Eda Tekeoglu is living proof that one person can make a huge difference for the causes they care about. For seven years, she has run a fundraiser each year for Zakat Foundation of America, a nonprofit that provides aid to communities in need. Eda’s efforts in particular are aimed at providing food for refugees and children who have been orphaned due to conflict.

Her efforts have raised $104,410 for Zakat Foundation of America on Mightycause. Her most recent “Fight Against Hunger” fundraiser is nearing its goal of $50,000 with just a few more days to go.

Here are the keys to her success.

1. Passion

One of the reasons Eda’s peer-to-peer fundraising efforts have seen such staggering success because she’s chosen a cause close to her heart. “I strongly believe every child deserves access to food,” Eda told Mightycause. “A child shouldn’t have to worry about how and if they will have food. I want kids to have access to food and I want them to have the opportunity to be a ‘normal’ child like all of our children.”

She chose Zakat Foundation of America because she’s seen how effective their work is. “They are a global humanitarian organization that does amazing work all around the world.” By raising money for them and helping them do their important work, Eda has been able to turn her passion for the cause into action and make a big impact.

2. Introducing the cause to new audiences

Eda primarily uses social media to promote her annual Fight Against Hunger fundraisers, asking people she knows to support the cause she feels so passionate about, either by donating or helping her spread the word about her fundraiser. And each year, the base of support she has grows.

“Every year our team grows and we also have kids from the United States being advocates for the orphans,” she said. “It’s really amazing.”

3. Persistence and consistency

Like many successful peer-to-peer fundraisers, Eda has turned her fundraiser into an annual event that those who know her can look forward to each year. She has been able to build a brand for her Fight Against Hunger fundraisers that people know and recognize.

Eda reliably fundraises for Zakat Foundation of America each year, usually in the spring. By being a persistent advocate for this cause and this nonprofit, she’s helped build her event while at the same time helping donors build an understanding of the nonprofit and the issues they address. She works not only to raise funds, but raise awareness of the importance of the work Zakat Foundation does, sending a consistent message about hunger, the refugee crisis and compassion.

4. Strong fundraising messaging

Eda uses techniques that fundraising professionals employ. In each fundraiser, she connects the amount of a donation with a specific item that amount provides. For 2016’s Fight Against Hunger, she connected her goal amount to how many meals $22,000 would provide for 100,000 Syrian refugees.

She has continued to use this type of messaging to drive home the importance of donating, which gives donors the feeling of directly feeding a person who is hungry. Tying a donation to a real-world service provided or need fulfilled is a great way to build urgency and an emotional connection to a fundraising campaign.

5. Choosing the right platform and reaching out

Eda has been loyal to the Mightycause platform, returning year after year to run her Fight Against Hunger fundraising campaign. “Great customer service and low fees” are two of the reasons Eda sticks with Mightycause.”It’s easy to use and people get the opportunity to share their comments,” Eda said of Mightycause. Our platform fees are some of the lowest in the crowdfunding space, and our small but mighty team of customer support agents are easily accessible and responsive to questions from nonprofits, fundraiser, donors and more.

For fundraisers like Eda, another important factor in choosing the right platform for a nonprofit fundraising campaign is the ease of sending funds to the nonprofit. On Mightycause, we disburse funds directly to the nonprofit, on a regular schedule. That means the nonprofit doesn’t need to wait until a fundraising campaign is over to start putting funds to good use, and the nonprofit will see the money you raise even if you fall short of your goal amount. We take care of the disbursement process entirely, so there is never a need for a fundraiser to release funds.

Eda also reaches out to the Mightycause team to let them know her campaign is going to start soon and stays in touch throughout the campaign.

Donate to 2018 Fight Against Hunger Fundraiser

You can read more about Eda’s efforts and make a donation on Mightycause.