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Social media has become a central part of how people communicate, connect, and share causes they care about. For FundScrip campaigns, this creates a great opportunity: using social media challenges to drive engagement and raise more funds for important projects. Fun, interactive, and low-cost, challenges are a creative way to energize a campaign and get people participating.

Why Challenges Work

At their core, social media challenges tap into some of the most effective motivators: fun, competition, and community. A well-designed challenge invites tagging, sharing, and posting, which means that friends and family of supporters are introduced to the cause. This increased visibility can lead to new participants, more contributions, and ultimately, greater fundraising success.

Challenge Ideas to Increase Engagement

#ShopToSupport: Create a campaign hashtag that encourages participants to share photos of items they’ve purchased using FundScrip gift cards. Whether it’s a new backpack, a gas fill-up, or a week’s groceries, these real-world examples show how easy it is to support the fundraiser through everyday spending.

Tag & Share: Ask supporters to post a message or photo explaining why they support the cause, and tag three friends to do the same. This type of chain-style challenge spreads awareness rapidly while also helping the campaign gain visibility across social networks.

Gift Card a Day Challenge: Encourage participants to use a different gift card each day for a week or two, sharing a short post or photo showing how they used it. The goal is to make everyday shopping part of the fundraising effort and to inspire others to join in.

Back-to-School Bingo: Design a simple bingo card with different types of purchases; school supplies, groceries, clothing, gas, etc. Supporters check off boxes as they shop, and those who complete a row or the whole card can win a small prize or receive a public thank-you. This type of game adds a fun twist and keeps participants engaged over multiple days.

Tips for Running a Challenge

• Create a recognizable look and feel: Use consistent branding and hashtags for the challenge and use the same hashtags across all posts. This builds momentum and makes it easy for others to find and follow along.
• Offer small prizes or public shout-outs: A little recognition can go a long way. Consider giving away a small gift card, highlighting standout participants on social media, or creating a leaderboard.
• Set a clear time frame and promote results: Whether the challenge lasts a week or a month, be clear about when it starts and ends. Throughout the challenge, share updates and celebrate milestones to keep excitement high.

Social media challenges are a powerful tool for boosting FundScrip campaigns. They turn passive supporters into active participants, increase visibility, and make fundraising feel fun and interactive. With minimal setup and high potential for expanding reach, a well-executed challenge can bring new energy to your efforts and drive real results, one post, tag, and gift card at a time.