You've Had A Viral Fundraising Campaign. Now What?

In February 2019, a Polar Vortex hit Minnesota, creating weather conditions that were the coldest the state had seen in 20 years. As the media coverage started to swirl, a viral fundraising campaign happened: the organization I worked for raised over $80,000, almost all of it from $5-$20 donations from Facebook fundraisers created by hundreds of people across the country. Not only did money pour in, but so did hats, gloves, scarves, clothing, and media interviews. It was incredible to see the support of youth experiencing homelessness who often felt (and very much were) forgotten. Much of this was facilitated through social media and digital means, something that the organization had never seen in its history.

A year later, the Executive Director and the fundraising staff approached me and asked me to do it again.

You’ve Had A Viral Moment. Now What?

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Event

It can be incredible to watch money flow into your organization completely unexpectedly. While my organization didn’t have anywhere near the same visibility as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (which raised $115 million during 2014), it was a huge bump in our fundraising that year and helped us do some significant good.

But the fundraising was based on an event and a critical event at that: the Polar Vortex of 2019. People were being bombarded with information that the temperature in Minnesota was set to be colder than on the planet Mars. Social workers, nonprofits, and government agencies were scrambling to figure out how to care for people experiencing homelessness, how to set up warming stations, and working around the clock to keep people safe. As the temperatures began to fall, national TV stations such as NBC were reaching out to organizations like the one I worked for. It was on top of people’s minds and the empathy that people felt for others who had no safe place to go was palpable.

But a year later, we didn’t have that same empathy-evoking event, only the goal of raising funds for general spending. And it didn’t work.

Setting Expectations

Social media can look like the saving grace of an organization. How do you explain to your leadership that this viral moment was lightning in a bottle and probably won’t happen again without another life-threatening or life-changing event? 

This can be difficult. I tried to be direct and clear about what possibilities were available and the possibility that this would not happen again. I tried to explain that, while our purpose and mission was important, it wasn’t as life-and-death as had been previously and that can make it hard for people to feel moved to action.

I tried to explain to our Executive Director and fundraising team that going viral again probably wasn’t realistic, but folks really felt the cause was strong enough to catch fire a second time. I did create a crowdfunding goal on our platform, but we raised less than $2,000 even after a heavy marketing campaign. 

What was different this time? The biggest thing: there wasn’t a major, life-altering event driving urgency. On top of that, we ran the campaign over the summer and asked for support for things that, while absolutely essential for long-term change—like bus cards, tutoring, and education—aren’t typically seen by donors as basic, immediate needs.

Are You Sure I Can’t Create Another Viral Moment?

Sorry, but yes. Did you know that the ice bucket challenge is still ongoing? While it still engages thousands of people and celebrities around the world, it’s never caught on in the same way - though you may have seen that it’s making its rounds on TikTok, this time supporting mental health.Sure, you might not be able to get thousands of dollars in the same way, but you’ve got something that could be even more helpful in the long-term: engaged donors. If you play your cards right and thank and engage these people, you will not keep all of them, but you will be able to possibly keep a number of them. For our organization, that $80,000 mainly came from hundreds of donors. You will not retain them all, but what can you do to retain some? 

In the end, a viral moment can be incredibly helpful in giving a push to your organization. If you’ve had a viral moment, instead of trying to recreate it, do everything in your power to cultivate the new people who now know about the good work you’re doing.

---

​Founder of Fundraising Sol and a fundraising strategist with two decades of experience. She is deeply passionate about relationship building, individual donor work, and supporting nonprofit professionals’ health and wellness to enable them to deliver their best work.