How GoFundMe Works

Start your fundraiser

The first step in starting your fundraising journey is just that – starting your fundraiser. Once you’ve created your GoFundMe account you’ll need to:

• Set yor fundraiser goal. How much are you looking to raise? Remember, this can be easily changed should you meet your initial target.
• Tell your story. Why are you fundraising? Tell your audience about why it’s important to you to raise this money. Maybe it’s for a charity close to your heart, or a friend in need.
• Add a relevant picture or video. This helps to tell your story even further. 
• Watch a video tutorial

Then set your fundraiser live and it’s as simple as that – you’re good to go. If you’d like some more information on how best to hone your fundraising story, take a look at our post on that topic. 

Share with friends

An important part of any successful fundraising journey is sharing your page with anyone you can – friends, colleagues, neighbours! Thankfully in this day and age, the existence of the internet and social media makes this far easier – but don’t forget the value of good old fashioned posters (with a bit of QR code magic!). 

• Send emails. When you’ve got your fundraiser link, email it out to whoever you can! Do a round robin to your family and friends with an introduction as to why you’re fundraising.

• Send text messages. Make use of those group chats and send the link to as many as you can.

• Share on social media. Harness the power of social media with regular tweets, Instagram stories and Facebook posts.
• Watch a video tutorial

We’ve got a blog post on posting your fundraiser on social media if you need more tips, too.

Manage donations

Once you’ve started to see donations roll in, it’s important to acknowledge donations and say thank you when you see them. GoFundMe has inbuilt tools to make this easy, but sending emails or texts with a personalised thanks is always appreciated.

When you meet certain fundraising goals, it’s also a good idea to post updates saying a general thanks. Remember to update on anything to do with your fundraising journey, too – training, offline fundraising events, anything you think is relevant to keep generous supporters in the loop.