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22. You Made it Difficult for People to Contact You with Questions – Never assume that people will find all of the answers to their questions on your fundraising page. Even if you provide detailed information, some people will miss a critical point or will think of something you failed to address. Whenever you are asking people to assist you by donating money online, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to contact you with any questions. Make sure that your email address or phone number is easily accessible, and stay up to date on your emails, texts and voice mails so that you can reply to people in a prompt manner.

23. You Failed to Introduce the Person Who Created the Page – Most potential donors are going to want to know exactly who is collecting money and what they are planning to do with it. For example, if you are launching a fundraiser in order to collect contributions for a friend who has cancer, you need to introduce their story and let people know who you are. It is not necessary to provide your life story, but you should fill out the “About” section with some basic details about yourself and your connection to the campaign. It is also a good idea to post a photograph in this section. After all, people want to donate to other people instead of a faceless cause.

24. You Forget to Update Your Page with Information about Your Participants – You have the ability to update your DonationTo fundraising page as often as you wish. It is a good idea to give a virtual shout out to your contributors by mentioning top donors and people who got involved early on. Not only will this make them feel more appreciated but it will also positively influence their friends and family. Most of the people who donate to your campaign will be directly connected to another contributor, so you want to provide a list of names to make other people feel comfortable about joining in.

25. You Did Not Reiterate the Donation Page Service That You Are Using – A donation website mistake that people often make is forgetting to mention the company name of the site that is hosting their fundraiser. Listing this information will help build user trust, and it will also give them the opportunity to reach out to the appropriate resources if they happen to need technical support. You should also let everyone know why you chose the fundraising platform that is hosting your page. For example, DonationTo has a low fee structure, and this means that you can maximize each contribution.

26. You Failed to Create Tier Level Rewards/Perks – People like to get something in return for their donation. This is the reason that major nonprofits send contributors items such as calendars and bumper stickers. Because you are likely to have a very minimal budget for your campaign, it is not necessary to offer expensive perks. However, you can increase the average donation value by offering various rewards. For example, if a $25 donation comes with a better reward than the $20 mark, most people will end up contributing an additional $5 dollars.

27. You Forgot to Review Your Fundraising Page – As previously mentioned, it is critical to ensure that your URL is working properly before you announce your page. However, this is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to take the time to make sure that the donation process is working and all of your content is in place. Read through your story one more time to correct any typos, and look at all of your images and videos to ensure that they are clear and loading correctly. Always remember that issues such as an improperly configured URL will prevent people from donating.

28. You Failed to Set up a Facebook Event Page – Facebook gives every user the opportunity to create event pages so they can capture a lot of attention for a specific event or cause. Make sure to create one of these events, and invite each of your friends to join in. It will also be important to encourage your family, friends and other supporters to invite people in their extended network. Be sure that you specify that the event is taking place online, and place your crowdfunding URL at the top and bottom of the page.

29. You Forgot to Reach out to the Extended Network of Your Family and Friends – Everyone knows at least one family member or friend who spends an extensive amount of time on social media. These individuals usually have a large network, and this can be extremely beneficial when it is time to raise awareness of a fundraiser. Take the time to reach out to each person you know who fits this profile, and ask them to share your story with their social network. This can include Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, blogging and emailing.

30. You Did Not Share Your Donation Page with the Local School or College – Whether there is a large university or simply a high school in your local area, you should reach out to the appropriate faculty member to get permission to raise awareness on campus. Keep in mind that colleges often have a very large student body, and getting the attention of even a small percentage of these people could lead to a huge quantity of donations.

31. You Did Not Create a Stretch Goal – If you reach your goal early, you should create a stretch goal that encourages people to keep donating. This can be done easily by updating your fundraising page. Do not forget to let people know exactly how you will use the funding if you reach your stretch goal. For example, the stretch goal for a wedding fundraiser could include helping the couple go on a honeymoon.

32. You Failed to Send out Thank You Emails to Your Donors – It is vital that you let people know that their donations are appreciated by sending out thank you emails on a regular basis. This is also the perfect way to keep your momentum moving forward. Do not wait until the end of the campaign to send emails to everyone. Instead, use DonationTo’s one click feature to send thank you emails to each new donor. It is best to do this on a daily basis if possible.