The Anatomy Of Viral Fundraising

Four campaigns. Two countries. One question: what can viral fundraising teach us?

Fundraising professionals often look to successful viral campaigns for inspiration. Yet virality remains inherently unpredictable: campaigns cannot be designed to ‘go viral’ simply by following a set of best practices.

This workshop examines four fundraising campaigns — two from Poland and two from Romania — to explore what can realistically be learned from exceptional fundraising successes. The analysis draws on original interviews with the organisations behind the campaigns, combined with current research into the mechanisms that influence online sharing and public engagement.

One of the featured case studies is Poland’s record-breaking Łatwogang nine-day livestream, which raised €65.7 million. It will be examined alongside three other Romanian and Polish campaigns that achieved extraordinary public reach through different approaches.

Rather than searching for a formula for virality, participants will analyse the strategic decisions, organisational capabilities and contextual factors that contributed to the campaigns’ success. The workshop will distinguish between the elements that fundraisers can deliberately influence and those that remain beyond their control, helping participants draw practical lessons for future fundraising initiatives.

Learning outcomes:

Participants will:

• Identify common characteristics shared by four successful fundraising campaigns from Poland and Romania.
• Understand the strategic decisions and organisational practices that supported these campaigns before, during and after their public launch.
• Distinguish between controllable factors and external circumstances that contributed to campaign success.
• Apply insights from the case studies to design fundraising campaigns with stronger engagement and greater potential for public reach.

Who should attend:

• Fundraisers,
• Communications and marketing professionals,
• Campaign managers,
• NGO leaders and directors,
• Anyone interested in public fundraising and individual giving.

Suggested audience of level:

• Suitable for fundraisers at all levels of experience.
• The session will be particularly valuable for practitioners responsible for designing public fundraising campaigns and digital engagement strategies.