Setting up a fundraiser takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. Here's what each step looks like.
Before you start: You need a GiveSendGo account. See Creating a User Account to set one up first.
Log in to GiveSendGo, open the account menu, and choose My Fundraisers. The account menu lists My Fundraisers, My Impact, Account Activity, Settings and Logout. On My Fundraisers, click Start a Fundraiser. The fundraiser setup will open.
You can create more than one fundraiser with the same account. Each one appears as its own card on My Fundraisers, with its own Manage button.
If you have an unfinished fundraiser, My Fundraisers shows Draft in progress and the button reads Pick up where you left off instead of Start a Fundraiser. Click it to continue where you stopped.
On the first step you'll see Where will the fundraiser funds be going? Select the country where the fundraiser funds will be received.
This is the most important decision you'll make during creation. It determines which currencies and bank accounts are eligible for transfers, and it cannot be changed after the fundraiser is created. If you select the wrong country, you'll need to create a new fundraiser with the correct country selected.
Check the Countries Supported on GiveSendGo list before you start.
If the recipient's country isn't supported: You may designate a trusted individual in a supported country to receive the funds on their behalf and transfer them outside of GiveSendGo.
Choose your fundraising goal amount. You can set it as:
You can update your goal at any time after publishing. If you'd rather not display a goal at all, you can hide it from your fundraiser settings once the fundraiser is created.
You'll also see an option to pledge a percentage of funds raised to support GiveSendGo's mission. This is optional and can be adjusted at any time. Learn more in Supporting GiveSendGo.
Select the category that best fits your fundraiser. Don't stress about getting it perfect, just pick the closest match. Category won't affect your fundraiser's visibility or success, and you can update it later.
Important: Only select Political Campaign if you're an electoral candidate fundraising for a specific office. This category adds FEC-required giver fields (occupation, employer, employer address, residential address), and gifts to non-candidate fundraisers in this category will be declined or refunded. See Running a Political Candidate Fundraiser on GiveSendGo before selecting it.
You'll be asked how you want to create your fundraiser's title and story:
AI Assistant: MICA, our AI assistant, writes a first draft based on a short description you provide. In the Your Response field, describe your fundraiser in your own words (between 100 and 1,000 characters). Include who the funds are for, what they'll be used for, and what's at stake. With the AI Assistant, the progress counter on screen reads 8 steps instead of 6, and the last three steps are:
Fill in the details: MICA shows the title it came up with and asks whether you like it. Click Use AI generated title, or click I will create my own title and type your own in Fundraiser Title (up to 50 characters).
Your story is the heart of your fundraiser. Share why you're raising funds, who it will help, and how gifts will make a difference. Be clear, specific, and honest.
Upload a photo or paste a video link for your fundraiser. A photo or video is required to publish.
For more detail on media, see Adding Images and Videos to Your Fundraiser.
When you're done with all the steps, click Finished. A message confirms your fundraiser has been created and offers Publish Now or Publish Later. This is the same message whether you used the AI Assistant or wrote it yourself:
For more on publishing and unpublishing after launch, see Publishing and Unpublishing Your Fundraiser.
Once your fundraiser is published, add a recipient to designate who will receive the funds. This step is required before any transfers can be processed. The recipient must be 18 or older, live in the fundraiser's country, and have a bank account in that country. See Adding a Recipient to Receive Funds for a full walkthrough.
For more on making your fundraiser effective once it's live, see Tips for Creating a Successful Fundraiser.