An indie musician raises $810,000 in nine days to distribute her new album. A guy who thinks an iPod shuffle would make a good watch, raises $941,648 and starts taking orders immediately after. A celebrity asks friends and fans to contribute $25,000 to buy mosquito nets to curb the spread of malaria in Africa. Instead, they give him more than $61,000.
What’s the common denominator in each of these scenarios? Crowdfunding.
Kickstarter. Crowdrise. AngelList. Crowdtilt. A slew of web-based platforms have sprung up in the last few years that allow people to connect directly with thousands of people who are willing to chip in a few bucks to help make their dreams a reality. According to one report, in 2011 over $1.5 billion was raised via crowdfunding.
But what is the potential for nonprofits? Specifically, your nonprofit?
Join #fundchat on Wednesday, May 23 at 12 pm EDT for the conversation, “How to Make Crowdfunding Work for Your Nonprofit.”
During the hour-long discussion, we’ll pose five questions that will help you formulate your strategy for leveraging these platforms for the benefit of those your organization serves. Here is today’s line-up of questions:
Q1 What are the elements of a successful campaign?
Q2 Are there certain “kinds” of projects that work best for crowdfunding?
Q3 Is crowdfunding a net positive for nonprofit orgs? What’s the downside?
Q4 What is preventing you from experimenting with crowdfunding?
Q5 Don’t we already “do crowdsourcing”? The technology is just a new tool. Discuss…
#fundchat is a weekly conversation on Twitter where experts from across the U.S. (and even the world) share, advise, and even consult on topics related to nonprofit fundraising and marketing. Joining #fundchat is a snap. Just use our live discussion page to follow the conversation. When you want to offer a comment or question, the form will auto-fill the hashtag for you. Alternatively, you can use your favorite Twitter client to follow the hashtag (#fundchat!) during 12 – 1 pm EDT to see the conversation in action. When chiming in, be sure to include the hashtag in your tweet. If you are new, you should also check out our participation guidelines.