Fundraising Services Redefined with Kickstarter and Givmo

Miratel has been providing professional fundraising services since 2000 and during this time we have seen many changes in the type and accessibility of fundraising services that are now available. In particular, the rapid growth and popularity of a variety of online philanthropy-assisted platforms that serve to increase the awareness of the cause and its mission through the integration of social media, the encouragement of crowd funding and the use of other technological advancements. They are quick and simple to the supporter while furthering the unique needs of the nonprofit (or individual) ranging from the very basic gesture of giving unused items in your closet or storage, to event participation to the financial support of arts, health, poverty, entrepreneurship or environmental causes all with a series of simple clicks. We have previously highlighted other similar platforms such as ConvergeUS, Jumo, Crowd Rise, Give2gether and Kiva and we continue today with Kickstarter and Givmo, two sites that are each helping to advance a worthy cause or goal in their own right.

Kickstarter image courtesy of thegetsmartblog.com

Kickstarter

The brain child of Perry Chen, after being strapped for cash while working on a Jazz Festival project over a decade ago, Kickstarter is an online platform that connects creators and artists with financial supporters or backers.  The site was launched in 2009 and helps those in creative fields to raise the required funding to work on and complete their projects.  Whether in music, film, food, publishing and many other fields in the creative spectrum, the Kickstarter program enables creators to test their concept while keeping control and ownership of their projects. Backers pledge their support and can benefit with tangible rewards (established by the creator at the onset of the project) that go beyond the satisfaction of seeing a copy of a published book or a recorded CD or DVD through to its completion and knowing you played a role.

As an ‘all-or-nothing’ type program, projects have to be fully funded before time expires, prior to any money being exchanged.  Both creators and backers are protected so that each creative project can be completed with the required capital, while those backing the creator minimize the risk of donating to a project that cannot be completed due to underfunding. Kickstarter also facilitates direct one-on-one contact between each creator and their backers, giving creators a forum to post updates and pictures of their projects, interact with and receive words of encouragement or advice from their backers.  The success of each project is heavily dependent on how well received the idea is by the public, as well as the effort in promoting the project through various social media outlets.

Based out of New York City, to date Kickstarter has raised over $75 million, supported by 750,000 backers, and has hosted over 26,000 projects across the U.S. and Canada on their site.  It has been steadily growing over the past 2 years, gaining momentum and has been recently covered in The New York Times, CNN and International Business Times.

Givmo
Everyone undoubtedly has things in their closets or storage that are never used and that often are donated to Goodwill or thrown out with the garbage where it ends up in a landfill.  With estimates that over 80% of what is donated is thrown out, a new way to unload your unwanted possessions, while protecting the environment and giving to charity has popped up in the U.S.

Givmo is an online posting board that connects people who want to give away their ‘junk’ to those who are looking for their next ‘treasure’.  Similar to your local Goodwill or Freecycle, Givmo adds a charitable element to their ‘free stuff’ program.  Using Givmo to unload the things you don’t want also results in a donation to charity, as Givmo donates one dollar to charity for every item given through their website.  Givmo hand selects each charity and features one at a time for several weeks at a time.  All money raised goes to a great cause and also brings much needed awareness and exposure to a charity that it may not otherwise receive.

Givmo image courtesy of givmo.com

Givmo even has a positive environmental implication as it reduces waste and supports responsible consumption. These items can easily be thrown into the garbage and end in a landfill but through Givmo, they can be given to someone who will continue to use the item extending its lifespan and reducing the demand for more production. Givmo is totally free from any hidden listing fees or cost – the only cost to the ‘buyer’ is shipping which is conveniently provided through UPS.  Once a buyer makes payment for shipping the giver is emailed a postage free label to ship the item. Although currently only available in the U.S., this concept can easily grow to other parts of the world as more and more users embrace the concept that giving for free, not only helps support a charitable cause but  also makes environmental sense.

Nonprofits organizations are always looking for ways to broaden their reach and improve supporter engagement while enhancing their fundraising services or participation and online platforms of this nature help on all fronts. We will continue to explore additional sites that encourage altruism by making supporting a good cause, faster and easier.

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