One Girl in Australia is one of our favorite nonprofits. They’re running the most creative campaign we’ve seen so far. We had the chance to gather some fundraising advice from Katherine Ong, one of their fundraisers.
Tell us a little bit about who you are.
My name is Katherine Ong, and I’m 30 years old. I’m from Melbourne, and currently, I’m living in Montreal, Canada. I am passionate about social change, and I like to volunteer my time to help instigate change for people less fortunate than myself.
Why did you decide to fundraise for One Girl?
In life, I believe we have choices. This isn’t the case for a lot of girls in Sierra Leone, who might not have these same choices. I choose to fundraise for One Girl because I know that I can help change a girl’s world by sending her to school. By investing in a girl we can help to break the poverty cycle. By educating girls we are not only educating the girl herself but the whole community which can then lead to social change.
What methods did you use to get people to come to your page?
I reached out to my family and close friends first, via email or telephone, to tell them why I’m fundraising and the reasons why it was for a great cause. I sent them links of personal stories since I know this is more engaging. I got them to spread the word to their friends and their colleagues. I also reached out on social media channels, putting up posts on Facebook and Twitter with a link to my “Do It In A Dress” page.
What has been the most difficult part of fundraising?
To be honest the most difficult part of fundraising was coming up with the idea of what to do. Although there are so many options of what to do in a school dress, I wanted to do something slightly different. Once I had my idea down, people were more than willing to hear about what I was doing and why I was doing it.
Any tips you’d like to share with other fundraisers?
I would say to make sure to thank your donors. Often times they aren’t just donating money to your page but they also have the power of word of mouth. This is what brings people to your page. Those who know you, or someone who knows someone that knows you, will be the first to donate. Other than that, I think, believe in the cause you’re fundraising for because this will drive you to reach out to people to let them know that their money is going somewhere that will make a change. My final tip is to have fun with it, if people see that you are doing something fun it inspires them to get involved.
