Set up a fundraising page

Pages with a fundraising target raise 46% more! If anyone’s on the fence about supporting you, they’re more likely to donate if they can see they are contributing to your goal.

The most important part of creating a good fundraising page is explaining to people why you’re raising money in the first place, and nothing does this quite as well as a personal story and some eye-catching photos.

Talk about your experiences with cleft lip and palate, how this affected you, and how CLAPA has helped you and others. Think about what inspired you to fundraise in the first place – what are you hoping to achieve? What kind of difference could it make?

Make it as personal as you’re comfortable with, and share photos if you can.

Our ‘Your Stories‘ page has some tips on how to do this, as well as some questions and prompts to get you going. You might also like to read over some other fundraising stories to see what’s inspired others like you.

If you’re not so comfortable with writing, why not share a video instead? Jot down a couple of things to talk about, find a good spot to record, and tell everyone why they should support your fundraiser.

Post it, tweet it, WhatsApp it, pop it on your company’s intranet – just get your page in front of as many eyes as you can!

The people you share it with will be interested in your connection to cleft, your journey, and your dedication to fundraising. Take a few good lines from your story to create a short but compelling post that will get people interested enough to click.

Top tip: If you’re on LinkedIn, post it there to round out your profile and maybe even make connections with people in your network who are also affected by cleft.

Keep your page fresh by sharing updates on your training, or your progress if it’s a long-term challenge. Include screenshots from your training or step-counting app if you’re using one.

If your challenge is something you’re training for (like a run), a few out-of-breath photos after your training will do wonders to get people invested in your fundraising. If you’d like to get a CLAPA t-shirt or running vest to use in these photos, visit our fundraising resources page or order yours.

You can also post messages to thank your donors for their support and share how excited you are to be inching closer to your fundraising total!

Top tip: You can post video updates directly to your page. This could be you mid-run, a spontaneous announcement about reaching a fundraising milestone, getting your CLAPA vest delivered… whatever you’re excited to talk about.

Once you’re done, celebrate every penny that was donated to your fundraiser. Make a big, exciting announcement at the end of your challenge or fundraiser to shout about how happy you are with your achievement, and how you’re delighted to have raised what you did. Not only will this make your donors feel proud of supporting you, but it’ll also encourage others to support you in the future if you have any other plans.

Top tip: 20% of donations come in after an event has finished, so keep your fundraising page open while you celebrate to make sure everyone has the chance to support you.