Here’s the crowdfunding main page example from Floor Us. Where ideas take off! Their recent HungerworX campaign raised $37,503–$12,503 more than their goal. The campaign does a fantastic job of showing supporters why this center is so important. The A Ray of Hope campaign not only recognizes that but goes above and beyond by including high-quality images to go along with the posts. Each donation amount results in a different “fruit creature” incentive, handmade by Autumn herself! Here’s the main crowdfunding page for the Ray of Hope campaign. ), Computer Education workshop (e.g. This type of campaign has proven effective for several reasons: The Gauntlet played into the human desire to “win” by providing immaterial perks as teams achieved fundraising milestones. During its run, the campaign not only reached its goal but actually exceeded it with a total of over 22,000 people donating. The best features of this campaign include: Many donors are hesitant to give to fundraising campaigns if they feel like the money will be used irresponsibly. Crowdfunding is a resourceful, effective method of fundraising that engages a wide base of people to achieve financial goals. Proven three-step approach to raising funds online. If you want to learn more about crowdfunding or how you can set up your own campaign, check out this beginner’s guide to crowdfunding for the complete rundown. Learn more about fundraising ideas for nonprofits. Many individuals need some financial help when they get sick, have a surgical operation, or are caring for an ill loved one. The campaign culminates in a board game competition held at Mox Boarding House, a Bellevue, Washington board game store. Rather than running one singular campaign, Team Red Cross’s success is the result of a combined effort from over 60 runners and individual fundraisers. Here are a few strengths of the campaign: The Nature Conservancy included multiple high-quality photos of the Niobara chalk formation region in their campaign. This campaign organizer, however, has explicitly stated that “Donations will be used to upgrade or replace equipment and provide transportation and other game-related expenses.” That kind of specificity goes a long way with donors. to raise money and awareness for events, projects, and general operational costs. Each team fundraises to benefit community nonprofits. Money Raised: $91,275. Learn more about raising money for cancer-related needs. Give Them Updates Letting your supporters in on the latest news for your project can really help them feel like... 2. Some standout features of this nonprofit crowdfunding campaign include: The image we’ve included only shows one of the six updates that the organizer has posted, but this one update covers a lot of ground and even has a picture attached! While crowdfunding has proven to be a great option for smaller organizations, like Project Epic, it can also be incredibly lucrative for some of the largest nonprofits around, like Habitat for Humanity. Just after The Nature Conservancy acquired the largest Niobara chalk formation in western Kansas, they created this crowdfunding campaign to raise money to complete the purchase and other expansions on the preserve. This particular crowdfunding campaign was started by EPIC, an organization that seeks to provide assistance and information to the homeless population in their area. People have gotten the funding they needed for causes ranging from paying for funeral expenses to school trips … Learn more about raising money for nonprofits and charities. According to the campaign page, it’s the “World’s largest open-source science project to understand the microbial diversity of the the Human Gut.” Supporters not only donate to fund the cause, but they actually become part of the study. Once you start crowdfunding and while your campaign is up and running, your crowdfunding team will really come into their own – especially your Online Communications person & Campaign Cheerleaders. So, in order to put his donors’ minds at ease, he includes a note that West family has granted him permission to coordinate this crowdfunding campaign on their behalf. Take a deep-dive into digital fundraising. Whether it’s new uniforms or equipment, conference or tournament fees, or travel costs, being part of a team isn’t cheap! While many people associate crowdfunding with projects like the Flow Hive, high powered artists—even Neil Young—have been using the system to take their ideas to the public. For the last few years, The Gauntlet campaign has blown its fundraising goals out of the water. We're unlike other fundraising software. This crowdfunding campaign, “Pizza for Heroes,” was started to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Project and the Fisher House Foundations. Money Raised: $12,191 (1.22X the original goal). The campaign chooses to focus on her happy life and outlook rather than her passing, and in doing so, is an uplifting page. However, this campaign also has creative illustrations customized to Boston and the marathon that set it apart from the crowd of crowdfunding campaigns. Learn more about raising money for creative projects. There are typically three types of crowdfunding: reward crowdfunding, debt crowdfunding, and equity crowdfunding. Check out the main crowdfunding page for the Pizza for Heroes campaign. Initial Fundraising Goal: $5,000 The crowdfunding campaign was created to help them raise money for their team of runners in the NYC Marathon. Money Raised: $545,909 (1.09X the original goal). This campaign uses a lot of crowdfunding best practices, allowing the Wenonah Camp to march toward reaching its fundraising goal. The Save the Children East Africa campaign was created on FundRazr to help feed hungry children in East Africa. Talking about the human gut and microbes is not the most appealing subject matter. Are there any major awareness days connected to your cause (e.g. Here’s the main page for the Riley Sandler Memorial Foundation. Striking images of the land and the animals that live there help attract donors to the page and show them why this fundraiser benefits the environment. Competition-based events present a family-friendly way to bring individuals together for fun, and fundraising. Interviews about Riley’s life and spirit, spliced with photos of her, tell her story and help explain why this campaign and memorial foundation are so important. Grieving for a family member or friend that has passed away is heartbreaking as it is, but add in the often thousands of dollars associated with funeral, burial, and memorial costs, and the event can turn into an emotional and financial crisis. Cooking may not be in your organization’s wheelhouse, but you can springboard off of the concept by curating a shared-knowledge workshop that appeals to your community base. Initial Fundraising Goal: $5,000 The campaign has a peer-to-peer fundraising element to it, where individual runners can obtain sponsorships for the run. Money Raised: $9,400 (1.88X the original goal). Here’s the main page for the Habitat for Humanity Global Village campaign. The purpose of this paper is to add to our empirical understanding of backer dynamics over the project funding cycle. See why this campaign has exceeded its goals: The American Gut campaign is extremely effective because its basic premise fully engages supporters. Initial Fundraising Goal: $2,000 The crowdfunding campaign A Ray of Hope was created by Lee Morgan to build an educational therapy center for special needs children in Tiruvannamalai, India. Crowdfunding involves relatively small contributions of many consumer-investors over a fixed time period (generally a few weeks). Are there any major symbols associated with your cause? There’s the main page for the campaign as well as each runner’s personal page, all of which funnel into the main campaign’s total. You can check other crowdfunding projects in similar domains. Learn more about images for crowdfunding campaigns. Are we missing your fundraising platform or nonprofit service? Forms and buttons for one-time and recurring giving. This crowdfunding campaign smartly created a branded hashtag: #WenonahGives. Instead, they depend on regular donations. These incentives encourage donors to give more and shows donors just how far their money can go. Keep your donors in the loop and encourage them to keep on giving to your campaign. Robin Hood NYC Marathon goes above and beyond what’s standard in its giving levels section. The goal of the campaign is to help expand their international volunteer program so that they can build homes (and hope) for families across the world. As well, you might receive helpful comments and ideas from them. By tangibly connecting action with donation requests, your fundraising team will increase the likelihood of reaching and surpassing your goals. For a crowdfunding campaign to truly take off, it has to have effective imagery. help out your worthy, local animal shelter, Peer-to-Peer Fundraising (Nonprofit’s Guide), 3 Ways Direct Mail Can Support Your Crowdfunding Campaign, Online Waiver Software: Our 6 Favorite Providers Reviewed, Maximizing the Success of Your Virtual Event Donation Page. Many churches and religious organizations turn to crowdfunding to supplement the money that they raise during services through tithes and offerings, especially if they’re undertaking a particularly large project or event. Here’s the Help Piper See main crowdfunding campaign page. MS Office Suites, Adobe, Photoshop, etc. Yes, this campaign features traditional crowdfunding images, like photos captured during the previous year’s marathon run. Check out how this campaign has done so well: Frequent updates are very important to the success of any crowdfunding campaign. You can use crowdfunding to help validate ideas before they are fully realized, but if your campaign comes across as half-baked then your audience isn’t going to invest. Money Raised: $306,840 (1.01X the original goal). Here I’ve included ideas for rewards for projects in film, video, photography, web series and more. Initial Fundraising Goal: $20,000 To give donors the comfort that they’re giving to the real organization, the campaign prominently shows Habitat’s logo, contact information, and location. Updates and more images are always a good idea, especially if your campaign takes place over several months. What resources do you have available in your area (i.e. They were able to raise $506,905, which is still growing. Learn more about videos for crowdfunding campaigns. Learn more about raising money for educational costs. The latest tech projects. Here’s the main page for the Lucy Boettcher & Family crowdfunding campaign. As a rule, the awesomeness of a crowdfunding platform is the number of projects it helped successfully fund. Money Raised: $6,750 (1.35X the original goal). Shoot us an email! In 2015, the group had an initial goal of $30,000, and raised over $90,000. Robin Hood is a nonprofit organization that focuses on funding and creating programs for schools in NYC. Initial Fundraising Goal: $1,000 For instance, $20 will buy an “EPIC Pack” for a homeless individual, while $1,000 can change the lives of 20 people! The campaign culminates in a board game competition held atMox Boarding House, a Bellevue, Washington board game store. A home for film, music, art, theater, games, comics, design, photography, and more. They receive a home-sampling kit and doubly help the study. Space Center Houston used crowdfunding to help renovate the exhibit of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 20 Amazing Crowdfunding Campaigns That Will Meet or Exceeded Their Goals. What are competitions that you would personally enjoy participating in? Videos are always a great option for crowdfunding campaigns, as long as they are compelling and succinct, like the one on the Habitat for Humanity Global Village campaign page. This campaign solves for that with a beautiful video still that acts like a feature image. Their creative crowdfunding idea was to challenge their individual fundraisers participants to live on $4 of food per day for an entire week. About this fund. Among the best-known crowdfunding campaigns of all time are Pebble, Oculus, and Pono Music. Give Away Custom Clothing and Accessories Designing something that your supporters can proudly wear is another way of... 3. For example, a $10 donation results in an acknowledgement on the organization’s website, while a $100 donation results in a plaque in the hallway and two tickets to a fundraising event later in the year. Some key highlights from this crowdfunding campaign include: The emotional image of Angie is a powerful one, since it is focused on just her face and shows some of the hair loss that was a result of her treatments. Yoga, Good-Form Running, Cardio Drumming, etc. Money Raised: $21,269 (1.06X the original goal). Look at this great crowdfunding campaign example from the trips category. The old adage “many hands make light work” rings true with crowdfunding. The Gauntlet is a fundraising tournament that certainly puts the “fun” in fundraising, and is one of the most creative crowdfunding ideas we’ve seen yet. With over 60 members running in the Boston Marathon, the money raised is dedicated to going towards helping people during their greatest time of need. Fundraising does not have to be limited to “same old, same old” appeals for funds. Below I offer our subscribers free access to 300 crowdfunding reward ideas. The Coloma Music Arts organization has offered different incentives to individuals who give different amounts. 3D printers. Riley was a wonderful young girl whose life was tragically cut short. And crowdfunding can be a great way to raise money and get your name out into the community. [Webinar] The Ultimate Virtual Walkathon Fundraiser Playbook, Your Virtual Walks, Races, + Challenges Just Got Better With The New Activity Metric On CauseVox, On-Demand: How to Create a Fundraising Plan For 2021, Product Update: The *New* Powered-Up CauseVox Admin, Ticketing, + more, 7 Steps To Get More Participants For Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign, [WEBINAR] Creating a Top-Notch Communications Plan For Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaigns. Here’s the main crowdfunding page for the John Anthony West campaign. “A Handful of Keys” was a crowdfunding campaign set up by Coloma Music Arts organization to raise money for a baby grand piano to go in their new auditorium. Obviously, this situation is extraordinary; the vast majority of crowdfunding campaigns will not be televised with such fanfare. Power up your walkathon, race, and challenge with the *New* Activity Metric on CauseVox. That means … Habitat for Humanity is a household name. Each giving level not only details a dollar amount but what exactly that dollar amount will accomplish, such as “$75 feeds a family of three for a week.”, Initial Fundraising Goal: $300,000 If you’re an artist, include pictures of some of your pieces. Here are some of the campaign highlights: Rather than an impersonal summary of the cause, the campaign opens with a warm and moving quote from the organizer. Money Raised: $1,742 (1.74X the original goal). teams would earn valuable “power-ups” and game advantages that would increase their chances of winning. We are also offering one-to-one expert crowdfunding coaching to 10 of the best ideas. It also offers personalized consultancy for all projects. Both the short description at the top of the page and the feature image do a great job of conveying just who John Anthony West is, and he is a compelling person to donate to. The image tugs on donors’ heartstrings and reminds them of why they should donate. That’s what Autumn did! Here’s the main crowdfunding page for the Vote Joe campaign. Some individuals and schools need help raising money for educational purposes. Here’s the Project Epic crowdfunding campaign main page. That’s exactly what Riley Sandler’s parents did after her sudden and tragic passing. Your goal amount - Most crowdfunding platforms you’ll submit your campaign to probably saw many similar campaigns. CROWDFUNDING CREATIVE IDEAS: THE DYNAMICS OF PROJECT BACKERS IN KICKSTARTER Venkat Kuppuswamy University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Strategy & Entrepreneurship Venkat_Kuppuswamy@kenan-flagler.unc.edu Barry Bayus University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Marketing Barry_Bayus@kenan-flagler.unc.edu Abstract Track donors and manage their giving history. In order to get to that number, “Floor Us” received contributions from over 50 donors. This is a small detail, but it’s really important for politicians running for public office. Learn more about raising money for kids and families. Some standout features of this crowdfunding campaign include: The organizer of this campaign chose to use a black and white image of piano keys as the background image for the campaign. They decided to dedicate their foundation to spreading and instilling kindness among elementary-aged children, in honor of their daughter’s caring and joyous outlook. Here are a few things to consider when determining what kinds of tangible actions would work for you: Prospective donors want to know that fundraisers are taking their causes seriously. First up on our list of creative crowdfunding ideas comes from RIP Medical Debt, which exists with a mission to purchase and abolish unpaid medical debts in order to liberate individuals from debilitating financial situations caused by mounting medical bills. When it comes to crowdfunding, nothing is more important that asking for donations. Money Raised: $2,291 (1.15X the original goal). Initial Fundraising Goal: $25,000 Projects funding the future. Get the funds you need for a project. The Foresthill Wildfires football team started a crowdfunding campaign to fund their season, pay for new equipment, and provide transportation to and from games. Get the latest free fundraising tips + resources, delivered weekly to your inbox. Here's how it started. The descriptive update puts the fundraiser into perspective and explains why the campaign was set up in the first place. Learn more about fundraising through walks, runs, and rides. Whether you’re campaigning to be mayor of your town or represent your state in Congress, you need money to fund your campaign events and endeavors. This group of gamers is comprised of teams of four from local community groups and games industry businesses. Last but not least on our list of creative crowdfunding ideas is inspired by Carlisle Family YMCA in Milford, MI who put together a unique, niche fundraiser in which participants learned how to make sushi. They receive a home-sampling kit and doubly help the study. The words "Kickstarter," "Indiegogo" and "crowdfunding" come up pretty often these days, but do these platforms really turn amazing ideas into reality? Check out the main crowdfunding page from this example. Initial Fundraising Goal: $300,000 Learn more about raising money for sports and teams. By reaching new fundraising levels ($2000, $5000, etc.) Project financing at Patreon is subscription-based, and provides those who set up a project with a monthly income. Initial Fundraising Goal: $1,000,000 Fundly is dedicated to providing you with the tools you need to raise money for whatever your cause may be. They use crowdfunding platforms, (like Fundly’s!) There are two standout features of this campaign: These updates demonstrated the fundraising progress and acknowledged the donations that made the campaign a success. Learn more about raising money for trips and adventures. And the great part about fundraising as a sports team is that you already have a built-in network of potential donors — your fans! Desktop screensaver or mobile phone wallpaper. The Gauntlet is a fundraising tournament that certainly puts the “fun” in fundraising, and is one of the most creative crowdfunding ideas we’ve seen yet. For the last few years, The Gauntlet campaign has bl… Clay Roup, the campaign organizer, is not part of the West family. The most successful business crowdfunding campaigns can be found on Kickstarter, Fundable, and IndieGoGo. Indiegogo; This platform uses an all on nothing model. Crowdfunding involves relatively small contributions of many consumer-investors over a fixed time period (generally a few weeks). The organization uses captivating images and video to help explain their fundraiser in more detail. The crowdfunding campaign doesn’t over complicate things here. Sell free or paid tickets for in-person or virtual events. Through multiple images and crowdfunding updates, Lee shows what the center will look like and how much happier the children are with care and treatment. Posting updates helps to connect your donors to your campaign and keeps them in the loop. Other times, someone might need to cover the costs associated with adopting a service animal or pet. The list goes on. Money Raised: $1,007,106 (1.01X the original goal). Oculus Virtual Reality Headset Walking 6K with large jugs of water to represent those impacted by the international water crisis who walk, on average, 6K each day in order to access potable water? And with a lot of time left, they are about 75% of the way to their goal. To get started, follow the lead of campaigns that have come before you. Important features of this crowdfunding campaign effort include: Rather than only providing a sentence or two with details about the campaign, Robin Hood NYC Marathon provides an informative and comprehensive story. You don’t want to deal with any […], Share via: by Mark Becker, Founding Partner, Cathexis Partners  These days, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns and events take many forms: virtual runs/walks/rides, tribute/memorial campaigns, virtual drives. And sometimes, you just want to help out your worthy, local animal shelter. Board games work exceptionally well for The Gauntlet because it is tailored to the interests of their community. Here are some of those side projects, the entrepreneurs behind them, and what did they to find success with crowdfunding. This demonstrates that the organizer not only appreciates the donations; she appreciates the donors as well! This organizer knew that pictures of Piper would help boost her campaign’s success, so she uploaded eight photos to demonstrate how adorable her pup was. Many nonprofits (especially smaller, more localized organizations) turn to crowdfunding to supplement their fundraising efforts. Entrepreneurs are turning to crowdfunding as a way to finance their creative ideas. The realisation of brilliant ideas. This is a small detail, but it’s really important for every kind of crowdfunding campaign. Learn more about raising money for politics and public office. Each giving level indicates what can be accomplished with that particular amount. For example, do what Piper the puppy’s owner did. Many nonprofit crowdfunding campaigns don’t do that. Learn more about raising money for healthcare costs and medical expenses. Initial Fundraising Goal: $155,000 Nothing on that. We introduce you with the top 10 CURRENT crowdfunding projects and update our page regularly. Your crowdfunding campaign’s page should have multiple videos and photos to demonstrate the project or cause that you’re raising money for. Here’s the main page for the Angie’s Battle campaign. As you brainstorm ways to integrate creative fundraising methods into your own campaigns, consider developing your own tournament. Proceeds went towards the YMCA scholarship fund and veteran services. Initial Fundraising Goal: $1,000,000 The money donated was to accurately portray the space center and for visitors to see how it was operated at that time. It’s a small detail that carries a lot of weight. As crowdfunding has evolved, so have the platforms. The creative and handmade aspects of the incentives are endearing and likely caused many individuals to give donations to Autumn’s crowdfunding campaign. Initial Fundraising Goal: $1,500 Money Raised: $143,625. Earlier this year, talk show history was made when TV personality, John Oliver, purchased nearly $15 million worth of medical debt of over 9000 individuals, and then forgave it through RIP Medical Debt. Initial Fundraising Goal: $20,000,000 Entrepreneurs are turning to crowdfunding as a way to finance their creative ideas. Initial Fundraising Goal: $10,000 It was that diverse, deep bench of donors that helped the center get the funds it needed for new flooring. Here’s the main crowdfunding campaign page for this fundraiser. ), A Physical Education workshop (e.g. 1500+ nonprofits trust CauseVox. Patreon occupies a special position in the area of crowdfunding. If you’re an inventor, upload an image of the invention you’re raising money for. This crowdfunding campaign was created to help cover medical expenses for the Emmy-award winning Egyptologist, John Anthony West. With reward crowdfunding, you raise your funds by reaching … Encourage participants to somehow connect their efforts with tangible acts of solidarity with your cause. For instance, the Kunzang Palchen Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center started a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for flooring materials for two floors in their building. Both in the title (see picture to the left), and throughout. The Sandlers ran an amazing campaign and were able to raise over $2,000,000 in honor of their daughter and her memorial foundation. Creative individuals, groups or businesses were encouraged to let us know their creative ideas in order to take part in a competition to win a share of £75,000 in match funding from Creative Scotland towards their crowdfunding campaign. The simple answer is yes. Crowdfunding can be a great way to validate the concept of your green business through the aggregate response of individual investors. We believe in crowdfunding for everyone. Crowdfunding simply refers to the idea of raising funds for a project or cause through a large group of people online.