Once they have started their medical fundraising campaign with Help Hope Live, many clients ask us the same question: “What should I do next?”
In this post, we’ll help you answer that question by explaining how to get help from your Client Services Coordinator, customize your Campaign Page, and start reaching out to your community. We’ll also give you a few easy first fundraiser ideas.
We want to help you take the fear out of fundraising. Don’t miss the rest of our Fundraising Roadmap post series.
Step 1: Understand how Help Hope Live can help.
Your Help Hope Live Client Services Coordinator can help you with:
- Editing your Campaign Story
- How to share your campaign with your community, including how to talk about Help Hope Live and why you’re fundraising
- Developing customized materials to support your campaign, like flyers and business cards (we’ll send you the files via email to print or share digitally)
- Requesting additional materials for fundraisers or planned events
- Solicitation letters for local businesses
- Fundraising ideas
- Fundraising event planning guidance
- Discussing the best places to seek support in your community
- Identifying potential fundraising volunteers to become your team members
- Requesting a press release about your campaign
- Understanding how to submit a Fund Request to us
Common question: How can I contact my Coordinator?
You can get in touch with your Coordinator via phone or email.
You will find their contact information in your Dashboard after you log in at helphopelive.org.
Not sure how to navigate around your Dashboard? Use this desktop guide or this mobile guide.
Step 2: Customize your campaign with us.
You’ll want to kick off your campaign by ensuring your Campaign Page tells your story accurately and clearly. Use our tools to:
- Get to Know Your Campaign Dashboard & Editor – for Desktop or for Mobile
- Learn How to Write Your Campaign Story
- Choose Photos for Your Campaign Page
Common question: How do I write and share my personal story in a simple way? Can you write it for me?
We can’t write the story for you since your life is your own! However, your Coordinator can suggest ways to shorten the story, make it easier to read, and help it “pop.” We’d love to proofread and edit your story for you.
Remember, your goal is to make your story easy to understand and follow. You don’t have to tell your entire story in one place.
Here are a few other tips:
- Focus on that one thing that brought you to Help Hope Live. Why did you want to start fundraising?
- Break down complex challenges into simple terms. Keep your language clear and understandable for someone who has no experience with your need or diagnosis.
- Be specific. Illustrate your need with real numbers and/or give specific cost examples.
- Refresh your Campaign Story when you need to. You can update it as often as you want to help show how your needs change over time—even if your need to fundraise remains constant.
Common question: What if this isn’t my first time reaching out for help? For instance, what if I am on a second or third transplant or need a fourth accessible van?
The first thing you’ll want to do is clearly illustrate your current need. Keep in mind that supporters may have no personal experience with what you are facing or why you need it.
Think about parts of your story or your current need that may be hard to understand for someone who has never been there. Help them “get it” by illustrating the what, the when, the how, and the why.
If you can, put in specific costs to help illustrate exactly why fundraising became a part of the story.
Once they understand, they’ll be willing to help, even if it’s your fifth time needing support.
You are worth it, so don’t be intimidated: it is a sign of strength and courage to advocate for yourself. It’s okay to need help and to ask for help.
Once you’ve shared your current need in your Campaign Story, don’t forget to use our Updates feature to continue to talk about your daily life, why you need certain things that insurance doesn’t cover, and how support from your community makes a positive impact (emotional, physical, or financial).
Step 3: Plan your first outreach to your community.
Use our guides (and ask your Coordinator for personalized review) to plan your first fundraising “push” to your community:
- How to Write a Fundraising Letter (can be an email, too)
- Learn how to Share on Facebook, Share on TikTok, Share on X, and Share on Instagram
Common question: I’m nervous about putting my life and story out there, especially on social media. How do I get past that?
Almost every client can relate to those feelings. It’s never comfortable to put your business out into the world for others to see (or judge). You’ve done a lot for yourself, for others, for your community, and for those you love. Now, it’s your time to ask for the help you need.
Here’s a great tip from our Client Services Coordinator Stacia:
“People don’t get your journey unless they’re walking with you.”
To get used to sharing your story, you can start with the places and networks where you feel the most comfortable.
If you have close friend groups or online communities that already know you well, “practice” sharing your story and your need with them before expanding to a wider audience.
Feeling vulnerable, guilty, or reluctant is completely normal when you start fundraising. Our goal is to get you to a place where you CAN feel safe, confident, and comfortable with your fundraising campaign and the communications around it.
Don’t forget to keep variety in the mix! Your story and your medical & fundraising updates are important but remember to still share other kinds of posts and updates, too.
Reshare a post or photo that made you smile. Share an update from a friend or family member. Interact with content that your friends and followers post.
Build your community online by showing your followers that they’ll see a lot of variety from your posts in addition to your most personal updates.
Common question: After I’ve started sharing, how can I continue to get traction?
First tip: Focus on sharing updates and noteworthy moments when you post.
Always share enough of your story (and Campaign Page link) that folks who are motivated can donate in your honor but vary the kinds of posts you share and how you share them.
For example, plan a community letter if you usually communicate via text. Share a video if you usually share text-based updates. If you’re usually a text-based communicator, share a photo and explain why it connects to your need or community.
Second tip: Vary your content and lean into creativity. Look at what others are posting and see if what they do catches your eye or inspires you with a new direction.
You can trust that your supporters can figure out how to donate if they are motivated to do so. Your posts should make it easy for them to visit your Campaign Page, but they don’t have to hinge on driving traffic to the page. It’s about growing engagement, connection, and community.
Third tip: Don’t forget to give others what they need to share on your behalf.
Make it easy: give them a pre-written message or a pre-shared post that they can re-share. Maybe they’d be most comfortable putting up campaign flyers on your behalf.
Ask about and get to know what your top supporters need to feel empowered to get involved or share. Keep in mind that your Coordinator can also work directly with folks who want to support your fundraising efforts.
Step 4: Consider an easy fundraiser like these.
- A t-shirt or other swag sales campaign – the Bonfire platform offers lots of customizable options and connects to Help Hope Live to receive donations
- Participating in annual days of giving – ask your Coordinator about Hope in Action and GivingTuesday
- Small-scale fundraisers – for example, a restaurant percentage-of-sales night, an online auction, a bake sale or car wash, or local donation jars for businesses to display
- Reaching out to businesses for donations or sponsorships with our help and materials
Common question: What are some ways I can reach out to local businesses?
You can ask local businesses to make donations in your honor, provide fundraiser or auction prizes, match employee donations, and more. Locally owned businesses may be willing to donate services to an auction or fundraiser, too. All of these options come with tax benefits for the participating business.
Ask your Coordinator for a solicitation letter.
Lean on Help Hope Live’s one-on-one support and our nonprofit status. You can reach out to businesses equipped with our materials and the confidence that comes from having a legitimate nonprofit behind every “ask.”
Get equipped and empowered, then don’t be afraid to try your luck. It never hurts to ask.
What to Read Next:
- Get additional tips and encouragement from our Ambassadors in this post.
- Learn How to Submit a Fund Request to Help Hope Live so you’ll be ready when the need arises.
- Subscribe to our Latest Updates so we can email you when new fundraising guides like this one are released!
- Read the rest of our Fundraising Roadmap series using the button below:
