How long does it take to set up a campaign?
To be able to answer that question we have to define what is a campaign.
Generally, every campaign is divided into four stages:
1. Campaign page setup
2. Human recruitment
3. Marketing
4. Fundraising
CAMPAIGN PAGE SETUP:
To set up a campaign page you will need to enter the basic details of the campaign (goal amount, matching format, etc.), the organization details, and create the gateway. Not to worry, we are going to be guiding you at every step!
If you have all the necessary information on hand, this stage could take 1-2 hours to complete and the campaign page should be ready.
HUMAN RECRUITMENT:
To have a successful campaign we want to make sure to have the largest network possible involved in the campaign, such as:
- Volunteers (to make phone calls during the campaign)
- Team leaders
- Ambassadors
We estimate between 2 to 4 weeks to recruit the necessary crew for a campaign.
MARKETING:
The marketing applies creativity, and creativity could not be rushed :)
The writer will meet with the organization to understand the general role of the organization and the focus of this specific campaign. They will get back with a creative direction(CD) and only after the CD is approved it will move to the designer to create the design template.
It typically takes about 2-3 weeks to get the final design ready to be shared.
FUNDRAISING:
The organization leaders will start to reach out to potential Matchers as soon as possible (even before the marketing is ready). It is best to start 2-3 months prior to the campaign.
Sometimes, appointed matchers are the existing big donors. In such cases, matching solicitation could take a month or less.
CONCLUSION
A proper campaign will need 6 to 10 weeks of preparation, depending on the campaign size.
Keep in mind that if you keep very close contact with your Matchers and if you have a theme ready, the timeline could be shorter by a few weeks.
Written by Zalman Samama.
Edited by Esther Sominski.