Now we can easily fund each other and projects that we believe in.
Crowd Funding (per Wikipedia) describes the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their resources, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Oh... and there is lots of money to be shared!
Here is my recent post on how to win at Crowd Funding - http://bit.ly/kickask
There are unique monetary issues for Nonprofits. Matt Rainone at Amp has an overview here. This is his summary of one service that gets it right, CrowdTilt ...
Crowd funding is by no means a new or novel concept; however, sites like Kickstarter and IndieGogo make it tough on charitable initiatives. While Kickstarter doesn’t allow for charitable projects altogether IndieGogo doesn’t offer tax-deductible donations – both issues creating problems for causes looking to generate funds quickly, similar to what we recently saw with Hurricane Sandy efforts. In comes CrowdTilt. Earlier this month, they started offering tax-deductible options for non-profits which makes it the “first crowdfunding site to fully support charity fundraising.”
FYI:
Crowdfunding Platforms - For peer-to-peer (p2p) fundraising for nonprofit organizations:
Crowdfunding Platforms - For peer-to-peer (p2p) fundraising for nonprofit organizations:
- Have a content page for posting videos, pictures and news about your cause.
- Use an email tool that shares posted content with your supporters.
- Create tracking that lets you see how much money each post generates.
- Leverage "Fan" fundraising tools so that your supporters can also raise funds for you from their connections.
- Connect a direct connection between the tool and your bank so funds are directly deposited into your bank account when you request them.
- Supporters should be able to easily create fundraising pages on your behalf by filling out a short registration form or by using Facebook connect. Ideally, you want the registration flow linked off of your website, not the fundraising platform's website.
- Supporters should be able to personalize their page by adding a message, videos and pictures.
- Supporters should be able to share their page via social media and email. When emailing, they should be able to easily import their address books.
- When someone makes a donation to the fundraising page, the page should get credited, the donor should automatically get a e-receipt, and the fundraiser should receive the contact info of the donor so that they can thank them. The beneficiary organization should also receive the donor info, and should be able to easily thank the donor as well as further encourage the fundraiser.
- Should allow for team fundraising, where several individual supporters can fundraise as part of a team. This is useful in many scenarios.
- Events are also a great opportunity to leverage p2p fundraising (i.e. race/walks). Look for a platform that seamlessly connects the two together so that your event participants can set up pages and fundraise leading up to the event.
- The fundraising page layout should look and feel like a natural extension of your organization's brand... not the fundraising software company's brand. Avoid platforms that do not allow you to remove their own logo or ask for a "tip" when your donors are processing their donation.
- Look at some of the best online fundraising nonprofits out there (Charity Water, Invisible Children, Movember for example), and see what platforms allow you to emulate them right out of the box.
- Get creative with content to inspire participation!
BONUS Links - Fundraising services
http://www.crowdrise.com/firefoxchallenge
Random list at More Of It
