How do you fundraise inclusively for education?

1 Know your audience

Before you start planning your fundraising campaign, you need to understand who your audience is and what their needs, interests, and preferences are. This means doing some research, listening, and engaging with your potential donors, beneficiaries, and partners. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, social media, or other methods to gather feedback and insights. The goal is to identify the gaps, opportunities, and challenges that your audience faces, and how your fundraising project can address them.

2 Define your goals and values

Once you have a clear picture of your audience, you need to define your goals and values for your fundraising campaign. What are you trying to achieve, and why? How do your goals align with your mission and vision as an organization or educator? How do your values reflect your commitment to DEI? Your goals and values should guide your fundraising strategy, messaging, and activities. They should also be transparent and communicated clearly to your audience, so they can trust and support you.

3 Choose your channels and methods

The next step is to choose the channels and methods that you will use to fundraise for education. There are many options available, such as online platforms, events, grants, sponsorships, crowdfunding, or peer-to-peer fundraising. You should consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and how they fit with your audience, goals, and values. You should also think about how to make your channels and methods accessible, inclusive, and engaging for your audience. For example, you can use different languages, formats, media, or incentives to reach and appeal to different groups.

4 Tell your story

One of the most important aspects of fundraising for education is telling your story. Your story is what connects you with your audience, and what inspires them to donate, share, or participate in your campaign. Your story should showcase the impact and value of your fundraising project, and how it relates to your audience's needs, interests, and aspirations. Your story should also highlight the diversity and inclusion of your project, and how it benefits and empowers different communities and learners.

5 Build relationships

Fundraising for education is not a one-time transaction, but a long-term relationship. You need to build trust, loyalty, and engagement with your audience, and show them that you appreciate and value their support. You can do this by providing regular updates, feedback, and recognition, and by creating opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and involvement. You can also ask for their opinions, suggestions, and testimonials, and use them to improve your fundraising project and strategy.

6 Evaluate and learn

The final step is to evaluate and learn from your fundraising campaign. You need to measure and analyze the results and outcomes of your campaign, and compare them with your goals and expectations. You need to identify what worked well, what didn't, and why. You need to also assess how your campaign contributed to DEI, and what impact it had on your audience and beneficiaries. You need to use the data and insights that you collect to celebrate your successes, acknowledge your challenges, and plan your next steps.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?