How to start an online fundraiser in 5 steps

Start an online fundraiser in 5 steps: pick a story, choose a platform, activate your network in waves, post updates and thank your donors.

You start an online fundraiser in five steps: pick a concrete story and goal, choose a platform that works on a phone, activate your network in waves, keep donors close with updates and thank everyone personally afterwards. That is how you build donors who stay. Below is each step, with what you can do in WeGlow.world.

Step 1: define your story and goal

Tell one concrete story with a goal, an amount and an end date. The more concrete your ask, the easier it is to say yes. Look at the difference:

Does not work	Works
"Support our charity"	"Help us buy 50 wheelchairs for children in Brussels"
"We help people in need"	"€150 pays one child's school costs for a year"
"Donate for our mission"	"We still need €3,000 for our ambulance, before 31 December"

The amounts in these examples are made up. In WeGlow you give your action a title, a story, photos and optionally a target amount. Glowie can rewrite your text in a personal, professional or urgent tone; your original stays until you pick a version.

Step 2: choose the right platform

Judge a platform on four points: does it work on a phone, can a donor share easily, which payment options are there and what does it cost per donation. In 2025, 43% of online donations at US nonprofits were made on a mobile device (Nonprofit Tech for Good).

Mobile: the WeGlow donation form has three steps and works on a mobile phone, without the donor needing an account.
Sharing: a WeGlow page has a share button with Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and a copy link.
Payment options: these depend on your organisation's payment provider. With Mollie they are Bancontact, iDEAL and credit card, with Pay.nl iDEAL and credit card.
Costs: WeGlow has a free plan and charges a 5% platform fee per donation, which donors can cover. Pro costs €40 a month or €400 a year, excluding VAT.

Always compare the costs of other platforms on their own website, because rates change.

Step 3: activate your network in waves

Do not put your campaign online and wait. Work in four waves: first your inner circle, then your network, then a broad audience and, in the last 48 hours, everyone. This is a way of working, not a measured result.

Wave	Timing	Audience	Action
Wave 1	Days 1 to 3	Inner circle	Personal message to your 20 most engaged supporters
Wave 2	Days 4 to 7	Network	Social media, newsletter, local press
Wave 3	Week 2	Broad audience	Ambassadors, partners, influencers
Wave 4	Last 48 hours	Everyone	Urgency message about what is still missing

Also let supporters start their own action page for your campaign or event, so the personal asks of many people arrive at once. It pays off: in 2006, 81% of Dutch households gave after being asked for a gift, in 2025 only 34% (Geven in Nederland 2026). General appeals therefore bring in less.

Step 4: keep donors engaged with updates

Post an update regularly during your campaign, so donors see what their gift does. An update at every milestone is a good start. Ideas:

Photos or videos of the impact in practice
A personal thank-you message from a beneficiary
A milestone, such as "We are at 50%, now together towards 100%"
A look behind the scenes: who is behind your organisation?

On WeGlow campaign and action pages you choose an update type: milestone, impact story, thank you or goal reached. At moments such as the launch or the first gift, the page suggests sample texts, which you adapt yourself before posting.

Step 5: say thank you and turn donors into long-term supporters

Thank every donor quickly and personally and share the final result. At US nonprofits, 71% of monthly donors were still active after one year (Truesense), so an invitation to give monthly pays off.

Send a personal thank-you e-mail within 24 hours
Share the final result with concrete proof of impact
Invite one-time donors to give monthly
Ask ambassadors for a testimonial for social media

In WeGlow, a thank-you e-mail goes to the donor automatically if your organisation fills in a thank-you text. For Belgian donors, a tax reduction of 30% applies from €40 per organisation per year (Wikifin); the organisation can issue a fiscal certificate for it.

Ready to start? Register your organisation on WeGlow.world or get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

How much does online fundraising via WeGlow cost?

WeGlow.world has a free plan, so you start without fixed costs. The platform charges a 5% platform fee on each donation, which donors can cover so that 100% reaches your organisation. The Pro plan costs €40 a month or €400 a year, excluding VAT.

How long does it take to set up an action?

According to WeGlow.world's own text, you start a personal action in under 15 minutes. An organisation can require new actions to be approved first, so an action sometimes goes live only after the organisation has reviewed it.

What is peer-to-peer fundraising?

In peer-to-peer fundraising, supporters of an organisation start their own personal action page. On WeGlow.world they do so for a campaign or event of an organisation, so the personal asks of many people arrive at once and you reach each supporter's network.

Does WeGlow also work for a sponsored run?

Yes. Organisations on WeGlow.world can create an event page with tickets and live totals. Participants start their own action page to collect sponsors, and on the day you can scan tickets to check participants in.

Sources

Nonprofit Tech for Good, online fundraising statistics: 43% of online donations on mobile in 2025 (M+R Benchmarks, United States).
VU Amsterdam, Geven in Nederland 2026: 81% in 2006 and 34% in 2025 gave after a request.
Truesense, summary of M+R Benchmarks 2026: 71% of monthly donors still active after a year (United States, 2025).
Wikifin: 30% tax reduction from €40 per organisation per year (Belgium).