Rewards or Donations: What crowdfunding campaign is right for your project?
We’ve just released a new campaign type for charitable projects and other organisations to accept donations, but what is the difference between our main rewards-based crowdfunding campaign?
There are a few different ways to raise funds online. If you have a compelling story or reason to appeal to people’s goodwill, you can ask for a donation to use for a charitable cause. This generally requires a level of understanding, credibility and empathy between the supporter and the cause.
Or if you’ve got a great idea, product or service, you can offer a reward in return for people pledging their support. A perfect way for new or established creators to gauge interest, sell pre-orders and generally promote the launch of a new creative endeavour. Both ways have their merits, but since we know a lot of people may be wondering which is right for them we thought we’d break it down here.
Pozible has always been an All-or-Nothing crowdfunding platform, and we strongly believe it’s the best way to raise money. In all our experience of raising funds online, the parameters of time and a target funding goal are the best influences to ensure campaign success. But that’s not all, crowdfunding also relies on telling a story and engaging with an audience to bring them along for the journey.
Read on for some examples of both Rewards and Donations campaigns!
If you’d like to get started on your own crowdfunding campaign, click here to reach out to our team for a 1:1 chat about how we can help.
Offering Rewards
There are a few things to note about rewards-based crowdfunding. You’ll need to provide some form of reward to your supporters, which may seem fairly self-explanatory. But thinking of what rewards to offer can be a daunting task, not to mention fulfilling them all once you’ve completed your successful campaign. Factor in logistics such as postage and time spent creating rewards when thinking about what prices you want to offer them for.
The three main types of rewards we see are Recognition, Experience and Tangible. What the heck are they, I hear you ask? Well let’s give a few examples:
Recognition
- social media shout-out (tagging supporters on Instagram stories, recognition in a video update, or access to a private group chat)
- public recognition via your website or regular email newsletter or physical plaque on the wall at your establishment
- credit in the final published work (executive producer credit, thanks in the foreword of your newly-published book!)
Experience
- online masterclass or community event (music lessons via zoom, dinner with a special guest, or an invitation to a supporters-only livestream party)
- a ticket or voucher for a physical event or service (once restrictions ease, of course) such as a tour of your studio, a private concert or the chance to be an extra in your film!)
Tangible
- your brand-new product! (bottle of gin, your hardcover book, a pressing of your beautiful new vinyl album, or a print/artwork from your collection)
- something you can hand-make, on-demand for supporters once the campaign finishes (handmade artwork, jewellery, baked goods, t-shirts or even an original song dedicated to a special supporter)
- a reward from a campaign sponsor (if you don’t have products to offer yourself, see if you can get any aligned businesses or creative friends to offer some of their unique gifts!)
This type of campaign is best suited to musicians, artists, filmmakers, publishers, authors, distillers, breweries, venues, small businesses, clothing labels, photographers, designers, entrepreneurs or anyone with a creative idea!
Receiving Donations
Our new donations campaign will allow eligible organisations to receive donations for a cause or outcome. You will still need to set a fundraising target to reach during the campaign period, but we recommend setting a practical goal and using our great stretch targets feature, to increase your funding target as many times as you like!
We’ve introduced this campaign type to help charities, not-for-profits and other Australian organisations to raise funds when they need to. Our platform offers a simple process for creating a campaign, managing supporters and receiving funds via multiple payment methods. These campaigns can also offer automated receipting for all donors.
Unlike campaigns that offer rewards, Donations campaigns will rely on their strong message and story to compel their supporters to make a contribution. This means using existing networks and understanding who the target audience is that will most align with the campaign. The best campaigns will speak to an existing online community of followers and utilise a strong call-to-action to get those people to donate.
This type of campaign is most suited to grassroots charities, not-for-profit organisations, philanthropic initiatives and other causes that need to raise funds for a community, social, environmental or cause-driven purpose.
No matter what campaign you’re running, we’re here to provide expert advice and guidance, along with data-driven insights to help your campaign perform at its best. Our proven methods and resources can help you manage and run your campaign, no matter how big or small.
Get in touch with us today to find out how you can get started!
