Fundraise on our Behalf!

A DIY Fundraiser can be anything you want it to be! You create a unique fundraising page, share the link with your friends and family, and all donations are processed securely through Utah Food Bank using our JustGiving platform! Whether you want to plan a one-time event, ask people to support your at-home fitness journey, mark a special occasion with donations to Utah Food Bank in lieu of gifts, or even if you are moved by our work and want to help by doing something like shaving your head, it just takes a few minutes! We have toolkits available and can help you through the process!

To start, you'll want to visit our campaign, then click on the orange "START FUNDRAISING" button. You'll be prompted to register for a free JustGiving account, where you can customize your fundraising page with photos and content. Once that is complete, you will receive a unique URL that you can send to your friends and coworkers via email or social media, asking them to support your efforts. They can make online donations through our secure platform, and you'll get to see who has supported you and how much you've raised!

To sign up for a free JustGiving account, you'll need to provide your first and last name, email address, and create a password. To make your page as engaging as possible, you will want to add an image, a goal amount, a page title, and a story. Keep your story short and sweet (must be 1,000 characters or less) and get right to the heart of why our work moved you to take action. Not sure what to say? Don't worry - there is default language you are welcome to use as-is, or as a starting point for your own content. Once your page is complete, share your unique link on social media, via email, and with anyone and everyone who might be willing to support your efforts! You can even add a video or live stream to your page or link it to your Strava account to really take it to the next level!

Pages with a goal amount raise 46% more than those without. It can be helpful to phrase your goal in terms of meals provided. Because Utah Food Bank can provide 4 meals with each $1 donated, financial support truly has the biggest impact. Maybe you want to raise enough money to provide 1,000 meals, so you can set your goal at $250, and include the significance of that number in your page story content. Don't forget to get the ball rolling with a donation to your own fundraiser!

To ensure your page reads as your business instead of your name, during the setup process, after you click on the orange "Start Fundraising" button, you will want to put the business name in as the first and last names. For example, if your business were called Customers First, you would use Customers as your "First Name" and First as your "Last Name." If your business name is only one word, you could use "Fundraiser" for the Last Name.

It’s easy to have multiple teams or groups fundraise on your behalf, and have it all tracked together on one primary campaign page that will list everyone’s individual page, as well as the collective total you’ve raised together – here’s an example: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/UtahFoodBank2021

To do so, you will need to contact us to set up the primary campaign page, and then you or your teams can set up their own fundraising pages under the primary campaign page. To begin this process, email [email protected] or call 801-887-1266. Once the primary campaign page is set up, you can email it to each person or group who wants their own unique fundraising link. When they click on the orange “Start Fundraising” button and follow the process, they will receive their own fundraising links that they can send to their individual team members.

Once your page is up and running, you will want to let our friends, family and colleagues know you are fundraising online. Many people feel nervous about asking people for money, but you should remember that you are doing it to help feed Utahns facing hunger, and that it means a lot to you. The more you can communicate your fundraising and why you are doing it, the more supporters you will gain and the more lives you will help change.

We make it easy to share directly to Facebook or Twitter - just visit your fundraising page and click the “Share on Facebook” button directly from your page, or log in and select “Share on Facebook” or “Spread the word on Twitter” from within your account.

You can also send your fundraising page from within your account to your email contacts (we even provide sample content), and add a sponsor me badge to your email (or to your website or blog).

The key is to make sure that you are letting people know that you are raising money online, that you have a fundraising page that they can quickly and securely donate money to, and why you have chosen to support our work. Effectively communicating this will mean that those who care about you will care about what you are doing, and it increases the chance that they will become active supporters of your fundraising.

An easy way to share your fundraising page is by using a QR Code that will send people directly to your specific fundraising page.

What is a QR code?

It is a barcode for a website. When you point your phone's camera at it, it scans the barcode and opens up a website without having to type in your web address!

How do I access my QR code?

Log in to your fundraising page and select “EDIT PAGE” then click on “Share”. Click on the box that looks like a QR code and either screenshot or save the image to your computer.

What do I do with it?

You can add it to your posters, flyers and signs so that your supporters can easily access your fundraising page.

They can still support your efforts! If they write a check, be sure it is made payable to UTAH FOOD BANK. Just log in to your account, then add these donations as a "Raised Offline" amount. To do this, click "Edit" on the page you'd like to add the balance to from your profile area. Next, click "Donations" along the top of the page and add the donations individually, then click "Save offline donations."

If you'd like to acknowledge those who have given you offline donations, you can add an update to your page to thank them for their donation.

Our toolkit provides a tracking sheet and instructions for how to submit these donations once your campaign has ended. We will process the donations once we receive them, and be sure they receive confirmation of their donation. Once you have everything gathered, please send it to Utah Food Bank (attn: Heidi Cannella), 3150 S. 900 W., Salt Lake City, UT 84119. Be sure to drop Heidi a line at [email protected] to let her know it's on the way.

Absolutely! Our Team Pages allow you and your friends to join your individual fundraising pages together to contribute to an overall total. To create a team page, create a fundraising page that you want to connect to a team, then once the is page created, click on the "Create a Team" link.

The page will list everyone's individual page, as well as the collective total, so you can all challenge each other to feed Utahns facing hunger with a little friendly competition. You'll want to come up with a team name, and all the components you would add to a personal fundraising page. Once your team page is created, you can even invite new members, or make it open for anyone to join.

You can also fundraise as a group on the same page. To do this, just create a regular fundraising page and list all your names in the story section. Be sure to choose a web address that reflects your team name as well!

If you want to connect your training for a run, walk or ride to your fundraising efforts, you can connect your Strava account to your fundraising page, and your training progress will automatically pull into your page. Fundraisers who track and share their training efforts actually raise 45% more than those who don't! To connect your Strava account, just log in to your fundraising page and scroll down slightly to the "Connect Strava" button. You'll need to log in to your Strava account (or create one - it's free!), then confirm the Strava permissions and select and save your fitness settings/preferences. Download our toolkit for more information.

Looking for an original way to raise money? The beauty of a DIY fundraiser is that you get to "do it yourself" so the sky is the limit! If you need some inspiration, click HERE.

Have more questions? Please contact Heidi Cannella at [email protected] or (801) 887-1278 if you need further help!