Fundraisers who oversee crowdfunding campaigns at established nonprofits offer the following advice for other charities looking to run their own drives.
Allocate sufficient staff time. “Be conscious of the whole organization’s communications calendar,” says Ingrid Van Haastrecht, director of membership operations and analysis at the Dallas Museum of Art. The group ran a Razoo campaign this past February, raising just over $100,000 to bring a Mexican art exhibit to town. The drive depended heavily on video content, which needed to be produced throughout the campaign. And every piece of communication was translated into Spanish — meaning every item had to be produced twice, requiring more staff bandwidth.
Tap influencers. Don’t treat crowdfunding like a direct-mail campaign, blasting out messages to your email list, says Rob Wu, co-founder and chief executive officer of CauseVox, a fundraising consulting company. Instead, he says, lean on your relationships. Target your strongest supporters and those with large numbers of followers or friends on social media. Enlist your closest allies at your organization to post stories and calls to action online.
Before it launched its Kickstarter drive this summer to restore Mission Control, NASA’s moon-shot-era command center, Space Center Houston reached out to more than 200 people who could promote the project through social media and news interviews, such as the actor Gary Sinise and the retired astronaut Scott Kelly. The drive raised nearly $507,000, more than twice its original goal.
Line up seed money. “It’s good to have a match in your back pocket,” notes Ms. Van Haastrecht. The museum’s initial crowdfunding drive benefited from a $50,000 match offered by an anonymous donor.
Focus on impact. “Your donors want you to create impact for them,” says Mr. Wu. “Instead of saying you want to raise $100,000, you should say you want to reach, or serve, 100,000 people.”
Set realistic goals. A smaller initial goal can prevent fundraiser burnout, suggests Ryan Lawrence, associate director of digital philanthropy at the University of California at Berkeley. Also, he says, it’s better for donors: “People feel like they’re making more of an impact with their $50 when there’s a smaller goal. We can always do a stretch goal.”
In general, it’s best to keep expectations modest, says Wesley Clark, annual giving director at the University of Mississippi. “There are lots of success stories in crowdfunding that create a perception that every crowdfunding campaign is a success,” he says.
Plan for success. “What if you exceed your goal?” asks William Harris, president of Space Center Houston. Be prepared to tell supporters how the organization will use the extra money.
Make tweaks based on the data. Google Analytics helped UC Berkeley, which posts several small campaigns at a time on its in-house crowdfunding site, learn how many times a year it can ask donors to support campus projects. The university’s fundraisers figured out that five batches of projects per school year is too many for its constituents. This school year, Mr. Lawrence says, three batches of campaigns will run: in October, late January, and April.
The fundraisers also learned that the average gift doubles when nine or more projects compete for dollars simultaneously. Donors like a broader menu of choices, Mr. Lawrence says, and the competition pushes student fundraisers to market their campaigns more aggressively.
Draw new donors closer. One challenge for charities, Mr. Wu says, is that crowdfunding supporters may come to a campaign in a roundabout way, likely through a friend, relative, or other associate. A nonprofit may need to bridge that additional degree of separation with those new donors by educating them about its work.
The owner of the relationship with the donor “isn’t necessarily the organization itself,” Mr. Wu says.
When new supporters have given twice to projects on the UC Crowdfunding page, Mr. Lawrence says, their names are added to the university’s regular donor solicitation database.
A test that the institution’s fundraisers conducted offers promising results. A group of crowdfunding donors who gave to the university for the first time were called and asked to give another donation to the same project or something similar. Thirty-five percent of supporters who received a call gave again, Mr. Lawrence says.
