Translation guide
A fundraising campaign is an organized effort to collect money for a specific cause, project, or organization. In Japanese, the most common and natural way to express this depends on the context: whether it's a formal drive, a charity event, a political campaign, or a grassroots effort.
fundraising campaign (general)
political fundraising event
crowdfunding campaign
A broad, organized effort to raise funds, often for charity, disaster relief, or a specific project.
The most common and neutral term for a fundraising campaign or donation drive. It literally means 'donation-raising activity' and is used for everything from street collections to online campaigns.
The Red Cross launched a large-scale fundraising campaign.
We are running a fundraising campaign at school for the disaster-stricken area.
A more business-like term, often used for startups, projects, or corporate fundraising. '資金調達' means 'fundraising/financing' and 'キャンペーン' is 'campaign'.
Specifically a 'donation campaign', often used for charity or non-profit drives. '寄付' means 'donation'.
Please support our year-end donation campaign.
An effort to raise money for a political candidate, party, or cause.
An online campaign to raise funds from many people, typically via platforms like Kickstarter or Campfire.
A campaign involving volunteers collecting money in public places or going door-to-door.
募金活動 (bokin katsudō) is the go-to phrase for charitable or public donation drives. 資金調達キャンペーン (shikin chōtatsu campaign) sounds more corporate or entrepreneurial, like raising investment. Use 募金活動 for most non-profit contexts.
fundraising campaign for disaster relief
They organized a fundraising campaign for the new hospital.
We ran a fundraising campaign for new product development via crowdfunding.
The standard term for a political fundraising event, often a dinner or reception where supporters pay to attend. Literally 'political funds party'.
Many companies attended the minister's political fundraising party.
A more general term for 'election fundraising', often used in news reports. '選挙資金' means 'campaign funds' and '集め' means 'collecting'.
The candidate is busy with election fundraising.
The loanword 'crowdfunding' is widely understood and used in Japan. It can refer to the method or a specific campaign.
His project reached its funding goal through a crowdfunding campaign.
Explicitly 'crowdfunding campaign', used when you need to specify the campaign aspect.
We are launching a crowdfunding campaign for a new game.
Specifically 'street fundraising', where volunteers stand in busy areas with donation boxes. Very common for charities.
We will hold a street fundraising campaign in front of the station this weekend.
Door-to-door fundraising, less common now but still used by some organizations like the Red Cross.
I contributed to the Red Cross door-to-door fundraising campaign.
スタートアップの資金調達キャンペーン
startup fundraising campaign
In Japanese, the word キャンペーン is often used for sales promotions or marketing campaigns. For fundraising, it's more natural to use 募金活動 or simply 募金 unless you specifically mean a time-limited promotional drive. Saying ファンドレイジングキャンペーン is understood but sounds like marketing jargon.
We started a fundraising campaign.
その政治資金パーティーで数百万円が集まった。
The political fundraising campaign raised millions of yen.
Our crowdfunding campaign was a success.