If you’ve attended a fundraising event or have visited a nonprofit’s fundraising landing page, you’ve likely come across a fundraising thermometer graphic or two.
For some, a goal thermometer is the perfect way to help supporters visualize a campaign’s success. As QGiv* notes in this post about why a fundraising thermometer works, the thermometer appeals to our love of visuals, provides us with instant gratification, and helps create a sense of accomplishment.
There are other nonprofit professionals, however, who want to switch things up and use something other than a thermometer. If you’re one of those people, we’ve put together the following alternatives to the fundraising thermometer for you, as well as some free templates you can use during your next campaign.
At Kindful, we include our cloud on most of our public-facing marketing and communication materials. If we were going to raise funds, we could fill up an “empty” or white cloud with our brand colors to signify different fundraising benchmarks.
Look at your logo or logomark. Can you turn that into a blank template and use it to track your fundraising progress? The benefit of this option is that it helps reinforce your organization’s branding and puts your organization in front of your most active supporters.
If your logo or logomark doesn’t make sense to use in place of the thermometer, turn to your cause. If you’re raising money to save the rainforest, choose a template that includes a tree. If you’re building houses, choose a template that shows a house.
This is a great way to reinforce your organization’s mission and remind your supporters how the funds you’re raising are actually going to be used.TEMPLATES:TREEHOUSE
Sometimes it’s easier to tie a visual representation to your event. For example, if you’re holding a wine auction, you can use a wine glass or wine bottle. If you’re holding a baked goods drive, it might make sense to choose a pie or cake.TEMPLATES:CAKE/PIEWINE GLASS/WINE BOTTLEROAD MAPDANCE-A-THONTo be clear: There’s nothing wrong with using a traditional goal thermometer! In fact, we designed this fundraising thermometer template for you in case you’re looking for a new one. All that really matters is that you’re giving your supporters a visual representation of how they’re helping you reach your goal and a feeling of accomplishment. By doing so, you’re likely getting one step closer to hitting your fundraising goal.
CTA here with link to download all templates*QGiv is a Kindful integration partner.
