Pick a Date Fundraiser Organizer Guide

How to run a campaign

1. 1. Review your campaign

   Your workspace may include a starter campaign. New campaigns start as drafts. Confirm your email if the campaign is still unpublished. Review the month, goal, title, and public story before you invite anyone. If you do not see a campaign, create one from the dashboard (New campaign). Publish it when the story is ready.

2. 2. Make the campaign recognizable

   Add a cover image and one specific goal sentence so a first-time visitor can understand what the pick a date fundraiser supports.

   • Confirm the month and campaign goal
   • Add a cover image that your community recognizes
   • Write: We are raising [Goal] in [Month] to [Outcome], one day at a time.
   • Open the public link and review it as a supporter would

3. 3. Invite a second organizer

   A co-admin can keep the campaign moving if you are away. Invite them from Settings → Team. Community includes 2 organization admins. Professional includes 3. Network has no seat cap. Their invite expires in 24 hours. That is not the fundraiser invitation.

4. 4. Invite community fundraisers

   Each community fundraiser receives a personal calendar to share with their own circle. The organizer coordinates the shared goal without needing to make every ask alone.

   • Add a name and email for each person you want to invite
   • Use From past team when someone has carried a calendar before
   • Each invitation opens a join link that stays valid in 30 days
   • Use the roster to resend an invitation if someone cannot find it

5. 5. Help people prepare personal calendars

   Community fundraisers open the invitation, choose Continue, and complete one short setup screen. A photo and short introduction are helpful, but they can be updated later.

   • Send the community fundraiser onboarding message
   • Confirm each person can find their personal calendar and sharing link
   • Point people to the QR code, message templates, and Social Kit in their dashboard

6. 6. Choose how the campaign will collect gifts

   You can connect Stripe now, or, if the option appears in your organization Settings, appoint MonthFund as your limited payment agent and begin collecting gifts before Stripe Connect is complete.

   • Use a connected Stripe account for direct collection and payouts
   • Use the interim collection option only when it appears for your eligible organization workspace
   • Complete Stripe Connect before funds can be deposited to your bank
   • Personal fundraisers need to connect their own Stripe account before accepting gifts

7. 7. Use the launch kit

   Open the campaign page and scroll to Launch kit. Download the assets you will actually send. Paste the website embed on your school or organization site. Personal calendar links still convert better than the hub link alone.

   • Launch poster and recap poster
   • Family letter and teacher/coach script (PDF or Word)
   • Hub QR and campaign social kit
   • Announcement copy for before launch, launch, mid-campaign, last days, and recap
   • Website embed iframe for the live total

8. 8. Keep the campaign moving

   Share the public campaign story with leaders. Ask each person to share their own personal calendar. Use the action queue on the campaign page when someone has not claimed, finished their profile, shared, or received a first gift. Email by segment on People when a group needs the same nudge.

   • Send a test of the public campaign and one personal calendar link
   • Watch the action queue next to the launch checklist
   • Use Email all or Email by segment on People for a wider send

9. 9. Close the month and start the next one

   Download the recap poster and copy the recap announcement. Thank donors from the donations list. Export the donation CSV. Clone the campaign for the next month from Campaigns, and use From past team so returning people skip a cold invite.

   • Turn on notify-me and optional general gifts between drives in Settings
   • Export the notify-me list when you are ready to invite those people