I’ve been working with the critical bereavement service “Sudden” for the past six months and we’ve had tremendous success using social media as a tool to increase not only awareness but financial support for their vital services.

A report from Facebook recently stated that over $5bn had been raised to date using their donation tools across Facebook and Instagram. They also shared some tips on how to how to maximise your fundraising efforts.

MAKE IT PERSONAL – if you have a personal connection to the cause, share why it’s important to you.
– For Sudden, just about everyone has been affected by Covid this past year so our messages easily resonated.

MAKE IT VISUAL – use of considered but clear imagery both in channel headers and posts.
– For Sudden, we were able to share videos, photographs and blogs of people affected by a sudden bereavement and telling their story in their own words.

DRIVE ACTION – explain what you want to accomplish and be specific on the impact.
– For Sudden on our donation page, we explain that:
£20 pays for our bereavement handbooks to reach 8 families.
£50 provides caseworker support for a bereaved family for a week, helping with emotional and practical issues.
People are very willing to support us, but being able to clearly show how their donation will be spent does help.

SAY THANKS – thanking donors big and small is critical and if you can encourage them to share that they’ve supported, even better as this helps to raise further awareness of the cause.
– For Sudden, we’ve thanked larger organisations and individuals across our social media channels and for some we’ve been able to create a blog telling more about their efforts and why they chose to support Sudden.

*** Sudden is run and hosted by Brake, the road safety charity