Fundraising Guide

We are grateful for your decision to partner with us to raise funds for our Campaign for Literacy. With your help, we can continue to provide crucial support for adult learners in the Cape Fear region, offering all of our programs and services free of charge. Our campaign goal is to raise over $100,000. We cannot do this without you!

“They believe in my dream. I perceive that they are genuine people. I feel safe in studying there…Since the year I started, I have brought my reading up two grade levels. My confidence has increased.”

Cape Fear Literacy Council Student

How do I build my Fundraising page?

Passionate supporters like you can actively advocate for our programs, making a real difference for adults at the Cape Fear Literacy Council and creating a far wider ripple effect. When someone donates to your fundraising page (your team fundraiser), the funds are added to the total of the Campaign for Literacy, which benefits the overall goal of $100,000.

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Setting Up Your Team Fundraiser

At the Cape Fear Literacy Council, $500 covers a semester of program expenses for one adult learner or the resources for one student to complete their U.S. Citizenship application. These are a few tips to help you run a successful campaign!

1. Set a Goal. Pick a number that you feel is achievable for your personal fundraising goal. The Campaign for Literacy teams are set to a goal of $500 by default – you can keep or edit this on your page once you get a feel for the campaign. Your supporters/team members will be able to see your progress as you get closer to achieving your team goal.
2. Make it Personal. Update your fundraising page with personal touches: Upload a good photo. You can keep the default message informing donors about the campaign or write your own story on why supporting the Cape Fear Literacy Council is important to you. 
3. Make a Donation. Self-donating to your page to get things started – even if it’s small – will show you believe in your own efforts and encourage participation!

Activating Your Network

Use email, social media, and your creativity to spark interest and start engaging your personal network with your fundraising efforts.

• Draft Potential Donor List. Think of people you can count on for support – friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. Start Small and Build. Recruit a few close supporters to donate before you let your network know about your efforts. Having a few donations to start off can make people feel like they are part of an already successful campaign.
• Segment your Donors. For best results, contact your potential donors in the way that is best for them. While sending a group email might be the easiest method for you, a personal letter or phone call to key contacts might be best for them. Lay out your approach and group your contacts by the best form of contact.
• Email. Email drives more donations than social media. If possible, try emailing in small batches, such as 10, instead of larger batches. Making people feel less anonymous will lead to more engagement.
• Social Media. Use your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat to update your supporters about your fundraising campaign, but don’t solely rely on them. Remember to engage supporters in more personal ways.
• Use Numbers to add some Fun! Find a creative way to ask for support using numbers. Set a goal of getting 25 supporters to donate $25. If you have an annual celebration coming up, ask friends and family to donate the number of your age or the year of your anniversary to your campaign.
• Ask, Ask, Ask. People want to support you, but everyone is busy and forgets. Follow up with your supporters, send updates to help remind them of your efforts and personalize your requests.

Keep up the Momentum

Try out some of these tactics to keep your supporters motivated and your fundraising strong!

1. Update Often. Don’t just send out asks; send out updates on your progress. Let your donors know when you’ve reached certain milestones or if there has been an exciting update from CFLC.
2. Check your Progress. Check your fundraising page statistics regularly to understand what’s working.
3. Use Deadlines. Work towards specific dates and milestones to create some urgency and rally support; donors can be more inclined to give if they know there’s an approaching deadline.
4. Thank Them. Be sure to personally thank your supporters, either by email, phone, eCards, or in person; they want to know you appreciate them! Be sure to include an update on the campaign’s progress.

“I’m just tickled … things are really starting to click for (my student). He is able to use tricks that I have showed him and put them together on his own. To get the validation that he was doing so well from his end of year testing was just the icing on the cake.”

Cape Fear Literacy Council Tutor

Messaging Templates

Promotion is key to having a successful fundraiser. Share your fundraiser on your social accounts, and email your supporters asking them to donate. Here are some easily customizable copy+paste sample messages to use throughout your campaign.

Email Template A	Subject: Let’s change lives together! Dear {Name}, I’m raising money for the Cape Fear Literacy Council, and it would mean so much to me if you could support my campaign with a donation. Please Click Here {LINK TO YOUR CFLC FUNDRAISING PAGE} to give. It will take about five minutes, and any donation, large or small, will make a difference. The Literacy Council is a nonprofit that provides FREE language and literacy services to adults so they can change their lives and: – Get better jobs to support their families – Read with their children – Improve digital literacy skills – Earn a G.E.D.® – Become a U.S. Citizen – Register to vote Again, to support my campaign, please Go Here {LINK TO YOUR CFLC FUNDRAISING PAGE} and click on the Donate Now button. I really appreciate your support! {NAME}
Email Template B	Subject: Because everyone deserves access to literacy… Dear {NAME}, I’m reaching out to ask for your help with something important to me. Spreading the word about adult low literacy is the single best way to help gain awareness and much-needed funding for a little-known but prevalent cause. So, I’m emailing everyone I know to ask them to share my fundraising page for the Cape Fear Literacy Council {INSERT LINK TO YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE} with their networks. A social media share on your Facebook, Twitter, or an email to your closest connections would be great and help me so much. If you’re willing to share, can you please send everyone this link: {LINK TO YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE} and ask them to check it out? Every share, and every dollar raised, will make a huge difference. Thank you for your time and support!  {NAME}
Social Media Templates	LAUNCH your campaign with this message: I’m helping to support the programs @cfliteracy by raising $500! Please join me by donating here {LINK TO YOU FUNDRAISING PAGE}. A $10 donation helps provide pencils for the classrooms. UPDATE your supporters with this message: I’m close to reaching my goal of raising $500 to help @cfliteracy provide language and literacy help to adults in need! Will you consider a gift to sponsor me and help me reach my goal? {LINK TO FUNDRAISING PAGE} THANK each donor with this message: Thank you {@nameofdonor} for donating to this important cause – Together, we are helping to change lives of adult learners! ASK for more support with this message: My fundraiser is ending soon– can you help me finish strong and reach my goal? $20 can make the difference! Please sponsor me and donate to: {LINK TO FUNDRAISING PAGE}. CELEBRATE your successful campaign with this message: We did it! With your support, I raised {$TOTAL} and contributed towards helping @cfliteracy keep adult education programs free to those who want to change their lives.