RaiseThon
Live campaignsSee who’s raising now

Your dashboard is ready. Let’s launch.

A step-by-step guide from your first login to launch day. Work through it at your own pace, and tick off each step as you go.

  • 13 steps
  • 4 phases
  • Start 6 to 8 weeks out
  1. 1Make it yoursTake a tour of your dashboard · Set your goal and dates · Make your page look like you · Connect your payment gateway · Set up your donor emails
  2. 2Build your teamInvite your staff · Set up teams and captains · Add your matchers
  3. 3Get ready to reach donorsBring in your supporters · Create your graphics · Prepare your emails and texts · Track where donations come from
  4. 4LaunchCheck everything, then launch
Before you begin

Have these ready and every step goes faster.

  • Your logo and brand colors
  • The story you want to share with donors
  • Your payment gateway login details
  • Your goal and campaign dates
  • A list of past donors and supporters
  • Your matchers and team captains
Your launch checklist
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  • Make it yours

  • Build your team

  • Get ready to reach donors

  • Launch

Phase 1Make it yours
1

Take a tour of your dashboard

DashboardA few minutes

Your dashboard is home base. Once donations come in, Total Donated, Total Donations and Team Goals update as they land, with Visitors, Top Sources and Recent Donations below them. Everything else lives in the menu and in Settings.

  • Total Donated, Total Donations and Team Goals, each with a Last Hour pace
  • Who is on your site right now, and the pages they are on
  • Donations, Teams, Sources and Reports in the menu
  • Switch between campaigns if you run more than one
2

Set your goal and dates

Settings › General Details5 minutes

Add your campaign title, goal, currencies and the dates it runs. Until the start date, your page shows a countdown; on the start date it goes live on its own.

  • Title, subtitle and featured image
  • Goal and the currencies you accept
  • Start and end dates, in your timezone
  • A main video for the top of your page
3

Make your page look like you

Settings › Theme15 to 30 minutes

Pick your theme, set your colors, upload your logo and banners, and arrange the sections on your page. Then add widgets to tell your story.

  • Theme template, colors, options and assets
  • Desktop and mobile banners
  • Reorder or switch off page sections
  • Story, video and donor wall widgets
4

Connect your payment gateway

Settings › Payment Gateways10 minutes

Connect the gateways you already use, so every donation goes straight to your account. Choose whether donors can cover the processing fee and give monthly.

  • Card processors, wallets and donor-advised funds
  • Let donors cover the processing fee
  • Monthly and installment giving
  • Minimum and maximum amounts per gateway
5

Set up your donor emails

Settings › Email Actions10 minutes

Write the two emails every donor gets: the thank you, and the receipt. Receipts wait for a template and only go out when you send them, until you switch them on here.

  • Your own subject and wording on the thank you
  • A receipt template, so the PDF can be attached
  • Switch receipts to send the moment a payment is approved
  • One design shared by every email you send
Phase 2Build your team
6

Invite your staff

Settings › Campaign Members5 minutes

Invite everyone who helps run the campaign, and give each person a role with exactly the access they need.

  • Invite by email with a role
  • Create custom roles, like Finance or Data entry
  • Each member chooses their own email alerts
  • Resend or delete pending invitations
7

Set up teams and captains

Teams15 minutes

Add your teams, or import them from a spreadsheet, so captains have their page and goal ready before launch.

  • Add teams one by one or import a list
  • A goal and page for every team
  • Captains share one link with their network
  • A live leaderboard once donations come in
8

Add your matchers

Settings › Matchers10 minutes

Add the people doubling every donation, choose when they match, and plan a bonus round and milestones to keep momentum going.

  • Name, logo and how many X they match
  • Match between two dates or while you raise a range
  • Bonus rounds after you hit your goal
  • Milestones on your progress bar
Phase 3Get ready to reach donors
9

Bring in your supporters

Contacts › Lists15 minutes

Make a list to keep your supporters in, then fill it from your past campaigns and from a spreadsheet. Smart lists and smart tags keep sorting new supporters for you after that.

  • Your first list, with a name, a colour and an icon
  • Import donors or team creators from past campaigns
  • Upload a spreadsheet and match its columns to fields
  • Smart lists and smart tags that keep everyone sorted
10

Create your graphics

Design Library20 minutes

Pick a design set, add your details and generate on-theme graphics in every size for social posts, emails, flyers and signs.

  • Browse ready-made design sets
  • Every size generated at once
  • Graphics for launch, milestones and thank-yous
  • Automations that make graphics as donations come in
11

Prepare your emails and texts

Email Campaigns and Text Messages30 minutes

Write the whole run now, while you have time: a save the date, the launch email, the milestones and the final hours. Pick the list each one goes to, then give it either a send date or a campaign trigger. Texts work the same way on their own screen, so plan them together.

  • Send to any of your contact lists
  • Schedule a time, or send on a campaign event
  • Milestone messages arm themselves and wait
  • Track the links, so each message gets credit for what it raised
  • Everything on one list and one calendar
12

Track where donations come from

Sources10 minutes

Create a source link for every channel, like your launch email, Instagram or street signs, so you can see what brings in donations. Add your Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics too.

  • A link for every channel
  • Add what each channel costs
  • Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics 4
  • Views, donations and amounts per source
Phase 4Launch
13

Check everything, then launch

Your campaign pageThe day before

Read your page the way a donor will: the banner and graphics you made, your story, your matchers and your teams, with every total still at zero and the bar at the top counting down to your start date. Then give the first donation yourself, right from the page, and watch it land, on the page and in the inbox. Your page accepts donations before your start date, so it is a real donation on a real card.

  • Read your page top to bottom: banner, story, matchers and teams
  • The bar counts down until your start date, then switches to live totals on its own
  • Give the first donation yourself, from the page, on a real card
  • Check the inbox: the thank you arrives, and the receipt with its PDF
After the campaign

Say thank you, and get ready for next year.

  • Thank every donorSend a thank-you email and share what you built together.
  • Export your reportsDonations, teams and donors, ready for your board.
  • Learn from the dataDonor insights line up this year with every year before.
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Stuck on a step?

Our team is here to help.

Questions along the way? Reach out and a real person will help you get your campaign ready.

Getting started, answered.

Questions before you begin? We’re happy to help.

Contact us

For larger campaigns, we recommend starting 6 to 8 weeks before your campaign dates, so there’s time for matchers, captains, graphics and emails.

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