People Giving to People via Crowdfunding

We have all heard the saying that people give to people, right? It applies to small businesses, big business, but it especially holds true in the nonprofit community. When people are connected to one another, it creates a connection, loyalty, and a greater willingness to say ‘yes’ when someone asks you to help them. When we believe in one another, we are more than happy to work with one another, especially when we are asked.

Today, in the nonprofit community the idea that ‘people give to people’ is best captured through the concept of crowdfunding. Crowdfunding, as the name suggests, is the act of raising funds for an initiative through a multitude of people. It is also referred to as peer-to-peer fundraising. Crowdfunding websites allow nonprofit organizations and schools to tap into supporters’ networks globally.

Peer-to-peer fundraising has all of the magical elements of an ask for support. It highlights a worthy mission, a story is told, there is passion from the person telling the story and the one-on-one connection that makes the ask to support a nonprofit even easier, coupled with a case for support that is strong and compelling.

When individuals choose to raise money for a nonprofit through the utilization of their network of contacts their network can span far and wide, especially geographically.

With a person’s network being vast- both in volume and in geography- crowdfunding initiatives must be able to connect these factors. People must be able to be connected, and give their support, while utilizing technology for online asks. And in our ever-evolving mobile world, that is a major factor to consider as part of your crowdfunding initiative.

Use a Great Crowdfunding Website

Our crowdfunding platform caters to nonprofits and charitable causes. Websites streamline the process from telling your organization and your supporters’ individual stories via their personal fundraising pages to capturing donations, to monitoring and celebrating a successful campaign that is much easier for everyone involved. 

Create a free account and see how we can help your organization smash your fundraising goals!

Start Fundraising

While online crowdfunding is a relatively new concept, crowdfunding has been wildly successful for a variety of ventures. This type of fundraising is a unique and lucrative opportunity for nonprofit organizations, schools, churches and all types of charities to not only raise funds by reaching more people, but to connect more individuals to their mission. And because of the accessibility of the internet, a person’s location doesn’t matter.

Crowdfunding for nonprofits allows organizations to expand their reach, share their stories with a greater number of people all while engaging participants directly in their fundraising campaign. While it’s a superb way to fundraise, it can also help your mission ‘friend’ raise as well. It’s a unique and cutting edge way to increase awareness around the mission, and needs, of a nonprofit. 

As an individual shares the stories of a non-profit, and the mission that touches their heart, you are immediately creating third party endorsement for the potential donor and the mission of the organization. Therefore, it comes back to our original thought – people really do give to other people, mostly to the ones that they trust, know and understand because they understand why they are passionate about a particular mission.

Now that you are convinced that peer-to-peer fundraising is the way to go for your mission or project, let’s talk about what makes successful crowdfunding websites.

Crowdfunding Campaign Tips

For the individual and their contacts, you want the process to be a positive and heartfelt experience. Here are some tips to ensure that the campaign is a successful one:

1. Pick the best website for your needs. The site you choose is going to play a big role in how well your campaign does. Do your research, and pay careful attention to the cost and fees. See what your fellow organizations are using and ask for recommendations.
2. Hold your campaign during a lucrative time of year. Generally speaking, the last three months of the year are the most popular for charitable giving. So, that’s always a good bet. However, if you want to tie your crowdfunding campaign into an active event, spring is your best bet for the weather.
3. Ensure that your crowdfunding website is responsive and friendly on mobile devices. Remember, if you want everyone to be able to make and take donations and pledges from anywhere, mobile giving options are key.
4. Stories, stories and more stories. The individual raising the funds should share their reason for loving the mission of the organization, along with the organization being able to clearly define what makes their mission come to life. What are your most compelling stories to help make the giving decision even easier?
5. People love to see progress! Have you seen those great fundraising thermometers on DoJiggy crowdfunding websites that show the progress of a campaign? Doesn’t it make you feel awesome when it’s filled to the top? Their presence pays off; make sure you have them present.
6. Attach incentives and perks to different giving levels. If it is possible with your budget, you should consider offering your donors gifts or tokens of recognition for their donation to your campaign. They can be just the encouragement a supporter needs to up their donation amount.
7. Ensure that individuals can easily share links to events and the campaign itself to get as many people involved as possible. This is especially important for Social Media promotion. Our fundraising websites have Share widgets on every page.
8. Individuals raising money should be able to see their progress, customize their page, invite more participants, and have fun with their campaign. Ensure that their passion stays high while not getting frustrated with technology that doesn’t work.
9. You need to be able to run reports and know which campaigns were successful and where your opportunities for improvement lie. Your crowdfunding website and software should work for you and make your job even easier for the next event, without all of the guesswork.

When you look at all of these best practices, does your organization have a way of making them happen? If not, we have solutions to help make every crowdfunding program a success.

Conclusions

The mission of every successful nonprofit is loved and followed by many people, and crowdfunding is a unique and easy way to unite the needs of an organization, a person’s passion for a mission, and their network of friends and family. This way of raising vital funds truly brings to life the idea that people give to people.