Awesome Fundraising Tracker Ideas for Better Fundraising!

Fundraising tracker are tools that can be used to help visualize a campaign’s progress over time. In essence, they monitor the progress of your campaign ensuring that goals are on track, and help maintain transparency throughout the fundraising process. They usually visually show the ultimate goal or amount of funds your campaign is striving for, and some sort of thermometer, graph or other visual element to show how much has been raised thus far so everyone knows how much still needs to be raised. Some visualizations can even show where your donations are coming from.

This information is invaluable not only for campaign managers, but also for donors and team members as it fosters a sense of shared purpose and commitment while also being extremely transparent. And for many donors, transparency is extremely important! Plus, when donors are able to see their own donations helping to raise the needle, it allows them to experience a bit of fun and excitement as well as a sense of being part of the whole campaign which encourages continued support.

For the team itself, tracking helps motivate your staff and volunteers to continue working hard in order to reach your campaign’s objectives. This visual benchmark also helps to allow for real-time adjustments to strategies when things aren’t going as fast or well as originally planned. This is because fundraising trackers make transparency tangible, transforming abstract progress into something you can see, touch, and measure. They keep everyone on the same page, literally and figuratively, whether you're managing a global online drive or a local bake sale.

So, whether you’re setting up a thermometer chart for your local fundraiser or using a sophisticated online tool, remember that in the end, a good tracker doesn’t just show a bunch of random numbers, it tells the story of your campaign’s journey one donation at a time.

Exploring Various Fundraising Trackers

There are many types of fundraising trackers and they range from the traditional physical fundraising trackers like charts, thermometers, and posters to sophisticated and well designed virtual trackers that can be used anywhere online including on your website, social media campaigns and even in your email marketing. And luckily, many of these trackers are completely free or can be created super easily. So there’s absolutely no excuse not to be using them in your marketing campaigns.

One important thing to mention here is how Paybee, known for its user-friendly interface and robust capabilities offers a comprehensive solution for tracking online donations in real time. It integrates seamlessly with various payment platforms so that all your organization’s donations are recorded instantly keeping an accurate tally of your campaign. This information in turn can be used to keep your tracker updated to the minute providing transparency to all your donors who appreciate seeing the immediate impact of their contributions in real time.

An easy to use and completely free template can be found here. The creator of the template, Fundraising Brick lets you have free use of their software. They actually have some cool products you might want to check out, like their actual donor bricks. It really is a cool idea!

Another free online tracker template can be found here. Personally we found this one to be the best one as there is no advertising, and it is super easy to use. And the size is perfect when you’re asking for donations on Facebook. If you want to download your image, you’ll need to open a free account at their website, Event Groove. Or you can simply take a screen shot of your finished template!

If you want to go old school and have some sort of physical chart or thermometer, believe it or not one of your best options is to use Amazon. They literally have a ton of options and many of them are reusable, so not only environmentally friendly, but at most option less than twenty bucks, you’re just getting a great deal too.

Ways to Display Your Fundraising Goal With a Creative Tracker

Fundraising thermometers and graphs are always popular for visualizing your goals, but there are also a bunch of cooler creative fundraising tracker ideas that can also effectively showcase your charity's progress with its fundraiser while engaging your audience in a more fun way. They can also be more representative of your fundraising ideas  and better match your organization's branding. Here are some ideas on different ways to creatively visualize your fundraiser goal so as to add a little more wow factor:

1. Progress Bar Displays: Similar to digital progress bars used in software, physical bars can be mounted on boards or banners to track your fundraising goal. As donations come in, you can color in or mark sections of the bar to show advancement toward the goal.
2. Donation Meters: Use large, visually appealing meters with moving parts. For example, a spinning wheel or slider that moves up or down based on contributions can make tracking improvements engaging and interactive.
3. Goal Tree or Growth Chart: Create a visual representation of growth, such as a tree or plant. Each donation or milestone could add a leaf or flower to the tree, symbolizing the growing support for your cause. Obviously perfect for green charities, but you can adopt this same strategy to any type of non-profit organization.
4. Puzzle Piece Boards: Design a large puzzle where each piece represents a portion of the goal. As donations are received, add puzzle pieces to complete the image. This can also be a fun, interactive element for events.
5. Fundraising Thermometer with Milestones: Instead of a simple thermometer, incorporate milestones with specific rewards or acknowledgments. As each milestone is reached, celebrate the achievement with a visual indicator or small event.
6. Interactive Maps: For geographically-based campaigns, use a map to track the success of your fundraising goal in different regions or cities. Mark off areas or add pins as goals are achieved in various locations. This can also create a fun rivalry between locations!
7. Road Map: Fundraising is a journey, and displaying a roadmap is a creative way to chart your growth. Design a fun and artistic roadmap that incorporates road signs, detours, tourist attractions, and other elements of your own community to reflect your fundraising journey. You might even get sponsors that want to show up on your map!
8. Artistic Displays: Collaborate with local artists to create truly unique visual displays. For instance, a mural or art installation that changes as fundraising progresses can create buzz and draw attention, sometimes even from the media.
9. String or Yarn Boards: Create a visual progress board using strings or yarn stretched across a board as your fundraising goal tracker. Move markers or adjust strings to reflect changes in your fundraising goal. This tactile and visual approach can be quite engaging.
10. Building Blocks: Use a wall of building blocks or cubes as your goal tracker, with each block representing a certain amount of money. As donations are received, add blocks to build a structure that represents your goal.
11. Countdown Clocks: If your campaign has a time limit, use a countdown clock or timer. As the deadline approaches, update the clock to reflect how close you are to reaching the goal. Clocks like this can really help people feel the urgency to donate now.

These alternative visualization methods not only make the fundraising process more fun and engaging, but also add a personal and creative touch to your campaign that helps keep the excitement and motivation among supporters and your staff going.

Best Practices for Using a Fundraising Goal Tracker

Using a visual fundraising goal tracker wisely isn’t all that difficult. The main use for them is to simply visually show your fundraising progress for your fundraisers. No matter if it is an online or physical option, there really are only three elements to a successful goal tracker to keep in mind for using them successfully.

Clear Objectives: You want your ultimate goals for your fundraiser to be clear and stand out. Define specific and measurable goal that is achievable and perhaps even and time sensitive. The goal doesn’t always need to be a financial number, it can be anything like how many pets your animal organization wants to have neutered or spayed for a specific time period.

Or how many addicts your addiction charity wants to help over the course of a year. Any objective that can be measured can be used as a visual fundraising goal can be transformed into a goal tracker so you can dress up your donation forms and social media feeds and grab more attention for your cause.

Visual Representation: Incorporate visual elements like charts, graphs, bars or any of the creative ideas we wrote about above. Visuals make it easier for people to grasp your steps forward at a glance and can help maintain motivation. Trackers like thermometers or bars are particularly effective because when people see your goals getting closer, it can end up pushing them to give even more in order to make the campaign a success.

In addition, there’s always also that sense of instant gratification when someone donates and they see your little progress bar move due to what they gave. Just remember to use a visual that will grab someone’s attention and also coincides with your charity’s mission and cause, and is clearly visible on all of your marketing channels.

Regular Updates: In order for your trackers to be effective, they need to be constantly updated. Even if things aren’t going well, an updated tracker can let people know how serious it is for them to give. Knowing the shortfalls can also help you make decisions on how best to change your strategies so you can get better results.

When things are going great, making regular updates helps motivate not just your supporters, but your staff and volunteers as well. Everyone loves to see success, and even more be apart of it. Often times the last 25% of donations come in a lot quicker than the first 25% for exactly that reason. People get fired up and want to get involved in that final push forward.

Wrapping Up!

No matter what trackers you use or what you use to visually represent them, the fact is these simple add-ons can really dress up a donation form, offer some excitement and fun, and really ramp up your fundraising success. They’re simple to use and you can even find templates for free all across the web. They don’t require much time or effort, and updating them is simple enough. So if there is a super simple tool that can have even a small positive effect on your next fundraising venture, why wouldn’t you ise it?