Digital Fundraising Thermometer: Boost Donations and Track Goals

A fundraising thermometer is a visual representation of how much money you have raised against your target. It is simply a bar that fills from the bottom up, showing the progress of your fundraiser. Research on donor behavior suggests that people like to give more to a campaign nearing its goal, because their gift feels like it will make a real difference.

This guide explains how digital fundraising thermometers work, walks you through how to build your own fundraiser thermometer, and how to set yourself apart from other fundraisers effectively. 

What is a Fundraising Thermometer?

A fundraising thermometer is a vertical bar that shows the funding goal and how much in donations you have received against the target. For example, if the bar is two-thirds full, you have raised two-thirds of your fundraising goal. 

Where can you find a thermometer for fundraising:

• On a campaign or donation page.
• On a website or a newsletter.
• On printed fundraising flyers/posters.

Basically, this is a goal tracker or a donation progress bar that is more than a traditional way of showing how far you have come and how far you still have to go. 

Now, you can go for a printable, digital image, or a live fundraising thermometer depending on how you want to exhibit it. Here is a table representing how they are different than each other.

Boost donor engagement by showing real-time progress with a fundraising thermometer. Launch a campaign with WhyDonate now! 

How to Create a Fundraising Thermometer

You do not need special software to create a thermometer:

1. In Google Sheets or Excel, you can set all your data and build your thermometer once and reuse it for your whole campaign.

2. In Canva, you can easily design a nice-looking fundraising thermometer from scratch or using a template, customizing colors and logos.

3. On paper, you can draw a tall tube on a large sheet of card and mark amounts that you are about to get and a goal amount that is big enough to be readable from a distance.

Where to Put Your Thermometer

Put it where people are already deciding whether to give.

• Campaign page: next to the donate button, where seeing progress can tip a decision.
• Website homepage: returning visitors can tell at a glance that the appeal is still live.
• Email updates: the new figure gives every update a reason to be sent.
• Social posts: a jump in the bar is easy to share, especially paired with a thank-you. Here are more ways to promote your campaign.
• Event screen or projector: watching the bar rise during charity fundraising events lifts the energy in the room.
• Printed poster at the venue: add donation QR codes so people can give on the spot.

Find creative fundraising ideas to boost donations and showcase your fundraising thermometer.

The Power of Visualization in Your Fundraising Campaign

• Highlight the campaign’s progress towards its fundraising goal thermometer to keep the volunteers motivated.
• Track progress and Recap milestones in your fundraising progress.
• Emphasize urgency to individual donors and meet the goal by the deadline.
• Demonstrate the impact of donations to date using thermometer images on social media.
• Use a dynamic fundraising thermometer widget to motivate donors and raise funds.
• Use a fundraising thermometer to track your fundraising progress.
• Use a fundraising thermometer for visual representation.
• Use a dynamic fundraising thermometer to communicate and encourage donors.

Conclusion

A fundraising thermometer is one of the simplest tools that you can have to showcase your campaign progress. One calculation and one bar can answer many questions that your supporters may want to ask. 

Make sure to 

• Choose the format you can actually maintain and keep up to date.
• Build it yourself; it will encourage you to show your efforts.
• Show progress near the end; lead it from the start.

When you’re ready to put your target in front of supporters, you can start a fundraiser online in a few minutes.

FAQs

1. How to make a fundraising thermometer in Excel?

Enter your target and the amount raised in two cells, divide one by the other, and insert a column chart of the result. Set the vertical axis to run from 0 to 100%, remove the gridlines and labels, and make the chart narrow and tall. The full steps are in the spreadsheet section above.

2. Should my fundraiser thermometer be printable or digital?

It really depends on where supporters will see it and how often you can update it. Printable fundraiser thermometers suit venues and noticeboards, while digital thermometers suit online platforms like emails, social posts, and live displays on campaign pages.

3. What should you do if your thermometer is barely moving?

Check if your target is achievable or realistic first. Ask a few supporters what motivated them to give to understand donor behavior. Share your campaign widely to get noticed. Choose smaller milestones, making it more prominent.