Crowdfunding for your organization’s upcoming campaign or project will generate funds in support of your nonprofit’s larger fundraising goals and raise awareness for your cause both within and outside your network. Having an effective plan of action to problem-solve, generate interest, and sustain support during your virtual fundraising campaign will directly impact your
success with crowdfunding.
Here are some common challenges nonprofits face with crowdfunding:
- Building Trust within the Community – Promotion is a key factor in the success of a crowdfunding campaign. Thoughtful messaging, strategic marketing, and engaging media will build and maintain interest and persuade people to support your campaign and your mission.
- Effectively Managing the Campaign from Start to Finish – Preparing your crowdfunding campaign with the tools and organization needed to manage and drive campaign success before, during, and after is vital to keep track of your project, teams, audience reach, and growth of your funding.
- Setting Realistic Targets and Deadlines – Setting the right funding target with the right amount of time to achieve it is extremely important and often an afterthought.
Implementing an organized and intentional crowdfunding campaign strategy with the support of a platform that allows you to manage your money and donors will help you sustain your virtual fundraising success now and for the future.
Create a Buzz Before Launching the Campaign
It is important to generate interest and spread the word about your campaign before it begins. This means you need to build up the anticipation and get the buzz going 1-3 months before launching. It could be as simple as letting your community know you are working on something exciting and showing them some behind the scenes planning or a more strategic pre-launch that involves mission-based content.
Most importantly, don’t just create a campaign and send it out in an email and post it on social media. Instead, create a strategy and plan as much of the campaign as possible to ensure its success.
Raise 25-50% of your Goal Before Launching the Campaign
This approach encourages potential donors to trust your organization because they see that concentrated efforts have been made to reach the goal and that others have donated, indicating their trust.
Pro Tip: Unable to raise 25-50% before launching? Instead, focus on making sure you do not start the campaign with $0.
Track Analytics to Evaluate Performance
Setting up metrics and benchmarks at the beginning of your campaign to evaluate the success of your process will allow you to adjust your efforts for this campaign based on what is working. Also, tracking analytics and your campaign’s performance will prepare you with accurate data and information to ensure your nonprofit’s next crowdfunding campaign is even more successful!
Present your Objectives Clearly
Transparency is an effective tool to use in campaign messaging. Above we mentioned the importance of building trust, transparency is another way of doing that. So step out of your comfort zone and be open with your audience – share where you are in your progress and exactly why you need funds.
Be Direct with your Audience
Often we skim emails and mindlessly scroll social media, so making your call-to-action clear is essential when creating mass distributed content. Be bold in your efforts.
Leverage Storytelling
Your supporters want to understand how your nonprofit contributes to the community and hear actual experiences from those impacted by your organization. Including stories of how your mission makes a difference within your crowdfunding campaign and marketing materials will allow your donors to understand how their dollars are spent.
Find a “Matching Gift” Donor
Find a donor or company to match up to a certain amount of funding throughout your campaign. People want to see you and your nonprofit succeed. This approach will encourage supporters to make a contribution and help your organization in reaching the financial goal needed for the match to happen.
Create a Media Kit
Create a digital media kit for supporters to access. Make it easy for your supporters to share your campaign by providing copy, images, graphics, stories, and links that they can quickly copy and paste to share via email or social media.
Pro Tip: Be sure to provide copy and graphics optimized for each social media platform
Set Up Automated Emails with Call-To-Action Links
Remember to include shareable links in your automated emails. For example, after a donation has come through on your crowdfunding site, send an automated “Thank You” response/email that includes call-to-action links, such as “Share With A Friend.” This approach will remind your donors that they can make a larger difference by sharing your campaign.
Continue to Engage your Contributors
Keep your audience and donors updated throughout the campaign and the entire length of the project. Updates can include where you are in your funding goals, updates on the progress of the project, and stories of how the funds are having an impact.
Whatever you do, don’t ghost your donors. Those that supported your campaign gave their hard-earned money to your organization, and it is your job to ensure they know their support is appreciated and making a difference.
Convenience is a key factor in the success of a crowdfunding campaign. At Givebox, we understand the needs of a nonprofit when it comes to fundraising. We make crowdfunding easy for you by providing free and customizable donation forms and immediate access and control of the funds you raise. Try out our fully-equipped, advanced, yet user-friendly fundraising tools today!
