five best practices for nonprofit crowdfunding
DESCRIPTION
Presented for 501 Tech NYC in October 2014, Causevox CEO Rob Wu discusses ways to create a successful crowdfunding campaign.TRANSCRIPT
Five Best Practices forNonprofit Crowdfunding
Rob Wu, CEO of CauseVox
www.causevox.com@causevox
@robjwu
I Raised Over $125,000 In 10 daysvia social media and crowdfunding for the Red Cross
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What Is Crowdfunding?
CauseVox Examples
Recovering Economy
Consumer
Behavior
Ubiquitous Internet
Three Major Forces in Crowdfunding
30% of the $5 billion crowdfunded went to social causes in 2013.
Start With a Well-Defined Goal
Best Practice 1:
Use a Baseline How much have we raised online in the past
year? What is the average amount that we have
raised in a campaign or event? What is the average donation amount online
for us? (it’s $88 for in crowdfunding)
If You Don’t Have a Baseline, Think About… How much do I need to make an impact? How much does the product or service that I
want to create cost? How much did similar crowdfunding
campaigns raise?
Shift Your Perspective
Impact Unit Metric
Dollar Metric
Make Your Goals SMART
Rethink Rewards & Donation Tiers
Best Practice 2:
What Are Rewards/Premiums? Rewards are items, recognition, or a service
that you’ll get for contributing a crowdfunding campaign.
They are also known as perks or gifts, and are used as incentives to motivate people to support a campaign.
Rewards Actually Reduce Giving! You should focus on impact-focused rewards
instead.
Example: Hand-sewn scarves from a family who
started a local business as a result of your donor’s micro-finance loan
Personal letter from a child who you sponsored for her education.
Focus On Impact Tiers Instead
Create a Compelling StoryBest Practice 3:
Let’s look at Hollywood storylines to help you create a compelling story.
Overcoming The MonsterSimilar to James Bond, Batman, or the Avengers, you can show your organization overcoming a villain or some form of adversity.
Rags To RichesLike Chris Gardner in Pursuit of Happyness, showcase your organization or individual(s) transitioning from a low to a much better place.
The QuestTales of a dedicated group of people who encounter perils along the way to reach an ambitious (Lord Of The Rings).
TragedyIn Breaking Bad, Walter White dives into the world of making meth. He falls into something bad and gets more and more evil each day. You can focus on the negative as part of your storyline
Build A Tribe Of Champions
Best Practice 4:
Rely On The People You Know First
Rely On The People You Know First Promoters - People that will share your campaign
and updates via email, social media, etc. They’ll amplify your reach. Think of them as your own publicity team.
Fundraisers - People that will help solicit for donations via peer-to-peer fundraising. They’ll create a mini-crowdfunding campaign through personal fundraising pages. You’ll raise twice as much this way.
Donors - People that will contribute to your campaign.
Leverage Press For Your Campaign
Best Practice 5:
Not All Campaigns Should Focus On Publicity & Press
3 Steps To Get Press Target - Use free tools like Twitter Search to find
journalists that have an interest in your area. Jot down their contact info (Twitter handle and email address).
Prepare - Ask yourself, why is this newsworthy? Why would the journalist want to write about me? Why would her audience want to read the article? Come up with a press release and pitch materials based on your newsworthy story.
Pitch - Contact the journalists that you’ve identified, tell them your story, and give them more info about your campaign.
Best Practices Summary
1. Start with a well defined goal2. Rethink rewards and donation tiers3. Create a compelling story4. Build a tribe of champions5. Leverage press for your campaign
Additional Resources Introduction to Crowdfunding for Nonprofits How to Plan a Nonprofit Crowdfunding Camp
aign Hollywood Storylines for Nonprofit Crowdfun
ding Publicity for Online Fundraising Community for Online Fundraising
Connect With Us!Interested in a demo or have questions? Contact us directly
at [email protected]. We’d be happy to help!
Visit us at causevox.com
twitter.com/causevox
facebook.com/causevox