Fundraising Milestones & Deadlines
Fundraising milestones help you break a big financial goal into smaller, trackable targets with deadlines. Instead of one large number that feels overwhelming, milestones create checkpoints that keep your team motivated and on pace.
Setting Up Milestones
To create fundraising milestones:
- Go to the Fundraising tab on your trip dashboard.
- Look for the Milestones section.
- Click Add Milestone to create a new target.
- Set the target amount and deadline date.
- Add a label or description (e.g., "50% raised by March 1").
Stoplight Indicators
Each milestone displays a color-coded status so you can tell at a glance how things are going:
- Green — on track. You've met or are ahead of this milestone's target by the deadline.
- Yellow — caution. You're within 20% of the target but haven't reached it yet. Time to encourage the team to push harder.
- Red — behind. The deadline has passed and the target wasn't met, or you're significantly below pace. Consider adjusting your fundraising strategy.
These visual indicators make it easy to assess fundraising health without digging into the numbers.
Team vs. Per-Person Scope
Milestones can be set at two levels:
- Team scope — tracks the total amount raised by the entire team. Use this when fundraising is pooled or when you want to measure overall progress.
- Per-person scope — tracks individual fundraising progress against a per-person target. Each member sees their own status indicator.
You can use both scopes simultaneously — for example, a team milestone of "raise $20,000 by April 1" alongside per-person milestones of "$2,000 per member by March 15."
Fixed vs. Percentage Targets
When creating a milestone, you can define the target as:
- Fixed amount — a specific dollar amount (e.g., "$10,000 by February 28").
- Percentage — a percentage of the overall goal (e.g., "50% raised by March 1"). This is useful because if the total goal changes, the milestone adjusts automatically.
Best Practices for Milestone Planning
- Create 3–4 milestones spread across the fundraising period, not just a single final deadline.
- Front-load your milestones slightly — aim for 30% raised in the first third of the timeline to build momentum.
- Communicate milestones to your team so everyone knows the targets and can rally together.
- When a milestone turns yellow or red, don't panic — use it as a prompt to try new fundraising strategies or increase outreach.
- Celebrate when milestones turn green! Recognizing progress keeps morale high.