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Crowdfunding for Social Impact Masterclass

Presented by

Tom’s StoryHi! I’m Tom.@tomjd

Co-founder/CEO StartSomeGood

Agenda

1. My background2. How do we fund innovation?3. Why use Crowdfunding?4. What are you raising funds for?5. Setting Goals6. Why do we give?7. Identifying your stories and your

communities8. Targeting those communities9. Offering rewards that work10.Creating a video

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Section 1:Introduction: What’s Going On

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How do we fund social impact?

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Image by Michael Dawes

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YES

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

In the past, socially minded people actively participated in a few causes or organisations – at least attending regular meetings and receiving an exclusive member newsletter etc.

Today we have dozens of ‘weak’ ties to non-profit causes, whether it be “liking” their pages on Facebook, following on Twitter or signing a petition.

The barriers to entry in establishing new organisations are now extremely low.

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Section 2:What is (and isn’t)

crowdfunding and why would you crowdfund?

• Do Good Bus Hands

What Crowdfunding isn’t: New

What Crowdfunding isn’t: Automatic

What Crowdfunding isn’t 3: About crowds at all

What Crowdfunding isn’t: About crowds.

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Why crowdfund then?

• What is new: more engaging and game-like

• Transparency around goals and outcomes

• Advice and other forms of support• Great for events/product launches/MVPs• Market validation• High success rate• You can start now

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Section 3:What are you raising for and

how much can you raise?

What are you raising money for?

• Be:– Specific– Inspiring– Realistic/Credible– Transparent

• Bad ask

• Good ask

Setting Goals

Factors:•How much do you want and how much do you need?•How much risk are you comfortable with?•Tipping point vs your Ultimate Goal

• Do Good Bus

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A simple (but complex) formula:

Reach x Propensity x CapacityExisting communityRelationshipsSocial media reach PartnershipsPR hooks newsworthinessHARD WORK

Your storyTold to the right people (targeting)Presentation (video, pictures)RewardsHow much do people care?

TargetingNeedValueRewards

Timing

Longer is not always better!

30-40 days to maintain momentum

Be realistic. What is you/your team’s capacity?

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Section 4:Emotions and storytelling

Why do we part with our money?

• An expectation of future financial return (investing)

• A good or service we want (shopping)

• A future we hope to see (philanthropy)

• A friend or community we want to support (relationships)

Why do we part with our money?

• An expectation of future financial return (investing)

• A good or service we want (shopping)

• A future we hope to see (philanthropy)

• A friend or community we want to support (relationships)

• One where people are central to winning

• Focus on finding people who already care

• Make your project an amplifier, actualisation or response to what people already care about.

Theory of change

• Why this (issue/story)? – why should supporters care about your project?

• Why you? – what’s your story? What makes you credible to make this project happen?

• Why now? – what’s unique or important about this moment?

• What’s in it for them? – how will a supporter benefit from being a part of this project? Good feelings, connectedness, rewards, social change?

What’s your story?

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Section 5:Outreach

Have a marketing plan!

• Tips:–Line up your initial donors – early momentum is critical–Use different channels–Examine similar campaigns–Taglines matter–Be ready to work hard!–Be human

• Who are they?

• Where are they?

• What do they care about?

• Why will they support you?

• Why won’t they?

• What media do they consume?

Reaching the Tribe

A rough sequence

• Before: line up your first supporters. Have people ready to pledge on minute 1, day 1. Talk about your upcoming campaign publically, share the process. Cultivate champions.

• Launch: Activate your day 1 supporters by phone, text, email.

• Day 3-7: Email blast to everyone you know• Share extensively on social media

• Week 2 onwards: Outreach to influencers: media, bloggers, celebrities, organisations. Connect with local media (use our template). Target relevant influencers, not just Oprah. Hold events.

• 4-7 days to go: Email blast to everyone you know.• Write to your existing supporters. Go crazy on socmed.

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• Built a community before her crowdfunding campaign began

• Empowered people to be fundraising captains, to better reach local tribes

• Created momentum right away• Regular asks and updates via email

and social media• Held offline events• Made it personal

Jennifer Windrum and SMAC

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Section 6:Rewards, Video, Lessons

• One where people are central to winning the campaign

• Mobilise the community as a movement and your campaign as an amplifier.

Empower anyone, anywhere with a great idea to create new futures for their communities.

Rewards

• Public Acknowledgement• Access to Events• Swag / merchandise• Souvenirs / Crafts• Art / Photography• Items Funded by the Campaign Itself• Unique, Experiential Rewards• Access to the Team, Services,

Mentoring

What are your assets/resources?

Things to consider

• Be comfortable spending funds on rewards (you can budget for this in your tipping point)

• Make your rewards relevant• Find rewards which do double-duty• Create “money can’t buy” experiences• Have a decent number of levels (min.

3)• Be clear on if the reward is a product

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Vote Yes Film Rewards:

Creating a video

• First and most importantly, don’t be intimidated!

• What matters most is authenticity.• Try and show don’t tell• 1-3 minutes long

• To consider: –Does the video demonstrate skills required to succeed at the project?–How much money are you trying to raise?–Do you need to invest money up-front?

And remember to thank your supporters!

How Can We Help?