Non-profit organizations have always been inclined to seek traditional ways of funding based on the domain in which they operate. But in recent times, many of them have successfully migrated to online crowdfunding. This innovative funding model is providing all the right answers to their questions pertaining to its time and cost-effectiveness, and is fast positioning itself as a go-to source for raising funds.
The Benefits of Crowdfunding for Corporate Social Responsibility
Thanks to social media, India is seeing a rise in the culture of both asking and giving. Being at the crux of the action, NGOs are well aware of this trend and online crowdfunding offers them a perfect platform to leverage it. In the last few years, we have seen a substantial rise in the number of NGOs using our platform. In addition to the convenience and transparency that comes with crowdfunding, we offer them a slew of features to give their campaign a boost.
● Effective communication is key to the success of any crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding platforms offer premium content and marketing services to help NGOs get the most out of their campaign.
● Donors have multiple options in terms of payment methods and currencies to choose from.
● Few crowdfunding platforms also provide access to foreign funds and provide tax benefits to donors, as well as vetted Indian NGOs.
Magic Bus, a non-profit for children’s cause, raised Rs 6.39 lakhs to provide education to underpriviledged children across 22 states in India and help them move out of poverty. In another fundraiser led by Magic Bus, 18 Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, and Dino Morea collaborated to raise funds for children and youth living in extreme poverty in India.
How to Maximize Your Corporate Social Impact with Crowdfunding
1. Set a clear goal.
Setting a specific goal for the amount of funding you need to raise is one way to get backers on board. Make sure your fund goal is realistic, however.
“People will be more willing to get behind your project if they can see the finish line,” Siva Mahesh, CEO of Dreamshala, told Business News Daily.
2. Seek help from experts.
“The biggest tip and most important element for a successful crowdfunding campaign is to not do it alone,” said Brian Hooks, owner of Left of BANG Entertainment. “Find a company or individual that specializes in crowdfunding campaigns. They will ensure you check off all the boxes needed to build a strong campaign.”
It’s also important to pick a reputable crowdfunding platform that is dedicated to helping you get the funds you need.
3. Tell your business’s story.
People want to know who they’re giving their money to and why they should care. An authentic and memorable anecdote and your fundraising campaign can go a long way. Unprecedented hardship has hit many small businesses, and it’s important to be honest and express your needs.
Mahesh said you should explain who your business is and why it’s important for you to have these funds. “When creating a campaign, it’s essential to be as detailed as possible. People want to help but might be hesitant if your story is unclear. Be genuine and transparent.”
4. Create a promotion video for your campaign.
Videos perform much better in terms of audience interaction than infographics or images. A good video with sounds and narration will help pull donors in and be an effective marketing tool for your campaign.
However, before you put your video out there, Yaniv Masjedi, CMO at Nextiva, a business phone company, suggests getting feedback from your peers. “Make sure that before the video goes out to market, it has virtually no lapses or boring parts.”
5. Use your email list to promote your campaign.
Email your customers about your campaign, and include everything they need to know to participate. Shooting an email out to your contact list with the link to your campaign is a direct and effective way to get loyal customers to participate in your fundraiser.
6. Leverage your network.
When you’re crowdfunding, you should use every inch of your network, said Kimberly Smith, marketing manager of Clarify Capital.
“Ask your client base, family, friends and community to share your campaign amongst their own networks,” she said. “Using your network to access the networks of others will help build momentum and awareness.”
Even if people who come in contact with your campaign don’t donate, they can share it with their friends, which could be just as valuable. This brings visibility to your campaign from people may not be familiar with your business, which can boost participation.
7. Use social media, especially LinkedIn, to reach out to other business owners.
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are typically considered the big three social media platforms to market your business. However, if you’re running an equity crowdfunding campaign, it’s important to promote your fundraiser on LinkedIn too, because it’s a great space to pitch to a pool of business owners like you. The audience on LinkedIn is likely to be more familiar with your struggles as an entrepreneur and understand the amount you’re asking for to cover business expenses, which can lead to an increase in support.
Smith said that sharing your campaign on social channels is crucial to building visibility and awareness.
“Small business owners using this tactic should make participation as easy as possible for prospective donors,” she said. “One of the best ways to do this is to link the crowdfunding campaign to social posts.” Then, your audience has to swipe up or click to be directed to your campaign page, where they can donate.
8. Familiarize your audience with the crowdfunding site you’re using.
A confusing platform with a challenging interface is the best way to lose a would-be donor. In your communications about your fundraiser with potential backers, you don’t have to give a detailed breakdown of how to use GoFundMe or Kickstarter, but you should include details about the platform you’re using within your campaign promotion. Talk about its security and how backers should use it. This bit of information will help donors feel comfortable about investing their money into your business through the platform. [Want help choosing the right small business loan for you? Check out our buying guide.]
9. Offer tiered incentives.
Give your donors and backers rewards based on the size of their donations, and make sure they’re worthwhile. An attractive incentive will encourage more people to back your campaign. Smith suggested raffling off products or offering discounted memberships to your service.
10. Keep your audience up to date.
You want to keep participants and potential backers engaged in your fundraising journey, so it’s important to update them regularly on your progress. Sharing your growth on a monthly or even biweekly basis, depending on the length of your campaign, will help keep your fundraiser at the forefront of your audience members’ minds, said Will Ward, CEO of Translation Equipment HQ.
Best Practices for Crowdfunding for CSR
1. Let your employees have many voices and causes
Rather than using a committee or advisory group, equip your employees with some basic knowledge of crowdfunding and let them raise funds for the causes they care about in their local community.
2. Find multiple partners
Through well-executed crowdfunding campaigns, companies can start communicating with and form partnerships with a number of other companies or community organizations. Since the outreach happens through social channels driven by customers and community members, the other organizations are much more likely to want to help you.
3. Extend your media reach
The media tracks and reports on novel and interesting crowdfunding campaigns – firms can take a local project and garner regional or national press through a creative crowd-funding campaign
4. Add gamification and competition
Run an innovation challenge and offer to match the donations made by other community groups that work to solve a problem you’ve identified. By adding competition and rewards, you can have multiple small community groups competing to be the most effective at solving issues in your CSR wheelhouse – and the social reach is magnified.
For example, Timberland’s Serv-a-Palooza Challenge 2014, a six week sponsored volunteerism effort, encouraged people to use Crowdrise to volunteer and fundraisefor a cause of their choice. Using the hashtag #TimberlandServes entered them into a contest to win prizes and have donations to a cause made on their behalf by Timberland.
5. Align physical brand with causes and giveaways
Create unique products or give-aways that are only available in store if you are a retail firm, or in the location of one of your community partners if you are not. Create an experience, a party, rally or some other event, but make participation contingent on a certain level of donation through crowdfunding. Smart brands figure out how to drive social engagement into stores.
6. Use your voice in a way customers will want to hear
Too many companies only talk about themselves. Leverage your social reach by backing and supporting the crowdfunding campaigns of groups your support. Many times your social voice is worth more than your donation.
7. Use video
Effective crowdfunding requires the use of engaging and creative video – allow your employees to take part (borrowing from Delta Airlines highly successful inflightsafety videos) – by using Video based and creative campaigns, the campaign can live on in YouTube or other sites long after the crowdfunding campaign has ended.
Effective videos are well within the reach of even the smallest nonprofits. Take the example of this video for the volunteer-led Telescopes for Tanzania. The video helped T4T to exceed its goal of raising $38,000 via Indiegogo.
Conclusion
If you want to use a crowdfunding site for your business, share your story and fundraising goal with your audience. Use email, your network, and social media to reach potential backers, and offer incentives based on donation amounts. Update backers on your progress regularly, making them feel like part of your fundraising journey.
Join The Crowdfunding Community
If you’re ready to jumpstart your campaign with expert crowdfunding consultants on board, contact us today! We’ll help you navigate each stage so that raising money becomes more accessible than ever before.
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