It might surprise you to know that Australian’s are very good at giving when asked, with over $2.9 million worth of donations going to athletes raising funds with the ASF in 2023, and the average athlete raising more than $3000 last year.

It might help to think of your network in a few layers.

The first level, represented in light grey, are those that won’t need much convincing to donate to you. These are the people closest to you, or those that you might interact with on a more frequent basis, and will have a good understanding of what you need to raise funds for and why.

Some ideas that will help you generate donations from these people are:

• Phone call or text.

• Email.

• In-person discussion.

It might seem scary, but these are the people that know you the best and want to see you succeed - they’ll be willing to do anything to help you. You can send them a link to your page and let them decide how much they want to give.

Social Media

Social media is another great way to keep your network and followers in the loop with what you are trying to achieve and why. It gives you the ability to directly show your supports how they can make a positive impact with your project, and also enables you to reach a wider audience if people close to you interact with and share your posts. Make sure your page is set to public to guarantee more views on your posts, and as a result, your project.

The next level, in dark grey, are those that will know you but might need a little more information on what you are trying to achieve.

Some ideas that will help you generate donations from these people are:

• Building your story

• Using language that helps donors to create an emotion connection to your cause

Crafting a clear and powerful story to generate donations is incredibly important. Explaining what your goals are, clearly defining your need and showing the impact donors can make on your journey will make a big difference. Find out more about how to write a great story.

Use plenty of high-quality visuals

With the ASF platform you can add photos and link to videos all from your page. When you send donors to your page, you want them to see plenty of photos and videos of you and what you are looking to raise funds for. It really helps to build your story. Don’t forget to re-fresh the photos you use when you have updates to share.

The final level, Black, are people that can offer you a great amount of support but might be a bit trickier to convince.

To help you out, check out track and field athlete, Riley Day’s tips or reaching this audience.

Riley is an Olympic Semi-Finalist who has is fundraising with the ASF to support her journey to Paris.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST! Remember to thank all your donors! A little thank you can go a long way with research showing those donors who are acknowledged are twice as likely to donate.