This is SUCH a great question. I actually hope more nonprofits start asking this as they begin to explore new territory like online giving, social media, and building up their web presence.
Can you actually use crowdfunding to get funding for an event, expand your nonprofit, connect donors with your cause, or make positive changes in the world?
The answer is 100% YES!!
There are many nonprofits who are using nonprofit crowdfunding to raise money from existing and new donors, like this organization which raised over $80k on CauseVox.
In the past few years since starting this blog, I’ve realized just how outdated fundraising practices are in the nonprofit world, and I want to change that.
That’s why I’m putting together a complete blueprint for Nonprofit Crowdfunding that I’ll release on Amazon in the coming weeks. If you’re interested, you can join the pre-order list here.
Regardless, there are a few things that you absolutely must do if you want to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.
I’ve put together a new GUIDE that’s packed with science-backed nonprofit fundraising methods, resources, strategies, and killer marketing methods.
You should check it out if you want to get more donations and you want to fast-track the entire process.
1. Decide on P2P fundraising or crowdfunding
A peer to peer fundraising campaign is a very different beast than a traditional crowdfunding campaign. When you do a P2P fundraising campaign, you’re empowering a core base of donors to raise money from their social network.
Let’s say that you’re trying to raise money to support an event where everyone walks 3 miles to encourage cancer research and healthy living. If you’re doing a P2P campaign, you’d give each runner their own individual fundraising page, which they can use to track donations or contributions from their friends and family.
Your job then would be to educate each runner about how to actually solicit donations from their social network. You’d also provide them materials like:
- Flyers for their local area
- Pre-written messages to post on social media
- Marketing information and materials
- Ways to combat rejections or skepticism
- The “story” or “pitch” that they’re going to share with their friends
There is a lot of hand-holding that goes along with running a P2P fundraising campaign because you have to make your core fundraisers feel confident about asking their friends for a donation. You also have to show them the best way to go about it.
However, if you’re doing a traditional crowdfunding campaign, then your role in the process is extremely different. There will be one fundraising page which you manage and drive traffic to. This will be the core campaign page and there will be one funding meter which shows your fundraising progress.
Your time is going to be spent marketing that campaign page in a variety of ways, including:
- Social media
- PR awareness
- Email marketing
- Local events and direct outreach.
The fact that every crowdfunding campaign has a goal and limited fundraising duration creates urgency and encourages prospective donors to take action.
I have written a lot about the psychology of giving or contributing to online fundraising campaigns here.
Although your core donors will share the campaign and likely get some members of their network to donate, they won’t be managing the fundraiser or be responsible for the marketing.
Of course, you should encourage your donors to take as much ownership over the campaign as possible, but your focus is far less on education with a crowdfunding campaign and far more on driving traffic/creating awareness.
These two different types of fundraising campaigns come with their own pros and cons and it’s important to be aware of each before going head first into your first campaign.
Yes, there are costs associated with running an online fundraising campaign. From a monetary standpoint there will be:
- Platform and payment processing fees (usually a percentage of funds raised)
- Marketing and human resource costs
- Costs related to the event or initiative you plan to put on.
There will also be time-related costs like:
- Educating staff members
- Customer service for donors and contributors
- Doing social media, core donor communications, and media outreach.
In other words, this isn’t “free money” by any means. You can’t just slap up a page and expect donations to pour in from around the world. You have to put in the effort to make an attractive mouse trap, form relationships, and build a core tribe that will attract even more donors.
This task might seem daunting.
“Can’t I just hire someone to run my campaign?”
Well, yes, you could. You could even take some of my online training or follow the step-by-step guide that I’ll be releasing on Amazon.
The problem with outsourcing the campaign is that it’s going to rob you of a crucial learning experience. It’s also going to cost a lot.
Your nonprofit is as good as the skills and knowledge of your employees. Rather than seeing this campaign as a “problem” that needs to be solved, look at it as an opportunity.
If you play your cards right, in a very short time-frame, you’re going to become MUCH more savvy when it comes to social media, driving traffic, rallying donors, and sharing your story online
Think of this campaign as a non-profit accelerator program. You’re going to boost your fundraising game, which will enable you to grow in leaps and bounds. The skills you’re about to acquire will pay dividends years down the road.
3. Craft a great story
Aside from choosing a good platform, which I’ve outlined in previous posts, I think that the critical mistake that many nonprofits make is assuming that people care about their cause, initiative, or project.
I’m going to be 100% honest. Most people don’t care. Plain and simple.
It’s not that people are uncaring or inherently bad. It’s just that we’re lazy. Why should we spend 5 minutes watching a video about your organization on a Thursday night, when all we want to do is drink a glass of red wine and watch some Netflix?
There are a lot of ways to capture attention. You can use compelling visuals, click-bait headlines, social proof, and other techniques.
Thus far, I’ve found that the most powerful way to peak curiosity and maintain attention over an extended period of time is to tell a great story.
A great story is going to:
- Make a reader or listener ask, “so what happened next?”
- Empathize with the main characters
- Feel an emotion afterwards
Not to get all religious here (I’m agnostic), but one of the most popular bits of information that has been passed down from generation to generation is the Bible. The Bible is centered around stories or parables, because stories are a great way to make a message stick.
Stories also prompt sharing. If you’re hanging out with a friend, you’re not very likely to ask them to donate to an online fundraising campaign (unless you’re connected with it in some way). But you might share a story that moved or touched you.
I talked a lot more about this in my article which explains how to make a crowdfunding campaign go viral.
I’ve put together a new GUIDE that’s packed with science-backed nonprofit fundraising methods, resources, strategies, and killer marketing methods.
You should check it out if you want to get more donations and you want to fast-track the entire process.
Where should you go from here?
I’m biased, but I’d recommend getting on my email list where I’ll announce my Amazon guide. As a homework assignment, take ONE thing that you’ve learned from this article and take action.
As much as I love sharing information and education with the CrowdCrux community, I’m more excited when I actually see readers taking action. It’s inspirational, and that’s the REAL reason why I teach things online.
Get out there, take some action, and let me know what you did!
