Crowdfunding and Foundations. Attracting a New Generation of support

Transcription

1 Crowdfunding and Foundations Attracting a New Generation of support

2 Brittany Rosenbohm Executive Director Brazosport ISD Education Foundation

3 What is Crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.

4 Why Crowdfunding? Crowdfunding seems to be the new wave for attracting support for social causes, but why is this format so attractive? Ease of use Mass communication, quickly Immediate link between donor s gift and ultimate outcome Inexpensive

5 Bad Examples of Crowdfunding..

6 Great Examples of Crowdsource Funding!

7 Crowdfunding Sites for Charity and Social Causes General GoFundMe.com Causes.com Razoo.com Indiegogo.com Kickstarter.com Education Based Donorschoose.org Classwish.org

8 Choosing your Crowdfunding Platform Whether you plan to start your own site, integrate crowdfunding into your existing site, or utilize an already functioning crowdfunding site, there is a science to creating the look and feel a donor will respond to. Look and Feel Ease of Use Payment Processing Marketing and Social Networking Capabilities Traction

9 The Science to Creating a Successful Campaign Tell your story! Create a compelling campaign with a story that will connect with potential donors. Engage your first level of support - those directly related to, or impacted by the campaign. Publicize and Share! Take every opportunity to spread the word. Learn the tricks of social media sharing so you get as many views as possible!

10 Our Crowdfunding Adventure: Brazosport ISD Education Foundation

11 What lead us here? Identified a need to provide a funding source, throughout the school year, for smaller classroom and program needs. Identified the need to create a greater connection between our organization and the community, at large. Identified the need to balance our grant giving with another giving program that met different needs of our staff and students.

12 Next steps.. Created a committee, from the board, to spearhead this project. Identified what, exactly, we wanted to accomplish with this program. Researched similar programs Researched online format options Planned logistics of our program Created a marketing plan

13 Must Haves Easy process for staff Easy & fast process for donors Set dollar limit on request so donors feel their gift can make a difference Immediate feedback for donors Long term feedback for donors Very visual Quick turnaround for staff

14 Identify your target donor audience Identifying your target audience will make all the difference in how you structure your program! Limit request amounts Limit number of campaigns running at one time Identify your target, individual gift, per donor Identify how most of your audience communicates Identify your audience s use of technology

15

16 Why Coins? We wanted our audience to know they could make a difference with very little! We wanted our audience to know our program will directly help the classroom! We wanted our audience to know that we value what they can give, and we value their desire to give!

17 Coins for Classrooms - Program Details Projects are listed on site until funded or up to 30 days Fund request limited to $ %(fees) No more than 10 campaigns active at one time Staff members limited to 2 campaigns per year Requests accepted between October 1 - March 1. Only BISD staff members who work directly with students are eligible to apply

18

19 APPLICATION

20 Coins for Classrooms Online Format We chose Go Fund Me for several reasons Our website could not provide what we needed in terms of visual aesthetic, sharing capabilities, ease of payment, or ongoing support. Benefits to donors Go Fund Me was most user friendly Most donors are familiar with the format Immediate feedback and sharing capabilities Visually appealing

21 Coins for Classrooms Online Format We chose Go Fund Me for several reasons Benefits to Foundation Easy payment processing and turnaround Comprehensive donor reports for follow up Easy sharing capabilities for website and social media Note: there is a 9.25% fee Looking to transition to our own site once we have a new site.

22 CASHED IN

23

24 CASHED IN Cashed In is important because it allows us greater oversight in the purchasing process, which is important to us and our donors. Cashed In allows us to thank our donors and provide feedback! Cashed In allows our staff to personally thank our donors and teaches our students the importance of appreciation.

25 OUR RESULTS

26 Coins for Classrooms Results - Year 1 8 Projects Funded Over $4104 raised Impacted over 1400 students Funds raised by 167 donors Average donation of $24.57

27 So what is this New Generation all about? As Fundraising Professionals we are all seeking ways to draw in the millennial gift. Past generations have all given in very similar fashion, and for similar reasons, but millennials are different Don t believe the myth that millennials don t give, actually 84% of employed millennials gave a charitable donation in 2014 (Washington Post, June 2015). They may not be giving as much as Boomers or Xers, because frankly they can t, BUT they are giving. It is our job to figure out what drives their giving!

28 Millennial giving - Who is figuring it out? American Cancer Society Linkedin Huffington Post CNBC Washington Post

29 QUESTIONS

30 Presenter Information Brittany Rosenbohm Executive Director Brazosport ISD Education Foundation