It’s an age old story. Someone signs up to an event to fundraise for charity with all of the best intentions. They start out excited and motivated, but it stalls and so do they. Often by race day they are nowhere near their fundraising goal and are simply just trying to make it through the activity they’ve signed up for. 

Here are some top tips for keeping your fundraisers engaged all the way to race day.

Send them some goodies

Everybody loves a good freebie and it tends to go a lot further than an email acknowledgment. Keep it branded and matching your corporate personality but receiving a little something in the post, alongside the usual sign up letter, could kick start the ultimate fundraising campaign for a supporter. This is also a great way to show your appreciation. You want your supporters to feel valued (and in turn they might want to try harder for you!).

Put the FUN in FUNdraising

Setting challenges or offering fundraising ideas can be a very quick way to inspire people to keep up with their fundraising efforts. Reminding your supporters that they can enjoy fundraising activities will encourage them to do even more, and keep their mind on the challenge that they’ve signed up for. Send out some ideas that are different to the tried and tested bake sale – there are plenty to find in JustGiving’s Fundraising A-Z.

Countdown to race day

Unfortunately, people have a limited capacity for time control. Days and weeks will slip past without any notice at all and then a flurry of panic-fundraising will occur in the lead up to race day. Countdown reminders will keep them updated about the time they have left to fundraise. Do remember that fundraising can still occur after the event has ended, but a countdown is a great way to start early and avoid last minute panic. You can slip these into emails, social media posts and even on your website.

3 days to go until the #GARow! Are you ready? #rowrowrowyourboat

— GroceryAid (@groceryaid) May 13, 2015

Get social

Continue the communication past the initial welcome pack. Creating a connection between you and your fundraisers will be encouraging for them. This is the social age and the odd tweet or Facebook post could be a push in reminding your supporter that you are still there for them! Publicly communicating with your fundraisers is a great image booster too. A friendly approach could even encourage others to fundraise for you in the future.

Remind them of the difference a little extra can make

Often a little bit more money could mean paying for a bigger item or making a bigger difference. Promoting the real items that are paid for by fundraising can motivate someone to strive to put in more effort. Use rounded numbers and include both small and large targets to include all fundraisers. This can be a great motivator and will often bring the fundraiser back to why they are participating in a race in the first place.

There you have it, five ways to keep fundraisers engaged from sign up to race day.

A little extra effort will go a long way when trying to encourage people to fundraise on your behalf. If a race is enjoyable, people will be much more likely to sign up to another challenge for you in the future.

Download our free Fundraising A-Z for your supporters.