How to run a fundraising campaign page for a time-limited appeal
A time-limited appeal raises money because it has a reason, a number and a deadline: a new roof for the hall by March, a minibus before the summer trips. The page carries all three and changes as the campaign moves. To run a fundraising campaign page well, plan the whole arc before launch: the opening story, the updates, the push near the deadline and the thank-you after it.
Decide before you launch
- The target and what it pays for, broken into parts people can picture: "the roof is 60 per cent of the total, the guttering the rest".
- The end date. Four to six weeks is common for a small appeal: long enough for word to spread, short enough to feel urgent.
- What happens if you miss or beat the target. Say it on the page from day one: whether money goes to the project anyway, to the next priority, or is returned. Donors and, for registered charities, regulators expect this to be clear.
- Who updates the page, and on which days.
- Where the money goes. Donations are taken by your own payment provider through a link; Anticode doesn't handle the money.
Build the page
- Describe the appeal: "a fundraising page for a community hall roof appeal, with the story, the target, progress, updates and a donate button". Your own photos of the hall and the people who use it can show in a CMS collection, such as updates, whose image field holds hosted addresses; for photos throughout the page, ask for an app build that uses uploads.
- Write the opening story in the visual editor: who benefits, what's wrong now, what the money changes. Specific beats emotional.
- Show the target and the total so far as plain text near the top: "Raised so far: 4,320 of 12,000, updated Monday 3 November". There's no live counter, so the date tells people how current it is.
- Add the donate button. Create a donation checkout at Stripe Payment Links, PayPal or another supported provider, ideally one that lets donors choose the amount, and point the button at it. The payment link is shared across the account, so every buy or donate button on every site in it opens that same checkout.
- Create a CMS collection for updates, with date, title, body and image fields. Each update gets its own page and the list shows the campaign moving.
- Publish and make a test donation yourself, then refund it.
Running the campaign
| When | On the page | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Launch day | Story, target, total at zero, first update | Announce to your mailing list and local groups |
| Every Monday | New total and date; publish | A short post linking to the page |
| Midway | An update with a photo of progress or a quote from someone who benefits | Ask supporters to share the page |
| Final week | "Five days left" in the headline, via a change request | Reminder to everyone who hasn't given |
| Last day | Final push update | One last message |
| The day after | Closing update and thank-you; donate button removed | Thank donors through your provider's records |
The totals come from your payment provider's dashboard (plus any cash or cheques), and you type them in. Collection updates show as soon as they're saved; the total on the main page changes when you publish. The site's analytics show visits per day by source, which tells you which announcement sent people to the page.
Closing it
Nothing closes by itself: there's no scheduling, so on the day after the deadline, do it by hand. Replace the donate button with a thank-you and the final total, deactivate or archive the donation link at your provider so it can't take money after the appeal has ended, and post a closing update. A few months later, add one more update showing the finished roof. That last post is the best possible start to the next appeal.
Limits
No live totals or progress bar that updates itself, no donor wall drawn from payments, no recurring-donation management on the site, no thank-you emails sent by Anticode, no scheduled close. Tax relief schemes and fundraising rules depend on your country and status: check them with the relevant regulator. For an always-on donation page see online donations for a small charity, and for the design side, donation page.
Questions people ask
Can the page show a live total?
No. Type the total in from your provider's dashboard and show the date you updated it.
How long should a fundraising appeal run?
Four to six weeks suits most small appeals. Shorter feels rushed; longer loses urgency.
Will the campaign close automatically?
No. On the end date, replace the donate button with a thank-you and turn off the link at your provider.
Can I run two appeals at once?
Each account has one payment link, so both would open the same checkout. Run them one after another, or from separate accounts.