Fundraising is an effective way to gather voluntary financial contributions for philanthropic missions.
Traditionally, individuals, businesses, charity foundations and government agencies engage at physical locations in fundraising events to gather money, typically for not-for-profit causes. Or individuals go door to door asking for donations.
Today, anyone can start a fundraising campaign with a few clicks online.
Do more with less
If you do not have an account overflowing with money, you can still do charity through an online fundraiser. The simplicity of a fundraising process makes social work easy for anyone with the noble aim to help.
All you have to do is fill in some mandatory details in an online form and share the link of the fundraising campaign on your social media handles like Facebook and Twitter. You can explain the motivation behind starting the campaign through a social media post or even a personal message.
Help children value philanthropy
Fundraising can familiarise children with engaging in civic-minded activities from an early age. It will teach them to value being part of a community and helping people outside their immediate circle.
By empowering others, they will empower themselves. They will understand doing good does not often take much effort but only a big heart and determination. When they inculcate these values at a young age, they are more likely to carry on with the attitude into adulthood, thus building a strong sense of responsibility and self-esteem.
Fundraising for awareness and community building
Raising funds for a cause follows the responsibility of doing ample research before starting the campaign. You have to dig information from reliable sources and be able to explain to the audience why they should contribute.
In the process, you learn much about the problems persisting in the world and the creative ways to address them. It pushes you to plan, prioritize, create strategies and see through their execution. When you are in charge of the campaign, it is sure to foster ownership and leadership skills in you.
Moreover, a fundraiser brings like-minded people together and drives them to take action toward a cause close to their hearts. Once the community is built, the members can repeatedly connect and seek out one another’s support for similar goals in the future.
Benefits of online fundraisers for NGOs
Many of the world's biggest concerns like hunger, education and environmental degradation are actively being addressed by 40,000 Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) today.
When you start a campaign with any of these NGOs, it funds their efforts to tackle the problem at the grassroots level. It is because NGOs come with in-depth and years-worth of research and experience for the issues they choose to address. Hence, raising funds with trusted NGOs ensures that the amount collected is utilized for the intended cause efficiently.
One such trusted NGO in India is The Akshaya Patra Foundation which has been working for supporting the nourishment and education of underprivileged children for the past 21 years. It is registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and executes the world’s largest NGO-run school lunch programme. It has served more than 3.4 billion meals so far!
Currently, the foundation is running its flagship school meal programme that supports the Central Government’s PM Poshan Abhiyaan. The NGO in India is also feeding expecting and nursing mothers along with their little children. It is nourishing homeless widows, helping disaster victims and supporting the digital education of marginalized children in Government schools.
Start an online fundraiser with Akshaya Patra
Start a fundraiser: Register or sign in on the website. Choose a fundraising idea, fill in the required details and create a fundraising campaign for a cause you wish to support.
Spread the word: Share the campaign’s link on Facebook, Twitter and other social handles to let your friends know about your campaign.
Explain your motivation: Tell your friends and family how they can help Akshaya Patra by contributing to your campaign. You can even go the extra mile by explaining how it will benefit the beneficiaries.
Be rest assured that from the funds your campaign accumulates, 92% of it will be utilised towards the cause and the rest of it will be used for the programme implementation.
And since “we rise by lifting others” as Robert Ingersoll says,
why not spare a few moments and start a fundraiser today for those who need our help desperately!