4 Crowdfunding Tips for Successful End-of-Year Nonprofit Fundraising Campaigns

With end-of-year nonprofit fundraising efforts approaching, I have written about tips and insights that can be implemented to help meet fundraising targets in posts like  6 Tips for End-of-Year Nonprofit Fundraising Email Campaigns for Stronger Results, 5 Tips for Stronger 2013 End-of Year Nonprofit Fundraising, 3 Tips for #Giving Tuesday Preparation to Optimize Nonprofit Fundraising and 5 Strategies for Stronger End-of-Year Nonprofit Fundraising Results. Another strategy that can be integrated into a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts is crowdfunding – a concept where the collective efforts of individuals pool funds through an online platform toward a shared goal. An industry research report by crowdfunding.org estimates this channel to reach $16.6 billion by 2014.

The concept is not a new one and has been around for well over a decade. However the advancement of technologies and the birth of many online platforms that host crowdfunding programs have contributed to its overall growth and made it a viable way of raising funds within a short period time for specific projects, while spreading cause related messages to new supporters. To ensure a successful crowdfunding campaign, it’s important to keep the following tips in mind:

1. Select a Project – A crowdfunding initiative is best suited for raising funds specific to a project that will have tangible results and an end goal. General fundraising and annual giving campaigns are not well suited for crowdfunding and therefore it’s important to select your project based on the needs of your organization and one that you can construct a compelling story around.
2. Story Telling – Your crowdfunding campaign needs to have a hook that will attract and motivate supporters to help fund your project. As is the case with fundraising in general you must tell a good story that will not only generate interest but incite action. In your story ensure you have a developed subject (person, place or thing), the obstacle they are facing, what the end goal is and how the audience can help solve the problem.
3. Peer-to-Peer – Implementing a crowdfunding initiative is a great way to engage your supporters in peer-to-peer fundraising where they help fundraise on your behalf to their personal networks (family, friends and colleagues). Many crowdfunding platforms facilitate this by providing personal fundraising pages that are connected directly to your crowdfunding campaigns main page. This concept can be taken a step further with a team concept adding a competitive element to a campaign.
4. Gifts & Perks – Many crowfunding programs provide gifts or perks to supporters and although these can be an excellent way to engage new prospects, nonprofits have to be careful as to what they offer. If offering an incentive makes sense for your program and is in keeping with your organization’s overall mission then ensure that it is directly related to your campaign. Perks should also be cost-effective as to not negate the efforts of raising the funds. One excellent type of perk is offering special access and updates to the progress of the project through video, pictures or newsletters giving the funders the exclusive opportunity to see how their support has helped the project first hand.

Crowdfunding can be very advantageous to nonprofits and help them stand out from the crowd if structured properly, especially during this end-of-year fundraising period. Have you ever run a crowdfunding campaign? What elements made it successful for your organization? Share your experience in the comments.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.