setting up a fundraising page

The best online fundraising sites are easy to use, easy for your supporters to sponsor or donate and the donations come directly to CICRA, along with Gift Aid, so your fundraising can be used straight away to help children with Crohn's and colitis.

Facebook needs no introduction and one click is all it takes to start getting your fundraiser up and running.

JustGiving is very popular and easy to use, and has useful ideas and tips on fundraising.

10 top tips for fundraising

photos help you raise more

Uploading lots of photos is one of the easiest and most effective ways of personalising your page. When your supporters first visit your page, greet them with a picture of yourself. And remember, you can upload up to ten photos, so why not add a few more to really tell your fundraising story. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words, so update your page with new photos to keep your page looking fresh.

set a target and change it

Setting a target is not only a great way of motivating yourself, but it’s also encouraging for your supporters. Letting them know that they are getting you ever closer to your goal may just encourage them to give that little bit more. Plus, there’s no denying how satisfying it is when you see it tip that 100% mark. And then, change it, and see if you can raise more.

tell your supporters what their donations mean

How has CICRA made a difference to you or the person you are supporting with your fundraising? Look at our page on impact and how your fundraising will help others: cicra.org/impact. People love to know the impact of their giving:

• £5 helps a child at school by providing teachers with information on IBD
• £10 supports 5 families with information so children can manage their IBD
• £20 helps campaign to raise awareness about the impact of IBD on childhood
• £40 pays for a child at our Family Day, make new friends and feel less isolated
• £100 for research helps create a new generation of paediatric IBD specialists

tell your story

We think an engaging story can make all the difference. After all fundraising is a story, so use your online page to tell your story. It’s all about letting your supporters know why you’re fundraising and what it means to you. If you’re challenging yourself with an event, let people know how much effort you’re putting in. If you’re celebrating something or someone, tell your supporters why. If they are visiting your page, they must be interested in what you’re doing, so make sure you tell them all about it.

email your contacts in groups and the most likely to be generous first

It’s a great idea to email your family and closest friends first. As your most ardent supporters, they are most likely to support you and get the ball rolling. An empty page might be intimidating for some donors, so having a couple of donations on the page should encourage other supporters. People also tend to match the amounts already listed on the page, and your family and close friends are more likely to get you started with some generous donations.

tweet, facebook, instagram and social media your page

Twitter and Facebook can be incredible for fundraising, helping you reach out to a huge community. Tweet your followers with your link or post on your Facebook and ask people to repost to their followers. The more people that see your page, the more you’ll raise.

put your page in your email signatures

Adding you online giving page URL to your email signature is a quick and easy win in terms of getting your page out there. It only takes doing it once and then every email that you send will raise more awareness of your fundraising and attract more donations.

thank people, again and again

Saying thank you is super important and there are plenty of ways you can say thank you to your supporters. You can update the story on your page, send emails out to your donors, tweet a thank you and update your Facebook status. Let people know how your fundraising went, just what their support has meant to you and what a difference it will make to CICRA.

don’t be afraid to be persistent

Be persistent. It takes more than one round of emails to reach your target. You know what it’s like – people mean to donate, but sometimes they don’t quite get round to it and they may forgot to do it later. Or perhaps when you first emailed them, maybe it wasn’t a great time, but now you’re catching them just after a pay day. Also, remember to thank the people who have already supported you so far and ask if they wouldn’t mind passing on your page to their contacts.

contact local press or social media

A bit of exposure such as a few lines in the local paper or an appeal on your local radio station can really help. If they publicise your page address, it will be really easy for readers and listeners to support you.