Don't Forget About Crowdfunding!

If you're involved with a non-profit organisation or charity you will, hopefully, have heard of crowdfunding. It's a powerful resource used throughout the world of non-profits to gain financial support. Last year (2013) crowdfunding raised an estimated $5.1billion worldwide. This was a 50% increase from the number of acquired charitable donations by peer to peer fundraisers the previous year.

So, clearly it is an incredibly successful tool. But how does the average non-profit organisation tap into it? And what does it mean for the overall money raised by charities?

What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is a simple and effective way for non-profits to raise money for their causes and also to spread awareness of their goals. Here's a simple breakdown of how it works:
(courtesy of crowdfunder.co.uk/) 

Crowdfunding FACTS:

- The average crowdfunding donation is $88.22

- The average money raised by individuals was $534.49

- The average about of money raised by campaigns run by fundraising teams was $9,237.55

- The StayClassy Kony2012 campaign raised $4.8 million

- The #IceBucketChallenge campaign raised over $100 million

- 28.26% of donors have donated previously

- Average campaign lasts around 9 weeks

- People aged between 24-35 are much more likely to participate in crowdfunding campaigns.

- People over 45 are significantly less likely to back crowdfunded campaigns.


US crowdfunding HISTORY:

 

How to UTILISE crowdfunding for your cause:

- First step with croudfunding is to establish your organisation. Do you have a name? Do you have a website? Are you on social media? These are all very important steps before you can set your project in motion.

- Next up you can create some promotional/ informative material. You might want to make a video or banners for example. When you have some base material you can move onto the next step.

- Connect directly with people and also spread the news widely. (Social media can be very powerful with this step.) Contact existing organisations that may have an interest in your cause. Family and friends are also a great resource at this point.

- Set a date for your campaign to go live and stick to it. Making a press release can be helpful at this stage as well.

- Make sure you're prepared for the donations, questions and other forms of contact when your campaign launches.

- Once you're campaign has been launched keep your followers updated throughout the process and (very importantly) don't forget to thank people! 

Helpful links:
crowdfundingforum.com - 4 Social media mistakes to avoid during your crowdfunding project

crowdfunder.co.uk/ - How crowdfunding works and Top 10 PR tips