• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
rallyUp logo

RallyUp

Online Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations

Get started
    RallyUp Menu logotype
  • Platform
    • Overview MenuOverviewLearn about our do-it-all platform and discover how it draws donors to your cause
    • Case Studies MenuCase StudiesInvestigate organizations that have raised large funds with RallyUp and find out how
    • Custom Branding MenuCustom BrandingCreate a unique branded page highlighting your organization’s identity in a few simple steps
    • Security MenuSecurityKeep all your data safe with our robust security and SOC 2 compliance
  • Experiences
    • Raffles MenuRafflesBuild enthusiasm and raise more funds with Raffles that make it fun to give
    • Livestreaming MenuLivestreamingBuild an immersive virtual event by adding a Livestream with donation-based activities
    • A-thons MenuA-thonsEngage your donors by creating any A-Thon with an effortless setup
    • Peer-to-peer MenuPeer-to-peerTurn your biggest supporters into your biggest fundraisers and attract new donors
    • Auctions MenuAuctionsWow donors by creating stunning Auctions with customizable automation
    • See All activities & features
  • Who We Serve
    • Local Nonprofits MenuLocal NonprofitsRun local fundraisers that inspire huge community support for your cause
    • Sports Teams MenuSports TeamsConvert fans into donors to raise funds and team spirit
    • National Nonprofits MenuNational NonprofitsMaster every campaign with a powerful suite of tools for any size fundraiser
    • Religious Organizations MenuReligious OrganizationsBuild custom fundraisers that best suit your organization’s voice and needs
    • Corporate Giving MenuCorporate GivingLeverage flexible fundraising solutions for corporate social responsibility programs
    • Marketing Agencies MenuMarketing AgenciesExceed client expectations with branded fundraising experiences that captivate
    • Schools MenuSchoolsEmpower your community with experiences they can easily create and share
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • Watch a Demo
  • Get started
Home » Blog » The Impact of Fundraising Thermometers (Bonus – Get One Free!)
Fundraising Thermometerr

Design & Branding, Fundraising By Evgeny Redjebov | 8 min read

The Impact of Fundraising Thermometers (Bonus – Get One Free!)

Whether you’re new to fundraising or are a seasoned expert, you’re probably familiar with the concept of fundraising thermometers. Most people recognize fundraising thermometers when they see them attached to prominent in-person or virtual fundraising campaigns. Still, there’s a lot of confusion around when and how they can be used to boost fundraising efforts.

This article will answer the questions:

  • What is a fundraising thermometer?
  • When should fundraising thermometers be used?
  • Who should use a fundraising thermometer?
  • How to ensure my fundraising thermometer sets me up for success?
  • How can I get a fundraising thermometer?

It will also share the dos and don’ts of using a fundraising thermometer and explore how you can use a fundraising thermometer to boost donations during your next fundraising experience!

What is a Fundraising Thermometer?

A fundraising thermometer, sometimes called a fundraising goals tracker, a donation thermometer, a charity thermometer, or a fundraising chart, is a visual representation of your fundraising goal that ‘fills up’ as you receive more donations. While each fundraising thermometer might look slightly different in shape, size, and design, they all provide a clear visual of how much money has been raised towards an organization’s goal. When zero dollars have been raised, the thermometer is empty; when the goal has been reached, it’s full. As donors give, they’ll see their contribution raise the thermometer in proportion to have much they have towards the goal. Fundraising thermometers are important because they provide a quick, visual look at your fundraising campaign’s health. Donors want to be a part of something big so, when they see a fundraising campaign with a rapidly rising thermometer, they’re more likely to give.

example of fundraising thermometer
RallyUp fundraising thermometer

When should fundraising thermometers be used?

Fundraising thermometers have been used for generations to help organizations of all sizes reach their fundraising goals. In general, fundraising thermometers should be used when an organization has a set goal and is actively fundraising to achieve it within a specific period of time. Fundraising thermometers should not be used when there is no particular goal or no specific campaign. While it can help organizations internally track how much money they need to raise overall in a year, for example, a fundraising thermometer would not be the best way to track how much you’ve raised and how much you still need to raise. If, however, you have a month or months-long campaign with a specific goal and a specific end date, a fundraising thermometer may be a great way to track progress and motivate your current and potential donors to give.

person standing next to a donation thermometer

Who should use a fundraising thermometer?

Organizations and nonprofits of any size can use fundraising thermometers. Whether the goal is $1000 or $10,000,000, fundraising thermometers can provide the motivation needed to help donors keep giving. Fundraising thermometers should not be used by organizations that do not have a clear goal in mind or that do not plan to actively work to raise the funds they need to meet their goal.

How to ensure my fundraising thermometer sets me up for success?

When deciding to use a fundraising thermometer, organizations want to be sure that they’re doing everything they can to boost its effectiveness and help them raise more money. Follow the tips below to ensure you are on the right track.

  1. Don’t start on empty

When organizations consider adding a fundraising thermometer to their fundraising experiences, one of their biggest concerns is what to do if they’re not raising as much money as they’d hoped as soon as they had hoped. No one wants to broadcast to their supporters that they’re not raising as much as they’d hoped.

Organizations can avoid this problem but running a precampaign that ensures that their thermometer won’t ever appear empty to external donors. To run a successful precampaign, sometimes called a soft launch, you’ll need to identify a specific subset of supporters and donors who understand how vital their contributions will be and create a specific road map towards success for them to follow. You’ll also need to identify a manageable but aggressive precampaign goal as you’ll want to raise 20%-30% of your overall goal during this precampaign period. Often board members, internal stakeholders, and other large donors will form your supporter base for your precampaign.

Once you’ve reached your precampaign goal, you can launch your full, public campaign with confidence that you already look like a winning organization. Starting with money already raised helps your organization appear successful and trustworthy and allows later donors, who often give in smaller increments, to feel like they’re a part of something big.

  1. Make it ultra-sharable

The whole point of a fundraising thermometer is to show your donors that you’re making progress towards your goal, so you’ll want to be sure it’s easy to read, easy to spot, and easy to share. Your fundraising thermometer should take a prominent place on your fundraising page to ensure that it’s easy to spot and should update automatically so donors can see their contributions, making a difference in real-time. You’ll also want to be sure that your campaign page is easy to share so that donors can spread the word to their friends and family.

  1. Find additional ways to motivate donors

While a fundraising thermometer can help motivate your donors from the early stages through the very end of your campaign, simply having one on your page won’t single-handedly make your fundraising experience a success. To raise big funds, you’ll need to find additional ways to motivate your donors. Before you launch your campaign, consider all the ways you communicate with potential and current donors and how you can utilize these communication channels to motivate them to give. Often, organizations have success appealing to donors through email or social media or, more traditionally, with a letter.

Before you launch your campaign, you’ll also want to consider making it possible for donors to give in various ways that meet their individual needs and desires. For example, organizations can host a fundraising sale that allows donors to shop for friends and family, a raffle, which will enable donors to give a set amount for a chance to win a desirable prize, and a live fundraising event that encourages engagement and participation. With a mix of ways to give and get involved, more donors will find a way to give that works for them.

Other fun ways to boost engagement and excitement and motivate donors to give include offering prizes and incentives, putting a spotlight on your donor’s generosity with a public thank-you shout-out, or encouraging donors to spread the word about the organization they love with the option to raise money on your behalf through peer-to-peer fundraising.

  1. Stay Flexible

So, what happens if you reach your goal before your campaign end date and your fundraising thermometer fills up? Should you end your campaign early and call it a day? No! While you might worry that a full fundraising thermometer might work against you, in reality, it shows your donors that you’re good at what you do and that other people believe in you too. If the goal is reached early in the campaign, you can simply adjust the goal, make the top of the thermometer a little higher and keep on fundraising.

While it’s valid to be concerned about reaching your goal too early, doing so is much better than the alternative of not reaching your goal at all. Most organizations avoid this issue by working hard to set a realistic goal that they plan to exceed by just a little bit by the end of their campaign. To set a realistic goal, look at what past campaigns have raised, think about what you’ll do differently and who you’ll engage, and lay out a clear map of how you plan to encourage donors to give. Look at the range between what you know you’ll raise and what would be a real stretch goal, and set your campaign goal right in the middle. Having an achievable goal helps people feel good about giving and, remember, you can always adjust upwards if you meet your original goal early.

How can I get a fundraising thermometer?

Now that you know how valuable fundraising thermometers are and how to use one to help engage your donors and boost your total donations, you’re probably wondering how to go about getting one for your next fundraising experience.

Luckily, getting a fundraising thermometer for your fundraising experience is easy and completely free with RallyUp. You can learn more about all of RallyUp’s features and about how to ensure your progress bar takes center stage.

Create a free account to see how RallyUp can help you reach your fundraising goals.
Get Started

About the Author

Evgeny Redjebov

Evgeny is the Head of Marketing at RallyUp. He lives in Canada, where he spends most of his time removing snow. He also has years of experience in helping nonprofit organizations grow their supporter base.

Footer

RallyUp Logo White

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Address
Tucson, Arizona

Product

  • How it works
  • Watch the Demo
  • All features
  • Integrations
  • Affiliate Program
  • Pricing

Experiences

  • Raffles
  • A-Thons
  • Auctions
  • Events
  • Sales
  • Sweepstakes
  • Crowdfunding
  • Donation pages

Who We Serve

  • Local nonprofits
  • National nonprofits
  • Corporate giving
  • Marketing agencies
  • Schools
  • Sports teams
  • Religious organizations

RallyUp

  • About
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Knowledge base
  • Blog

Copyright © 2022 RallyUp.com, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Security
  • Accessibility Statement
We use cookies to make your website experience better. See our privacy policy ACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT