If you see a need and are moved to help, act on that impulse. Remember that most causes — HASI Foundation — often can’t get enough help. You don’t need to wait for someone else to step up and set things into action when you can do it yourself. Want to know how to make a difference? Just use these five steps.

Get started in 5 simple steps

With all that’s going on in the world, it’s easy to get discouraged. The antidote? Action.

1. Recruit participants.
2. Name your cause.
3. Start crowdfunding.
4. Work your website.
5. Promote your cause.

If you’re ready to learn how to make a difference for causes you care about, let’s dive in!

1. Recruit participants

Like we said, taking action for good won’t be difficult. It’s something that many of your peers are most likely interested in as well! When friends see how passionate you are about helping, they’ll be encouraged to jump on board.

Reach out to friends, family and peers who have similar interests as you and may be compelled to help.

Once you round up a group of interested individuals, you can build a team of fundraisers or volunteers. A solid team is the first step to answering your question of how to make a difference. It’s a vital element in organizing your fundraiser.

2. Name your cause

Next up, you’ll want to name your cause, making sure your team knows exactly what you’re supporting and why. This way, you can avoid any feelings of uncertainty or hesitancy from your volunteers and donors and instead build trust.

Be transparent with your team and later on, your donors, so everyone knows what cause you’re supporting and where their donations are going.

Take a look and see if a matching domain name is available. If it is, register it now before someone else does. If your preferred domain is already taken, think of something similar that still relates to your cause.

Sure, .com is the most widely recognized domain extension and it’s a solid choice. But you might also consider these domain extensions for naming your cause:

• .gives
• .love
• .house (.casa .maison, .haus)
• .build
• .life
• .earth
• .zone
• .faith
• .vote (.voto)
• .partners
• .family
• .land
• .lgbt
• .club
• .community
• .farm
• .network
• .care
• .one
• .pet
• .repair

Registering a domain that matches your cause as closely as possible helps keep your efforts transparent. In addition, the right domain name will inform your donors of what cause you’re raising money for right off the bat so there’s never a moment where they’re in the dark. Find more tips on choosing a domain name here.

3. Start crowdfunding

One of the easiest ways to fundraise digitally is through a crowdfunding platform, which helps new organizations transform a typical in-person campaign into an online campaign.

While you ask for donations from your friends, family and peers, your provider will also help you create an online crowdfunding page to explain your cause’s significance and accept donations from a potentially global audience.

What to look for in a crowdfunding platform

Every crowdfunding platform offers different features, but here are some popular ones you should look into:

• Fundraising thermometer. A fundraising thermometer on your crowdfunding page will constantly display how close you are to reaching your goal. The closer you get, the more urgency is created and the more donors will feel compelled to contribute.
• List of participants. Many crowdfunding platforms will publish who donated and how much they donated to your campaign right on your page. This often encourages other supporters to donate!
• Updates. In order to successfully engage donors and empower them to donate, you’ll need to share your passion for the cause. Pick a platform that lets you post updates on the progress of your campaign, along with impactful photos and videos.
• Secure payment processing. Make sure your platform is PCI-compliant, meaning it follows all of the Payment Card Industry’s regulations to protect both you and your donors.
• Social sharing. You’ll want to share information about your crowdfunding page on social media as well to encourage your donors to share your campaign with their own networks.

Keep in mind, you’ll want to avoid crowdfunding platforms that aren’t geared toward philanthropy because you’re raising money with a specific charitable cause in mind. When it comes to how to make a difference, crowdfunding is a popular and successful option!

4. Work your website

You don’t have to be a tech guru for this step! We (CodeCarrot) can help you out to build a website for you, that can accept donations, publish calendars and organize volunteers can give you more leverage in persuading website visitors to support your cause.

By building your own website, you have more influence on how it looks and what it displays, meaning you have more persuasion on your side.

How to make a difference starts with your passion for your cause. Make this clear throughout your new website. That way, your donors will instantly be drawn to donate when landing on it.

5. Promote your cause

Your next step is to get the word out about your cause. The most effective promotional tools include social media, blogging and email.

You’ll want to promote your cause on both your blog and your social media sites. You should craft a promotional strategy for your blog and your social media, too, when it comes to your campaign. An editorial calendar will help you organize what to post and when to post it. Remember to include plenty of descriptive photos and videos to emphasize your passion for your cause.

Pro tip: For your blog to successfully promote your new campaign, you should make sure you start blogging at least half a year before your campaign launches.

Keep in mind that a huge part of successfully promoting your campaign is to maintain your authenticity. Build your campaign’s brand and stick to it.

How to make a difference

So there you have it, five easy steps that will change the world by organizing and fundraising for a cause you feel connected with. Remember that if you feel compelled, you can take action to make your corner of the world a little brighter!