Online fundraising trends show that social media is one of your greatest tools for running a successful fundraiser. That applies to individual and family fundraisers alike. For example, GoFundMe’s 2024 Social State of Giving survey found that half of Gen Z share causes or fundraisers at least once a week, with around half of Millennials and Gen X sharing monthly. These online fundraising ideas for social media can help you reach more people, support the person you’re raising money for and inspire your audience to give.
Using social media for fundraising: Seven ideas
Fundraising as an individual might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow the tips on how to fundraise on social media below. They can help you spread awareness about your fundraiser and raise more money.
1. Hop on trending hashtags
No social media fundraising plan is complete without trending hashtags. Adding popular hashtags to your social media posts is an easy way to raise awareness for your fundraiser. Share relevant and inspirational quotes for #MondayMotivation, or old pictures for #ThrowbackThursday. Adding your fundraiser link to those posts is good for your exposure and content strategy. Instagram now caps posts and Reels at 5 hashtags. Splitting them between the caption and the first comment doesn’t add extra slots, so choose your tags deliberately rather than stacking them.
2. Collect photo submissions
Collecting photo submissions is one of the best fundraising post ideas for getting your followers involved. This top fundraising tip is a great way to grow your online presence. If you feature your followers’ content, they will be more likely to share yours. That means more followers for you, which in turn means more eyes on your fundraiser. You can also ask people who submit photos to include a short note about why giving back matters to them.
3. Create your own fundraiser hashtag
Creating a unique fundraiser hashtag is an excellent way to spread the word about your cause and can even help your fundraiser go viral. Keep your hashtag short and do some research beforehand to make sure it’s not already in use. Include your hashtag with every post about your fundraiser and add a call to action encouraging other people to share your post using your hashtag.
4. Choose a theme for your profile
If your organisation or nonprofit is looking to spice things up on social media, try a unique fundraising idea like creating a social media theme. This strategy works on any platform, but it performs best on Instagram. You might post pictures with an overlay of your brand’s colour or only cute pictures of your shelter animals. Either way, a theme keeps your content brand-aligned and recognisable. Keep each photo relevant to your fundraiser, and always link back to your fundraiser page in your bio.
5. Show up on video
It’s no secret that a fundraising video is a powerful tool to help increase donations. Videos make it easy for potential supporters to quickly connect to you and your cause, making it more likely that they will donate. Most major social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram support video, making it easier than ever to personally connect with your supporters. Talk about your fundraiser regularly on Instagram and Facebook stories. You can also use the live feature for a real-time conversation with your audience.
6. Reach out personally
There’s no substitute for reaching out and connecting with any type of supporter individually. That might be a relative, or someone from the community who shares your interests. You can even shorten fundraising email templates to use as inspiration for sending direct messages through social media.
7. Post consistently with a content schedule
Consistency matters more than post frequency on social media. Aim to share an update once a day, planning posts around your fundraiser launch, important milestones, and closing date. Keep your audience engaged by using each update to tell a different part of your story instead of repeating the same donation request.
Focus on the platforms where your supporters already spend time:
- Fundraising on Facebook can reach a broad age range.
- Instagram and TikTok tend to attract younger audiences.
- LinkedIn can work well for professional or community-focused causes.
Choosing one or two platforms can help keep your efforts focused and manageable.
Use social media to drive donations
You now have a few ideas for how to promote a fundraiser on social media to kick-start your crowdfunding efforts. These strategies can help your fundraiser reach more people. For more ways to share your fundraiser without using social media, read our guide to online fundraising without social media. When you’re ready to start, a GoFundMe fundraiser is one way to reach supporters across Canada and abroad.