17 Easy Church Fundraising Strategies for Social Media
(That Work Immediately)


Fundraising for your church can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be a tribulation. With a few easy steps, any church fundraiser can become a stunning success.

Think of all the good that money could do for your church! There are a lot of small church fundraising ideas out there, but these are the cream of the crop.

With that in mind, here are 16 actionable strategies you can use on social media TODAY with Facebook and Twitter to make your church’s fundraiser the best it can be.

Try them out and watch your church fundraiser become a smashing success.

1. Capture Supporters’ Attention with a Fundraising Event 

You can’t raise funds if no one knows about the fundraiser. Fortunately for you, that’s not going to be a problem!

On your Facebook account, create an event for your fundraiser. Upload some appealing photos of your church or its congregation. Write out a brief description of what the fundraiser is and what it benefits.

List the start and end times so people know the time frame, whether your fundraiser is a daylong event or something that spans weeks. Invite all of your Facebook friends, no exceptions. Set it so that people can invite their friends, and encourage them to do so.

Keep an active presence on the event page, and quickly answer any questions people may have.

A Facebook event advertising a color run.

2. Recruit Tons of Supporters with a Cause Page

Create a cause page, which is an easy way to not only spread the word about your fundraiser, but to attract the attention of other pages that can help publicize it.

 Invite your friends to Like your cause page. Like other cause pages similar to your own.

You can also use Facebook’s “Insights” feature, located at the top of the page, to monitor how well your posts do. Consider the posts and their stats carefully.

Try to make more posts that emulate your successful ones and analyze why others might not have done as well.

A Facebook cause helps get the word out about worthy endeavors.

3. Keep Posting to Turn Facebook Friends into Supporters

Post on Facebook for the duration of the online fundraiser.

Once every two or three days is a good rate, because that’s enough to maintain momentum, but not enough to make your online friends feel nagged or overwhelmed.

Try not to post more than once per day for event or cause pages, and once every few days on your personal page.

 Don’t beg for support. Just ask nicely and try to have fun, as people can tell when what you’re doing is a chore.

Start with a post announcing the fundraiser that gives all pertinent information and invites others to participate, as well as encourages them to spread the word.

After that, continue with reminder posts, as well as the sort discussed throughout this guide (personal stories, progress reports, etc.). Encourage everyone to Like or share the posts.

Be sure to attentively answer and questions and reply to comments!

A bake sale advertisement on Facebook.

4. Multiply Your Fundraiser’s Exposure with Friendly Sharing 

You want the whole world to know about your fundraiser, and with this step, you’ll come as close as you can get. On your personal page, write a Facebook post linking to your fundraising event.

In the post, politely encourage everyone to share, emphasizing that every single share is important and helps make a difference. Do this more than once!

Try something like this:

“Hey, everyone! You’re probably aware that I’m helping to raise money for Trinity Baptist Church. So far the response has been great. It’s wonderful to see that there are so many people out there willing to give to such a worthy cause. But we’re not done yet, and could use all the help we can get! We’d appreciate it if everyone could help spread the word about our fundraiser by sharing one of our messages, or by inviting people to our event page. Each and every share helps!”

You could also ask each friend to message the event to other friends. If you’re comfortable doing so, ask each of them to message five of their friends about the fundraiser. It won’t be long before the word has spread well outside of your church’s area to hundreds or even thousands of people!

An adorable bunny that can easily multiply.

5. Tell Your Story and Tug Your Supporters’ Heartstrings 

Nothing moves people to help out like a good story.

That’s why you should write a narrative about your involvement in the church, or the church itself. Make it a personal story that illustrates how much good your church has done and will continue to do.

Make your narrative a few paragraphs, but keep it short that others will be willing to read the whole thing. Think about the people you are appealing to and craft the narrative to appeal to them. Talk about the companionship, the community, the church’s staff and message. Be sincere.

Topics could include how the church helped strengthen your faith, how your family grew closer through church activities, how the church has helped the disadvantaged, or any other positive impact it has had.

Example: “I’d like to tell you why I’m so passionate about Trinity Baptist Church. My family started attending four years ago. We had just moved to town and didn’t know many people. But the church treated us like family from day one. It was instantly clear that we were part of a very special community. Pastor Smith couldn’t be a better leader, and we could always look forward to a beautiful sermon that boosted our commitment to our faith. I love this church, and that’s why I’m asking for your support with this fundraiser.”

If you or someone involved with the fundraiser has video equipment, consider making a video that tells the story and promotes the fundraiser.

Post the video on Facebook and YouTube and share it as you would a written story.

A graphic reading "Tug at the Heartstrings"

6. Stay Positive to Produce Positive Profits

Keeping your posts upbeat and positive is a great way to encourage people to help.

People use social media to have a good time and interact with others, and your positivity can play a role in that, which in turn makes them more likely to support your cause. Think about how to make your posts shine with sunny energy.

Instead of, “We are still raising funds for the church. Click below to go to our online store,” you can write, “Our fundraiser is still going strong, thanks to all of you! There’s still time to help us reach our goal. All you have to do is click below to go to our online store.”

See how just a little bit of positivity can go a long way?

A graphic featuring several positive notes.

7. Collect Even More Fundraiser Supporters with Instant Messaging Outreach

Don’t expect that everyone will see your Facebook posts. Invest a little time to ensure everyone knows what you’re doing.

Take a look at who has responded to your fundraising call and who hasn’t. Note those who haven’t and send them a personal message. 

You can send these to personal friends and family, or even administrators for similar pages who are likely sympathetic to what you’re trying to accomplish. Keep it brief, friendly, and low-pressure.

Here’s a sample script:

“Hi, Mary! I don’t know if you saw my post about it, but we’re having a fundraiser for our church’s mission trip to Haiti. We’re selling delicious homemade cakes and pies. They’re terrific, and the money goes to a great cause. I’d be so grateful if you would consider sharing my Facebook post in order to spread the word.”

A Facebook instant message.

8. Pretty Pictures Pickup Purchases

Be sure to add pictures to your posts!

These help establish a connection with supporters beyond simply being aware of the fundraiser. If they can see who and what the fundraiser is for, it takes the fundraiser from a concept to something tangible.

With pictures, they can see the building, the congregation, the product or service being offered, and more.

These pictures are a key piece of the puzzle to establishing a personal bond with supporters, even if you’ve never met them before.

Don’t be afraid to get creative; if you’re fundraising for a mission trip, include some pictures of the destination, or of a previous mission trip. If you are selling flowers, post a picture of a beautiful bouquet. If you’re have a bake sale, put up a picture of some delicious baked goods.

If you have a talented photographer assisting with the fundraiser, ask if they’d be willing to take some outstanding pictures for the promotion.

Let people see that their support genuinely helps out!

A bake sale with delicious desserts.

9. Report Your Progress to Motivate Stragglers

Keep everyone apprised of the fundraiser’s progress.

Seeing the fundraiser move along brings pride to those who’ve participated, and encourages those who haven’t to chip in. Discuss how much the fundraiser has earned so far, as well as how far you need to go.

As your fundraiser gets closer to its end date, let people know that they only have so long to contribute. If the fundraiser has yet to hit its goal, emphasize how much any new supporters would be helping out.

Here’s a sample progress post:

“It’s the tenth day of our fundraiser, and it has been going great! We’ve made $1000, which is halfway to our goal. But we’ve got another $1000 to go, and have another week left, so we could use your help! Every bit helps, and so does every share.”

A picture update on a fundraiser.

10. Offer Rewards to Draw in Lots More Supporters

As much as people care about doing a good deed, it helps to offer them a direct benefit.

Be sure to let supporters know that by participating, they’ll gain more than the immense satisfaction of doing a good deed. In your posts and comments, be sure to devote a sentence to any reward beyond satisfaction.

If you’re selling pies, talk about how delicious they are. If you’re holding a raffle, discuss the high desirability of the prizes. If you’re hosting a carnival, talk about how much fun the attractions will be for the whole family.

Don’t forget to post some appealing pictures to fully sell the deal!

An image advertising a pie auction for church fundraising.

11. Spend a Little Money to Make a Lot of Money

Facebook allows users to spread their posts through paid advertising.

This doesn’t have to break the bank, as you can get Facebook ads for as little as $1! When you put money towards a post, it is guaranteed to get viewers by prioritizing your post in their feeds.

To “boost” a Facebook post, click on the blue Boost Post button on the bottom right of your post. From there, you can choose from a variety of options to make the boost more effective, such as targeting people based on their location, age, and interests.

Think about the kind of people in your church and target accordingly.

A graphic featuring the potential reach of Facebook's advertising.

12. The Power of #Hashtags

Facebook and Twitter both allow for hashtags on public posts. These allow people searching for your topic a chance to see your post.

This means more shares and more supporters! An image demonstrating a number of social media hashtags. There’s practically no limit to what you can use for hashtags.

First, make sure your posts are set to Public on Facebook or that your Twitter account isn’t private.

There are obvious ones such as “#fundraiser” and “#churchfundraising,” and while you should use those, you’ll also want to get creative.

Try hashtags that incorporate your goal, location, church denomination, and more. Research the hashtags beforehand by typing them in the social media platforms. Try creating your own hashtag and encouraging your supporters to use it.

For example, if the Trinity Baptist Church in Jackson is hosting a fundraiser, you might try a hashtag such as #TrinityJackFR or #TBCFundraiser.

An image demonstrating a number of social media hashtags.

13. Tweet Your Way to New Supporters

Facebook is perhaps the most powerful fundraising tool on social media, but don’t neglect Twitter.

The nature of Twitter (140 characters per post) requires pithy messaging that gets attention while making your point.

Make sure your tweets get to the point.

Use hashtags and “mention” mention others by writing their username (ex: “@RadaCutlery”).

Apps such as TwitLonger allow for extended Twitter messaging.

With Twitter, you can feel free to post more often than on Facebook, as the platform encourages frequent and even repetitive activity.

A graphic feature images of the Twitter bird.

14. Post Thank You Notes to Gain Loyalty

People universally love feeling good and being recognized for achievements and good deeds.

Praising supporters for helping encourages others to help out with the fundraiser so they can be recognized, too.

On your Facebook page, consider a thank you note like this:

“Many thanks to Kathleen for her help with our fundraiser. She generously donated $40 to the cause, money that will do a lot of good!”

Of course, that’s just a sample. You don’t want to use the same script every time. Show people you care by changing it up! Here’s what another might look like:

“I’m so proud of Tom for helping out our fundraiser. He has gone to our church for over 20 years, and put $50 towards the mission trip. Our church is truly blessed to have people like Tom in its community.”

A Facebook thank-you note that motivates and rewards supporters.

15. Pick up Followers with Properly Punctual Post Times

Post at certain times to ensure better results.

Studies have shown that Thursday and Friday are the ideal times for posting, so save any especially important posts for then. 1 PM and 3 PM are the best times for shares and clicks, respectively.

You’ll want to avoid any posts outside of 9 AM to 8 PM, where people are likely sleeping or done with social media for the night.

Apps such as HootSuite allow you to schedule posts, so you can get them ready in fewer sessions.

Be sure to consider your target audience, too. A younger crowd, for example, would be much more likely to see posts at a later hour than an older one.

A picture of several beautiful clocks.

16. Utilize Church Social Media for a Broad Reach

Your social media accounts and those of your supporters can do a great job of spreading the word.

But if you’re not using your church’s account, you’re missing out on tons of potential views! If possible, any church social media accounts in announcing and promoting the fundraiser.

Treat it differently from your own account, as you’re speaking for the church itself. If you are unable to operate the account, meet with whomever does. If your church has them, consider using YouTube, Instagram, Google +, and Pinterest in addition to Facebook and Twitter.

Talk to them about social media fundraising strategies and try to enlist them to help with the fundraising campaign. 

A graphic illustrating various social media platform logos.

17. Ask Your Supporters for Advice for Maximum Engagement 

You don’t have to offer a one-sided conversation over your fundraiser.

People love being asked for feedback, as it shows respect for their opinions and experiences.

There are several ways to encourage this sort of participation.

You can ask a question about your fundraiser or a related topic, ask people about their experiences with the church or your fundraising products, ask for photos, ask for fundraising ideas for church youth groups, and anything else that you think will engage your supporters.

A graphic that asks people to share their positive experiences with church camp.

 Bottom Line for Your Fundraiser

Whether you use one, two, ten, or all 17 of these tips is up to you.

We recommend trying as many as possible for the best results.

Whether you’re just starting your fundraiser or have wrapped it up, please take a moment to leave a comment.

We’d love to know what you think, or how these techniques have worked for you!

The tips above all work wonderfully when used with Rada Cutlery’s Internet Fundraising. Just go to the Rada Internet Fundraising site, sign up your group, tell your social media followers, and watch the profits roll in!

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