What Should My Online Fundraiser Goal Be?

When creating an online fundraiser, it can feel intimidating to actually set your goal of how much to raise. If you have followed any online fundraisers in the past, you know that some fundraisers raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, while others raise maybe $1,000. 

Your goal is to raise enough money to significantly help or pay for your cause and setting the right goal is a part of that. But don’t worry, even if you don’t hit your goal, you still get to keep all of the donations given to your GoGetFunding campaign. So, you really can’t go too wrong. 

If you’re unsure of how to set the right goal for your fundraiser, consider these four tips to help your cause reach its full potential.

This is probably the biggest factor in deciding what you should set your actual online fundraising goal to be. How much money do you actually need for your cause?

Depending on your cause this answer varies. If you’re fundraising for a volunteer trip to help build houses in Puerto Rico and you know the flight is $500 for a round trip and you need another $600 for food and housing, you need to fundraise $1,110. You also need to consider the fees. Check the fees applicable such as site fees and payment processing fees in the FAQ’s section and also include these in your target amount.  

If you ask for too much more than you actually need, it’s ungenuine and donors may question what you actually need all that money for, dissuading them from giving in the first place. 

 If you’re fundraising for a sick family member who is undergoing an expensive medical procedure or treatment, but you don’t know the final costs of the medical bills yet, that’s OK, too. Do some research online or call your loved one’s health insurance company to get an idea of how much money will be needed to pay for the care they need. Then, you can have a general idea of how much you’ll need and can set that as your ultimate fundraising goal. Remember you are able to adjust your target amount at any time during your fundraiser should you need to.

 It’s a great idea to reference what you learned on your fundraising page, so donors have an idea of how exactly their money will be spent. Donors like the idea of knowing things like if your medication costs $400 a month and if they donate $200 they helped you pay for half.

Let’s say you’re raising money for your next-door neighbors who lost everything they own in a house fire. They probably lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of valuable and meaningful items. This is a terrible circumstance and they are worthy of any amount people are willing to give. However, you don’t want to start the fundraiser at $100,000 and press publish.  

Here’s why: there is some psychology behind people’s desire to donate money and when. Donors like to feel emotion and connection to a cause. They want to help, but people are more likely to be  motivated to give money when the cause is close to reaching the goal. The donor feels they were a part of helping achieve that special benchmark.

So, if you set the goal at $10,000, and in 24 hours you’re at $9,020, now is a great time for you to consider increasing the goal to $15,000. This is until you reach the $14,500 mark and then you can raise it again. We promise this isn’t meant to trick donors, after all, you’re fundraising for a good cause. This is just increasing the chances more people give to your worthy cause. 

There’s nothing wrong with starting with a small goal and going from there.

How much you are able to fundraise boils down to how many people you know or are willing and able to reach out to. Yes, we’ve all heard the stories of mystery, anonymous donors who give $50,000 to someone they don’t know. But in reality, crowdfunding is about reaching out to your own crowd such as family, friends and colleagues. Even if they are unable to donate, by sharing your link they are spreading the word and that is how you will start to receive donations from strangers. 

When setting your goal, you should think about how big your network is. If you email the fundraising link out to everyone in your contact book, how many people is that? 200? If those 200 people each gave on average $20, that would be $4,000. So setting a goal of $20,000 seems unrealistic in this scenario.  

You’ll also want to think about your social media network and who else you know that would share the link. Is your college roommate a fashion influencer? If she’s willing to share your fundraiser online, that amplifies your audience. The more eyes on your fundraiser, the more attainable a large goal can be.

The best online fundraising causes elicit emotions from donors, but they also are promoted tirelessly by the creator. If your network is small, but your goal is high, you can circumnavigate this challenge with some effort. 

As the campaign administrator, you can do some extra things to help increase donations to your fundraiser. For example, create a hashtag for your page, so people can follow it or post about it on Instagram, showcasing the greater community supporting and talking about your cause. You’ll also want to post frequent updates to your page to help increase donations, positively taking advantage of the psychology of those who donate when you’re close to your goal. 

Next, you can reach out to local media or local businesses to ask them to feature or promote your fundraiser so more eyes can see it too. Even things such as posters, a video for your fundraiser, or stickers help increase awareness for your cause. Some of these tactics do require some money, such as the stickers, but the goal is to have it pay off in dividends with donations. 

Whether you are raising funds for your own cause, to help a friend or family member or for a charity it should be remembered that while crowdfunding can be very rewarding it does require work. It is recommended that you spend around 3 – 5 hours a week keeping your campaign up to date and promoting your campaign. By considering all of these factors when creating your fundraiser and deciding on your goal, you’ll increase your donations and be well on your way to better financially supporting the cause that’s close to your heart.