4 Cost Effective Ways to Increase Awareness of Your Small Charity

It’s not easy being a small charity. There are so many fund raising organisations competing for funds. Large charities have bigger budgets and the means to create impressive campaigns. But small charities can compete. The Movember Foundation started with two blokes having a beer in Melbourne. They found 30 other blokes who were willing to take up the Movember challenge and by 2104 they has raised £402 million and funded 832 men’s health projects.

So how do you increase awareness of your small charity in an overcrowded marketplace? The following are four cost effective methods to help you get started.

Keep a Record

Keep a record of everything you do. Take lots of photos and videos if possible. Invest in a good quality camera for this purpose. This will be a good investment for the future. Then share, share and share some more. Share all your news, campaigns, what your volunteers are doing, your progress etc. Let everyone know about your work and successes.

Social Media

Social Media is a good place to start with sharing content. Set up professional profiles that include links to your donation page. Always use good quality images. Though social media sites are free to set up, they take a lot of time and resource to manage properly. Make sure you take this into consideration. Try and allocate a member of staff to look after the channels but encourage all staff to supply them with regular content.

Check all of your channels daily and respond to everyone, where possible. This is easier in the early stages. It may become harder as your community grows.

Link regularly to your website and provide more detailed articles. Followers can then read a summary and click through for more information. Use images and video content where possible. This will increase your engagement.

Get to know your local bloggers and newspapers journalists and send them regular information about your work. Don’t bombard them though. Check their submission guidelines and if in doubt, ask.

Encourage Your Fans to Promote You

As you build a community and it begins to grow, make sure your nurture it. This will encourage followers to spread the word for you. Make it as easy as possible by providing hashtags and retweeting their posts. Distribute lots of good quality, useful content that people will want to share.

Sell Charity Wristbands

Create your own charity wristbands and sell them at all your events. Silicone wristbands are an inexpensive way to increase brand awareness and raise funds. Ensure they are customised with your branding, colours and contact details. People love wristbands and the more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing they are, the better.

Make sure you opt for a reputable supplier and don’t be fooled by special offers and gimmicks. All wristbands are not created equal. Our silicone wristbands are made from 100% silicone rubber and will last much longer than their cheaper counterparts. Cheap wristbands are often made from a mix of powders. These poor quality bands have ragged edges and will become brittle in a short space of time.

Think carefully about your message and the design. The more beautiful the bands, the more likely people are to wear them and by doing so, they will increase awareness of your cause.

The key to all of this is community. Building a strong, loyal community of supporters will help you to spread your message and achieve your goals. Reward your best supporters by providing them with content and advanced news that can be shared among their own followers. One advantage that small organisations have over their larger competitors is flexibility. Use this to your advantage.