bics forum 2013 - fund it
TRANSCRIPT
Crowdfunding / fundraising for College Societies
Rowena NevilleBusiness to Arts | Fund it
@rowenaneville | @fund_it
“Crowdfunding involves an open call, essentially through the internet, for the provision of financial resources either in the form of a donation or in exchange for some form of reward… in order to support initiatives for specific purposes.”
Lambert, T & Schwienbacher A (2010) An Empirical Analysis of Crowdfunding.
Secret to successful crowdfunding?
Strong creative idea +
network of interested people +
great must-have rewards +
transparent budget +
time to run campaign +
hard work
= success!
Case Study: UCD DramsocIrish Student Drama Association Festival – raised €1.6k offering places on workshops, tickets for plays etc
Case Study: Trinity Dept of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering€24.4k raised (on and off-line) to re-dig a well in Africa so that their technology project could be continued. Rewards of local village music, water and events
Case Study: Ballyfermot College Cinematography StudentsRaised €927 to make their graduate film. Rewards of prints & screenings
Case Study: Trinity’s School of English – new literary magazineRaised €1.3k offering rewards of copies and tickets for Terry Pratchett talk
Vital Statistics* fundit.ie (Ireland) kickstarter.com (US*)
Established March 2011 April 2009
Successful Projects 360 (75%) 32,357 (43%)
Amount Raised €1,240,717 $411,000,000
Average Project €3,394
Average Funders 65
Average Pledge €53
Average Duration 33 days
Max Project To Date €24,375
Across crowdfunding platforms, most successfully funded projects raise less than $10,000 or € equivalent.
PROS CONS
New fundraising platform
Marketing & pre-sales
Consumer/Audience engagement
Realises value in social network
Legalities/Governance/Reputation
Budgeting/planning
Fundraising experience
Appropriate fundraising platform?
Fees/charges/decline rates
All-or-nothing approach
Consumer/Audience engagement
Time/labour intensive
Computer & social media skills
Regulation/IP/Tax/Finance
• Ticket Pre-Sales for events• Raise support for creative projects• Assess demand for a product or interest in idea• Generate engagement with product or event prior to launch• Cost effective market research
“In the future, crowdfunding will likely be seen as a viable solution not only for creative projects, causes and aspiring entrepreneurs, but also for established small-to-medium-sized companies seeking an alternative to traditional market research.” www.good.is (a global community of people who give a damn)
FESTIVALS, EVENTS, FUNDRAISING & PRE-SALES
PREPARATION – USER PROFILE
Image (square & less than 1MB)
Biography (less than 250 words)
Show interest in other projectsFund/follow/spread/ get great rewards
Social Media Links
Where can people find out more information about you/project/organisation?
Research... start with our BLOGhttp://www.fundit.ie/info/category/crowdfunding-advice/
PREPARATION – IMAGE, TITLE & SHORT DESCRIPTION
IMAGE TITLE SHORT DESCRIPTION
Square
Less than 1 MB
Related to Project
Decide on this in advance
Concise & Relevant
Max 40 characters
Max 180 characters
What are you asking the reader to do?
PREPARATION – MAIN DESCRIPTION
500 word max
NB: TRANSPARENT & PERSONAL
What is the project?
Who is involved?
What is their experience?
Why are they using Fund it?
What is the budget for the project?
How much do you need to crowdfund?
What will the money be spent on?
Thank people
PREPARATION – REWARDS
Test rewards with your audience
Make rewards creative and unique
Relate rewards to project, people or organisation
Variety of price levels – NB €50 level
High crowdfunding target = High value rewards are VERY important
Budget for appropriate delivery
Limit amount of rewards available where necessary
Deliver promptly once project is complete
PREPARATION – VIDEO
Keep in short – max 90 seconds
Showcase your creativity / project / yourself / your organisation
Explain why you are using Fund it
Mass Emails
• Personal & Organisational• Launch (Informative)• Throughout (Targeted)• Midway (General Update)• Prior to End (General Update)
Social Media
• Event Pages• Project Videos/Photos/ Media• Personalised Thank You• Competitions•Activity updates
Other Media
• Targeted• Informative• National & International
How to run a crowdfunding campaign