further unlock the power of the people with peer-to-peer fundraising! Allow your current supporters to raise funds for a project for you – they’ll create their own fundraising pages (connected to your ‘parent’ campaign) to share with their friends and families.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is effective because it expands your reach to new audiences. Like crowdfunding, peer-to-peer also puts social proof to work – most people are more likely to donate if a trusted friend or family member asks them to do so.
Just make sure to set your peer-to-peer fundraisers up for success. Show them how to set up their pages, then share email and social media templates that will help them promote their own campaigns. You can also offer small incentives or prizes to peers who raise the most funds. Check out our free Peer-to-Peer Fundraising 101 guide for more tips!
Peer-to-peer can be used by any nonprofit, but this tactic is ideal for organizations that have a lot of existing supporters able and willing to advocate for your cause. Many churches and schools have seen success with peer-to-peer fundraising!
Check out Legacy Christian Academy’s Fuss-Free Fall Fundraiser, which employed crowdfunding and peer-to-peer tactics to raise funds for a major project.
Mobilize supporters with Peer-to-Peer
Fundraising events are a great way to capture funding for projects. When you host an event, you are ensured a captive audience with whom you can share more details about your project and collect donations on the spot.
Your event can be any size and as low-key or fancy as you want it to be, depending on your budget as well as the project itself. For example, a trivia night may suffice for a lower-end project, but you may need to host a gala or other big-money fundraiser when raising funds for a new building. Sell tickets to offset costs and bring in funds, then boost your fundraising at the event with add-ons like raffles, a live or silent auction, product sales, and more.
Consider theming your event around your project or finding a way to showcase its future impact. Looking to purchase land for a summer camp for disadvantaged youth? Host a camp-themed fundraiser with a BBQ buffet, camp-style games, a photo booth in a canoe or tent, and more.
Pro tip: Raise more project funds at your event with a donation kiosk! These kiosks enable donors to give with a quick tap, dip, or swipe of their card or digital wallet – no need to carry cash.
Any of these ideas can be combined to form an overarching capital campaign. These types of campaigns are ideal for raising funds for a project, especially those that will require many donations.
Capital campaigns take a lot of time and advanced planning, but they can be highly effective. They typically encompass several mailed and emailed appeals, social media posts, phone calls, fundraising events, and more.
You’ll also want to ensure that you bring your major donors on board early. This way, you can kick-start your campaign with much of your goal already completed, again utilizing the power of social proof to bring in more gifts.
No matter which of the ideas above you decide to put into action, there are several best practices you can use to ensure success.
It’s always a good idea to show donors the potential impact of their gifts when asking for donations. It’s perhaps even more important, however, when raising funds for projects! You must show your donors why this specific project is important and why it’s critical to fund it right now.
Tell your donors exactly how this new project will help serve your mission on your fundraising pages and in outreach. Where possible, use photos and videos to really show the difference this project can make in your community, church, or school.
Pro tip: Tie your appeals to concrete examples of what each gift will do for your project. Will $3,000 purchase a door for your new building? Or will $100 cover the cost of a necessary tool or two? List these in your outreach as well as alongside the ask amounts on your donation form.
Segmenting donors by giving history, program affiliation, location, and more can help you target your supporters with appropriate messaging that will better entice them to give. Segmentation can also help you determine which donors to focus on for this specific project.
Use donor capacity to ask for larger donations from those with the ability to give them. This can be especially important for major projects such as new buildings or purchases of land.
Segmenting by affinity for various programs will help you target those more likely to support a similar project. For example, if you are aiming to start a musical theatre program at your school, target donors who have supported band, choir, or other artistic programs in the past.
One of the best ways to encourage more funding for your project is a matching or challenge gift. These challenges involve a major donor or corporate partner pledging to donate a specific amount if the challenge is met, such as matching each donation up to a certain dollar amount or only giving if a specific fundraising goal is reached.
Because these matching challenges often effectively double or even triple the impact of each of your donors’ gifts, more people are likely to give knowing that their money will go further. They also increase a sense of urgency, as many challenges are time-bound. Challenge gifts also lend credibility to your project if a well-known individual or business is publicly backing it.
Learn more about several donation-boosting strategies in this episode of The Nonprofit Podcast:
The good news? All of the tools mentioned above are available on one innovative fundraising platform – Donorbox. Even better? You can get started for free or choose from one of our pricing plans to take your nonprofit to the next level.
Here’s a quick look at the Donorbox features that will help you get the funding you need for your next big project.
Easy to build and even faster to use, our multi-step donation forms are set up for success. Add impact details to your ask amounts, offer recurring giving and designated fund options, and so much more. Plus, you can choose to embed our form on your own website or host it for free on a customized Donorbox fundraising page.
Take your campaign to the next level with the power of social proof and Donorbox Crowdfunding. Unlock tools like a goal meter, donor wall, and social sharing buttons. Plus, enable supporters to subscribe to email updates you can send directly from the platform.
With the flip of a switch, any Donorbox fundraising campaign can become a Peer-to-Peer campaign! Email invites to your supporters asking them to fundraise for you. Or, enable them to sign up with a click of a button. All funds raised via these customizable peer fundraising pages go directly to your parent campaign.
Hosting a fundraising event in support of your project? Sell tickets online with Donorbox Events! Offer unlimited ticket tiers, set up ticket sale limits and deadlines, collect donations on top of ticket sales, and more. Plus, offer promo codes for free or discounted tickets! And you can quickly check guests in with a scan or entry and confirmation of their unique ticket code.
Collect swift cashless donations anywhere and anytime with Donorbox Live™ Kiosk at your fingertips! Donation kiosks are ideal for event fundraising as well as for setting up in high-traffic locations, like your lobby. Simply set up a campaign, download the app to your tablet, and sync with a card reader.
Learning how to raise funds for a project doesn’t have to be difficult! Simply follow the tips and ideas shared here to get started and let your team’s creativity do the rest.
When you’re ready, Donorbox and our innovative suite of fundraising features make capturing the funding you need for your next big project a bit easier. Utilize tools like Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer, Events, and more to take your project fundraising up a notch or two!
And if you’re looking for fundraising tips, actionable advice, and how-to guides, check out our Nonprofit Blog. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get a curated list of top blogs in your inbox each month!
Kara has several years of experience in communications and marketing for nonprofit organizations, with knowledge in social media, email, public relations, event promotion, appeal writing, and more. She specializes in writing and enjoys sharing her expertise and advice with others.
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Kara Schmid