The Power of Local Media
Raising funds with GoFundMe for people in crisis
By Rachel Hollis and Sara Lueders
Today’s news cycle is non-stop with national media outlets serving up 24-hour investigation and reporting. But more Americans are turning to local news sources for information.
RALLY and GoFundMe, the powerful social fundraising platform, have been working together since 2017 to amplify impactful stories on the platform and provide audiences with actionable ways to help. Local media plays a major role in this process driving greater engagement and awareness for people and communities raising funds on GoFundme.
For many of our clients, media coverage is a way to tell their story, but GoFundMe isn’t telling its own story — it’s telling the stories of its users. It’s often the local news outlets people trust and turn to for information on events and community affairs taking place in their own backyards, and through GoFundMe, people turn their compassion into action through donations and powerful messages of support.
So how does GoFundMe tap into the power of local media to help uplift fundraisers and their organizers? Here are RALLY’s insights on harnessing the power of local media to raise awareness for a cause on GoFundMe.
Elevate Local Stories
It’s often the case that a GoFundMe campaign will be associated with a news event. Rather than being overwhelmed by the news, we’re seeing people respond by taking action and starting a GoFundMe, or even sharing and donating to a fundraiser to make an immediate impact.
Local reporters have a significant impact on the people in their community — they can shine a light on an issue, elevate what’s happening in their community, and rally their community to provide direct relief to that family or to that individual in need through a GoFundMe fundraiser.
GoFundMe focuses on the people and causes who use its platform — not the platform itself. It centers the stories of its users and it’s that positioning that gains trust with local media. GoFundMe also serves as a valuable resource for reporters. Journalists often source community stories or find additional details about what they’re reporting on. Media outlets will often cite a quote or an image from a GoFundMe campaign.
People want to see the change that they are contributing to, so if that’s helping a neighbor pay for college tuition or covering the cost to provide more books to a local library, it’s easier to see where your money is going when it’s within your own community. This is why GoFundMe breaks down its targeting by region in order to expand the reach and share relevant, timely, and local content.
Connect Campaigns to Newsworthy Events
GoFundMe responds directly to current events such as the COVID-19 crisis, the fight against systemic racism, natural disasters like the wildfires burning in Oregon and California, and the recent explosions in Beirut. It has become the platform people turn to across the globe when a crisis hits.
RALLY and GoFundMe work together in this rapidly changing media landscape to make the connection with what’s happening in the news to what’s happening on the platform. When a newsworthy event breaks, GoFundMe immediately starts monitoring the platform and works with local and regional reporters to verify campaigns, and to source local stories about families or communities who need help.
RALLY drives earned media for many GoFundMe campaigns by working with local outlets to amplify these community stories. Several of these campaigns are connected to current events because if those events are affecting you or someone you know, you’re more inclined to help.
Authenticity Drives Emotion
A successful GoFundMe fundraiser cuts through the noise and is rooted in authenticity — someone honestly telling their story. If there’s a deadline or a specific goal that will enable a donor to understand directly where their money is going and how their funds will be used, their community is more likely to respond. Urgency and transparency are two important pieces of a campaign. When you’re emotionally moved by a story and it’s transparent about where funds are going, you’re more likely to engage by donating, sharing, or commenting.
June was Pride month and RALLY helped secure media coverage both locally and nationally for a GoFundMe campaign supporting the famous Stonewall Inn — the site of the Stonewall riots — which are considered to be one of the most important events leading to the gay liberation movement. Like many small businesses affected by the shutdown, the Stonewall Inn was having difficulty paying its rent. In just 72 hours the GoFundMe campaign went from a few hundred dollars to over $300,000. The need to pay their rent was urgent and exactly how the money was to be used — to pay rent — was transparent.
Make Stories Easy to Tell
At any given time, there are hundreds of thousands of GoFundMe fundraisers to explore. Whether it’s reconstructing a store that caught fire down the street or building a new wheelchair ramp for your neighbor, the narratives that weave urgency and authenticity together and have a single message are more compelling and more likely to receive a positive response from the GoFundMe community. Make a story easy to tell and people will want to hear it.
Local media will always have a valuable role in reporting what’s happening in our cities and counties. GoFundMe doesn’t put any spin on the ball. The platform supplements reporters with information about what they’re already covering which makes it easy for journalists to plug and play. The process goes back to authenticity — helping people is the best tactic for us to engage reporters and local media outlets.
Thank you to our clients and partners who are on the frontlines supporting the communities most affected right now.
RALLY is an issue-driven communications firm | Certified force for good by B Corporation
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