Fundraising Toolkit FAQs

If you haven't already,complete the signup form to get started. You can choose from four fundraising page templates or build a custom page. Please note: You can change the title of your campaign at any time using the edit feature.

Start Fundraising

Creating an Account

Selecting a Fundraiser Type

Making your page unique will encourage more people to donate. Your friends and family may care about wildlife, but above all, they care about you. Explain why you're passionate about saving imperiled species, including pictures and personal stories. If you're fundraising for a race, team competition or memorial, be sure to include details about the event or the person you're honoring. Some information about Defenders of Wildlife is pre-populated at the bottom for your convenience.

On your dashboard, click on the name of your campaign in the menu on the left side of the page, click on "Personalize Page" and click on the pencils next to these items to edit them.

• Top banner image
• Profile picture
• Goal amount
• Headline
• Sub-headline
• Description

Establishing a target dollar amount and deadline will help make your campaign successful. People are more likely to donate to help you meet a goal, and a deadline helps keep you motivated.

If your page is set up for a celebration or race event, use that date! Otherwise, consider how long you can devote yourself to your fundraising campaign. For many people, this is 1-2 months—if you're not sure, shorter deadlines are better to keep momentum.

When you create your account, the dollar amount is automatically set at $500—you can change your goal during signup or any time by editing your page.

Determine an ambitious yet attainable dollar amount you want to raise. Have you helped raise money for an event before? That amount could be a helpful target!

Or you can test your math skills! Imagine everyone you know falls into three groups:

• Your inner circle of very close friends and family
• Your middle circle of good friends, coworkers and family members
• Your outer circle of distant relatives, alumni, social groups and anyone you feel comfortable reaching out to
• Roughly estimate how many people you have in each of the three groups and the average amount they would be willing to give. Then add it up!

Example: (5 inner circle x $40) + (10 middle circle x $20) + (20 outer circle x $10) = $600

We recommend emailing your closest friends and family first. The people in your inner circle are most likely to support you; people you're less familiar with are more likely to donate if they see others have too. Once a few donations have come in, start reaching out to your middle and outer circles (friends, coworkers, distant relatives, social groups, and others).

Creating a plan of action will help you keep on track to hit your target. We recommend starting by donating to your page—people are encouraged to give when they see that someone has already contributed. Then reach out to your inner circle of close friends and family first. They are the most likely to donate, and their contributions will create momentum for other people.

Once you have a few initial donations, contact people you're less familiar with (your middle and outer circles of friends, coworkers, distant relatives, social groups, and others). At the end of your campaign, thank people who donated and follow up with those who haven't yet.

Here is a sample one-month plan:

• Week 1 - set up your fundraising page; gather your list of contacts; reach out to your inner circle.
• Week 2 - thank anyone who donated and ask them to share your page; reach out to your middle and outer circles.
• Week 3 - check-in on your progress to your goal; send an update to everyone and share any relevant news items or information to motivate donations.
• Week 4 - thank everyone who donated; send a final reminder to those who haven't.

Your fundraising dashboard makes it incredibly easy to share your page! As you're writing emails and social posts, always remember to include four things:

• Your personal story and passion for saving wildlife—explain why it's important to you and write in your voice.
• Background on Defenders of Wildlife—show people why you support Defenders and how their donation helps endangered species. (Click here for more information.)
• A direct ask—for example, "please donate today" is more effective than "I hope you'll support me."
• The link to your fundraising page—be sure to double-check!

Before you get started writing messages, you may want to import your email contacts into the dashboard by going to the "Email" tab and clicking "All Contacts" on the left.

To start writing, go to your dashboard and click on the email icon on the "My Page" tab under "Send or Share Messages." A template email will appear, which you can customize. Or you can also navigate to the email tab to start with a blank message.

Before you click send, make sure you've included all four things mentioned at the top of this section!

You can download, fill out, edit, and print this sample letter:

Download: PDF version | DOCX version

From the "My Page" tab on your dashboard, you can click the Facebook and Twitter icons to share on social media; a link to your fundraising page will pre-populate. Remember to be friendly and include your personal story. Add pictures and videos wherever possible. And be sure to use the hashtag #StopExtinction and tag Defenders of Wildlife (@DefendersofWildlife on Facebook and Instagram, @Defenders on Twitter).

You can use these pre-made social media posts and images to help easily promote your WolfPack fundraisers.

Twitter: Help me celebrate! 🎉 There's no better gift then joining me in making a difference for the threatened & #endangered #wildlife I love! Please help me protect these species by donating to my @Defenders fundraiser. Thank you for your support! #StopExtinction

Facebook: Help me celebrate! 🎉 There's no better gift then joining me in making a difference for the threatened and endangered wildlife I love! Please help me protect these species by donating to my @Defenders of Wildlife fundraiser. Thank you for your support! #StopExtinction

Twitter: In honor of my loved one, I’m asking friends & family to make a gift that will help create a better world for #wildlife. Please help me commemorate their memory by donating to my @Defenders fundraiser to protect the future of our wild world. #StopExtinction

Facebook: In honor of my loved one, I’m asking my friends and family to make a gift that will help create a better world for wildlife. Please help me commemorate their memory by donating to my @Defenders of Wildlife fundraiser to protect the future of our wild world. #StopExtinction

Twitter: We're teaming up to save #wildlife! My squad is raising funds to protect threatened & #EndangeredSpecies from disappearing! Donate to our @Defenders fundraiser & your support powers important conservation work! Help us reach our goal! #StopExtinction

Facebook: We're teaming up to save wildlife! My squad is raising funds to protect threatened and endangered species from disappearing, and we need your help! Donate to our @Defenders of Wildlife fundraiser and your support powers important conservation work! Help us reach our goal! #StopExtinction

Twitter: Let's get active to save #wildlife! I’m participating in a race to raise money to protect imperiled wildlife & the #habitat they need to survive. Help me defend these species by donating to my @Defenders fundraiser! #StopExtinction

Facebook: Let's get active to save wildlife! I’m participating in a race to raise money to protect imperiled wildlife and the habitat they need to survive. Help me defend these species by donating to my @Defenders of Wildlife fundraiser! #StopExtinction

Twitter: The #wildlife we share our planet with are in greater danger than ever before. I’ve created a @Defenders fundraiser to protect imperiled #wildlife & the #habitat they need to survive. Your support powers critical conservation work! #StopExtinction

Facebook: The wildlife we share our planet with are in greater danger than ever before. I’ve created a @Defenders of Wildlife fundraiser to protect imperiled wildlife and the habitat they need to survive. Your support powers critical conservation work! #StopExtinction

For people who have not yet donated, send a follow-up email or social post with an update on your progress toward your fundraising goal. Some of your contacts will miss your initial outreach; plus, people are more inclined to donate when you're closer to reaching your goal. Where possible, include news or fun facts to freshen up your message. (Click here for more information.)

The system will automatically track who has donated, so you can easily send thank you emails and reminders. In the dashboard, you can go to "Fundraise" on the left and then "Thank Donors" and you will see a list of people who donated to your fundraiser.

It's important to show gratitude to the people who have donated and follow up with people who haven't.

On the left site of your dashboard, you can see who donated and send a thank-you email—click "Thank Donors," and a template message will populate that you can customize.

In the thank-you note, ask people to share your fundraising page with their contacts too.

This thank you email is already a template message in the thank you email section of you dashboard but you can also download, adapt, and print out this thank you letter:

Download: PDF version | DOCX version

On social media, we recommend tagging the person in a thank-you post to reach their network as well. Challenge them to get one more person to donate too so that they can double their impact.