Last updated: 28-08-2022

What is Visual Fundraising?

Visual fundraising is any type of fundraising that is enhanced by visual content. It's about making fundraising more visible - by showing, not telling.

If you're using pictures, videos, visual art, or any other multimedia content to raise money or communicate your fundraising messages, that's visual fundraising.

Let's take a look at some examples...

Flower Installations

Flower installations and displays are particularly popular with hospices, as they often used for tribute fundraising. Sometimes real flowers are planted, and sometimes iron sculptures or pegs are installed featuring dedication names.

Supporters are invited to make a donation in the name of a loved one, and the hospice plants a flower for each dedication they receive. As more people donate, more flowers are planted - the installation comes to life! It's a beautiful way to pay tribute to those people we miss, and a great way for the organisation to show just how many lives they have touched with their care.

Image shows a collage of pictures of Woodlands Hospice gardens featuring blue iron flowers. Each flower has been dedicated in the name of a loved one, in exchange for a donation to the hospice. — Woodlands Hospice runs an annual Forget Me Not appeal in spring. Supporters are invited to dedicate their flower to someone special, and they plant an iron forget-me-not at the hospice for each donation. As more donations are made, the garden fills with blue flowers in tribute to loved ones. At the end of the appeal, supporters collect their flower and take it home as a lasting memory. Photo credit: https://www.woodlandshospice.org

Don't have space for a public forget-me-not installation? How about a virtual one instead?

Public Art or Sculpture Trails

Have you ever been walking around a city when you've come across a series of colourful elephant sculptures? Or perhaps it was lambs, bees or owls?

Connecting art with community, many of these creative sculpture trails are run in partnership with local charities. These events encourage people to explore their local areas, support local businesses, take lots of photos (which is great for raising awareness), and enjoy public artwork. At the end of the exhibition, the one-of-a-kind sculptures are usually sold at auction, raising lots of money for charity.

Image shows a photo of the famous yellow Superlambanana sculpture in Liverpool. — The quirky Superlambanana has become a Liverpool icon - half lamb, half banana. In 2008, over 115 replica sculptures were designed and decorated as part of a public art trail around the city. At auction, the sculptures raised over £500,000 for Lord Mayor of Liverpool’s Charity Appeal. Photo credit: Pixabay.

Christmas Decorations

Christmas is always a busy time of year for charities. It's not just fundraising - for many charities, this is often the busiest time of year for service delivery too.

To spread festive cheer to staff who may be working over Christmas, charities invite supporters to donate and write a Christmas message on a decorative tag, which is hung on a Christmas tree for everyone to see. Some people use this opportunity to thank staff for their kindness, others may want to send a message of hope and support, or dedicate their message to someone special.

Image shows a Christmas tree decorated with bright blue tags featuring the names of loved ones who have lost their lives to lung cancer. — Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundations runs an annual 'Celebrate A Life at Christmas' appeal. Supporters are invited to make a donation to remember someone special and share their name on a Christmas decoration. Remembrance services are held in December, where trees are decorated with the names of loved ones.

Not able to hold an event in person, or supporters live too far away to attend? How about inviting them to leave their messages on a virtual Christmas tree instead?

Seat Dedications

Theatres, concert halls, and arts venues invite their supporters to "dedicate a seat" or "sponsor a chair" in the auditorium, in exchange for a donation.

This very public way of giving means that whenever someone sits in that chair, they are reminded of the generosity of another supporter and may be inspired to make their own donation.

Donor Recognition Walls

When you want to celebrate your donors and inspire others to give, a list of names isn't particularly exciting or eye-catching. Instead, charities are finding creative ways to share the names of their supporters by using visuals, which make them much more engaging and memorable.

How about a donor tree in your reception area, where each leaf is engraved with supporter names and/or messages, like the example below created by our friends at Perspexangel? As people enter your building, the beautiful display catches their eye and shows them how much you value your supporters. This can be a popular way for charities to display donor names, dedication names in memory of loved ones, or celebrate the names of supporters who have left a lasting legacy by making a gift in their Will.

Depending on what your charity does, you might also want to consider other options like writing donor names on the bricks of your building, creating a mural of stars or hearts featuring donor names, or installing individual named plaques in various rooms of your venue. There are lots of ways to be creative with donor recognition!

Image shows a large sculpture of a golden tree with hundreds of leaves attached to a wall. Under the tree, there are puppies playing and older dogs looking up at the leaves. Each leaf is dedicated in the name of a special pet. — Donor trees are a popular way to acknowledge and recognise supporters. This picture shows the memory tree at Birmingham Dogs Home, where each leaf is dedicated by a supporter in memory of a beloved human or pet. Tree design and photo credit: Perspexangel - www.perspexangel.co.uk

Online Visual Fundraising

If you don't have the luxury of a public space where you can invite supporters to see your visual art displays, why not try online visual fundraising instead?

At Visufund, we can help you to recreate your visual fundraising ideas in a virtual space. Whether you're inviting supporters to dedicate stars in the sky or flowers in a field, decorating a virtual Christmas tree with messages of love and hope, or sharing names on a virtual donor tree, we have a wide range of free templates and designs that can be used for any occasion or appeal.

Even better, it's completely free to join us and you can start fundraising within minutes of signing up. Discover the benefits of creating a free Visufund account.