CrowdfundingCrowdfundingfor social enterprisesfor social enterprises

An Innovative Way to Raising Funds, Awareness, An Innovative Way to Raising Funds, Awareness, Participation and Engagement for your cause, Participation and Engagement for your cause,

charity or project. charity or project.

CrowdfundingToday’s Workshop

• What is Crowdfunding?

• How does Crowdfunding work?

• Where to Crowdfund?

• Writing your pitch

• Choosing rewards

• The Next Steps

• Tips and Pitfalls

• Your First Steps

This workshop is powered by HI-Arts

What is Crowdfunding?

“Survival of the fittest for creative ideas. Lots of people – each giving a small amount – canmake good things happen. The ‘crowd’ decides

what’s good, what’s not, what they want to fundand what they don’t…Good ideas will shine

through and the wisdom of the crowd to fund themis a really exciting prospect.”

Crowdfunder

£5 or more – Acknowledgement on the Hamish Henderson

Archive Trust website

£10 or more – Acknowledgement in the first Hamish

Henderson Journal

£20 or more – Exclusive signed copy of the Journal

£100 or more – Signed copy of the Journal and a VIP

invitation to the launch

£200 or more – Private View - personal viewing of some of

the materials in the Henderson Archive.

Hamish Henderson Archives

Raised £4,670£4,670

(£2,670 over their target)

with 128 donations128 donations.

On average people donated £36 each£36 each.

Gig Buddies

• The Gig Buddies Campaign has 27 days left to go.

• They aim to raise £1,000.

• So far 27 people have supported this project.

• On average people are donating £22.

Demand Energy Equality

• The crowdfunding campaign finished on 5th June 2012.

• They raised £5,145 – £145 more then their target

• 105 people pledged donations.

• On average people donated £49.

How does Crowdfunding work?

In a Nutshell…

1. Pick the project or idea you want funded.

2. Identify how much you need to raise.

3. Pick a Crowdfunding website.

4. Identify your story and your pitch.

5. How will you reward your new funders?

6. Tell everyone you know, and those interested in what you do, about it!

Where to Crowdfund?

Look for a host that offers support and advice in developing and communicating your project.

Find out how long the site will run your campaign

Check to see if the crowdfunding site charges you for raising funds?

Make sure you read any guidelines or terms and conditions before launching your project.

Setting your Funding Target

• Core costs of the project • Rewards – what additional costs?• Crowdfunding site Fee• Ask for slightly more• Community commitment• Estimate the average pledge

Writing your pitchYou need to make the idea stick in the minds of potential funders…

• Keep it Simple

• Make it Unexpected

• Create a Concrete idea

• Make it Credible

• Find the Emotion

• Tell a Story

Who, What, When, Where and How

14 Questions to Answer

9. Who will be doing it and what are

their qualifications?

10. How will you tell people about it?

11. How much do you want?

12. How much have you raised yourself?

13. How will the project be evaluated?

14. Who or what will benefit from the

funding of this project?

1. Who are you?

2. Who is your target audience?

3. Why do you need money?

4. Why might the funder be interested?

5. What’s the idea?

6. Why are you the best people to be delivering

this?

7. Where is the activity taking place?

8. When will it be taking place?

Creating a Video

Creating a Video is Essential for:

• Connecting with your funders

• Demonstrating trust and value

• Being clear and concise

• Providing a short and sweet pitch

Creating a VideoWhat type of video? • Interview’s • Documentary • An animation• Photography Slideshow

Pointers• Keep it short and to the point • Clearly relate to the project • Quality of video footage • Editing • Audio • Creativity

What is a Reward?

What is a Reward?

Let Plum explain…

Meme

• Plum’s crowdfunding campaign ended on October 15th 2011.

• She raised £5,040 (101% of her target)

• 137 people backed her project.

• On average people donated £36.

What is a Reward?

• Your way of saying ‘Thank You’

• Builds support for your future project, cause

and/or organisation.

• Act as a marketing and promotional tactic.

• Must be creative and linked to your campaign.

£5 – Wall of Fame: be included on the website Wall of Fame. If you represent an

organisation your logo and link to your website will be posted.

£10 – Ready Steady Cook: everything above and you’ll be sent a PDF copy of the

Southside Foodshare recipe book. Compiled by members and suppliers favourite recipes,

this reflects the versatility of seasonal Scottish produce.

£20 – Launch Invitation + 250ml rapeseed oil: a VIP invitation to the launch event, your

name on the Wall of Fame, and you’ll be sent a 250ml bottle of Scottish rapeseed oil – the

most popular product distributed through Southside Foodshare.

£50 – Launch Invitation + 500ml rapeseed oil: a VIP invitation to the launch event, your

name on the Wall of Fame, and you’ll be sent a 500ml bottle of Scottish rapeseed oil – the

most popular product distributed through Southside Foodshare.

£250 – All of the above + Priority in setting up a new Co-op: Two VIP invitations, 500ml of

Scottish rapeseed oil, credit on Wall of Fame, and hands on assistance in setting up a new

cooperative in your area. Southside Foodshare will work with you to set up a system that

suits your needs, and make sure that you get your first vegetable delivery free!

Why is Crowdfunding relevant to us now?

• It is an enterprising solution to raising funds.

• It is a new approach which cuts out traditional funding approaches and their requirements.

• It enables communities to mobilise around the things they want to see happen;

• Communities become investors in their own future.

• It mobilises new money when traditional support is less available.

• It is a good indicator of the eventual success of your project.

Next Steps: Marketing your project

Crowdfunding Website

Your Website – friends, partner and supporter websites (Web Release)

Your Blog – friends, partner and supporter’s blogs (Blog Release)

Your Social Networks – friends, partner and supporter social networks (Share)

Community News, Radio, Magazines, Leaflets – local word of mouth (Press Release)

National News, Radio, Magazines – national word of mouth (Press Release)

Email Your Database – friends, partner and supporter’s forward emails (Links)

eNewsletter – friends, partner and supporter’s newsletters (Links)

Mobile SMS – ask them to share their text (Share)

Presentations – at your events, activities, when selling (Word of Mouth)

Posters, Leaflets, Postcards – For your community or beyond (Promotion)

Letters – contact your fans, supporters, volunteers etc personally (Invite)

Tell everyone you know! Get them to tell everyone they know!

Next Steps: Keeping your funders up-to-date

• Update your Crowdfunding site • Thank You Cards• Blogging• Social Networking • Personalised Emails • Invitations

TipsCrowdfunding is not the easy option – any and all fundraising is hard!

It helps, but it’s not necessary, to have a pre-existing community of supporters.

Be resourceful –

It can be hard to incentivise people, capture their imagination.

Be clear –

Set a completion date for the campaign, clearly define your goals and

expectations.

Be Informative –

Offer as much information about your project as you can.

Pitfalls

Projects fail if…

• You don’t express clearly the nature of your project.

• Additional information is hard to come across.

• You don’t tell anyone about it.

• There is a lack of communication between yourself and your new funders.

• You don’t follow up on rewards.

• Your project doesn’t fit with the parameters of the Crowdfunding site you choose.

• You choose not to produce a video.

• You forget to build and nurture your online and offline community around your project.

• You promise what you can’t deliver.

• You focus on the negative.

FAQs

• How long does a campaign last?

• What happens when my project reaches its target funding?

• How will I be able to contact my funders?

• What happens if I don’t meet my target?

• What happens if I reach my funding target before the end of the campaign?

• Can I pledge to my own project?

• Will the Crowdfunding site take a cut?

• How do supporters collect their rewards?

Your First Steps towards Crowdfunding

• The project idea• Delivery dates• Costs to deliver• Crowdfunding Target• What would Crowdfunding support• The benefits of the project• Crowdfunding video• Rewards• Potential donors• Marketing tactics• Keeping funders up-to-date