crowdfundingRegardless of which social media platform that you use, be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even one of the newer social sites, you’ve probably seen posts made by online fundraising campaigns that have gone viral,  and raised significant donations. Known as crowdfunding, donations raised in this way have allowed an increasingly diverse group of needs and projects to be successfully funded all over the world and with seemingly little effort.

The types of organisations that use crowdfunding, and the projects that they fund, are wide ranging.  Tech start-ups increasingly turn to crowdfunding to finance their latest innovative gadgets, private individuals turn to crowdfunding to cover unexpected medical bills, and even non-profit organisations such a civic preservation group, might turn to crowdfunding to secure the funds to preserve a significant historical structure or save an endangered habitat.

Due to the highly publicised success stories, it seems that almost everyone is turning to crowdsourcing for funding. Why should your NFP be any different?

Before you make a decision on using crowdfunding to solicit donations for your Non-Profit, you should first be aware of the pros and cons associated with this non-traditional source of funding.  Today we will look at the pros. What is good about crowdfunding?  What might make it a viable option for your NFP to use?

Advantages of Crowdfunding

  • Crowdfunding is significantly less expensive than traditional mass market and direct mailing costs. Ads on television, magazine, newspapers and radio can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Direct mail is also quite expensive, as mailing lists, content design, printing and mailing all add to the cost, which adds up quickly. Since crowdfunding relies on social media and sharing to ask for donations, it costs very little to start a crowdfunding campaign as the basic level of most social media platforms is free to use.  Combining posts on social media with direct marketing to email lists can broaden the audience for you appeal and are still far cheaper than traditional fundraising sources.  
  • There are also several sites that make it easy to create a crowdfunding campaign and share your message online and receive donations online as well. Most charge only a small fee or percentage of the total donations.  CauseVox, Kickstarter and GoFundMe are just a few sites that make it easy to create a crowdfunding campaign, but there are many more. 
  • Since crowdfunding relies on social media to spread the message, it frees up your time that can be spent on other projects for your group. 
  • Crowdsourcing allows a greater number of volunteers to “buy in” and support your group for a lower amount, which can increase your total donations received. This can also increase awareness about your group on a large scale, which can make it easier to find volunteers to physically commit their time and talents to your cause.

It all sounds good, doesn’t it?  But let’s not just look at the good points.  Come back tomorrow and read our next post which looks at the cons – the not so positive side of crowdfunding.  Then you can make your choice with an open mind.