Crowdfunding the Crowd–7 Secret Ways To Find People To Donate To Your Campaign

Crowdfunding is essentially, using YOUR crowd of people to raise money for a cause that YOU feel is important. Starting a campaign is just the initial step to this process. The real work begins when your campaign goes live and you’re trying to reach your fundraising goal. How can you find people to donate to your crowdfunding campaign? We’ve interviewed and researched and come up with the TOP 7 Ways to find people to donate to your campaign.

• Look Under a Rock–Not really. But, look in places that you wouldn’t normally. WHO knows you? Who knows your cause? Every single person that you interact with on a daily basis needs to know that you’re starting a fundraising campaign EVEN before you start it. From the cashier at Wal-mart to your son’s school teacher, let everyone know what you’re passionate about how they can be a part of your cause.
• Email Contacts–People in your email contact folder should be your FIRST place where you share news about your fundraising campaign. Regardless of when you last spoke to each person, send an email telling about your campaign and providing a link to it. (Do NOT cc everyone on your list and have those names show up for everyone to see.)
• Twitter–Use twitter to make lists and find people with similar interests or in groups related to what you’re fundraising for. You can curate your own lists or follow the lists of someone that’s already been created. (Here’s a link to Twitter’s Support Page that explains how to create a list in detail.)
• Facebook/Linkedin–This isn’t all about selfies and work contacts! Share your campaign link with all your friends and family AND ask them if they’ll share it also. Share it frequently and in a fun way. Use pictures, jokes, and questions to motivate people to donate to your cause and share it. While you’re in Facebook or Linkedin, search for groups relating to your cause. Start networking with new people. Add friends to your network that you haven’t before. Use both platforms, you’ll probably have different contacts on each site.
• Google Groups–Join groups and forums that talk about what you’re trying to raise money for. For instance, you’re raising money to help your child with a heart problem. Go to Google Groups and search for other people with the same heart problem. Along with finding people who have the same interests as you, you’ll also be among people who will understand your cause and share your campaign.
• Photo Sharing Sites–Instagram, Imgur, Flickr just to name a few. Here, you can constantly post pictures, write descriptions, and even link to your campaign. Use hashtags to group your pictures in with a common theme.
• Festivals, Group Gatherings–Whether it’s a festival, carnival, or just a huge gathering of people, come to the gathering prepared! If the gathering permits, have a table set up to share your fundraising campaign. For instance, if you’re raising money for medical bills for your dog and you know there’s an SPCA event going on downtown, make sure you attend. Network with the vendors there and try to partner with any that may be a good fit.

These seven ways may not be a secret anymore…but, they are a bulleted list that you need to keep in mind when starting a crowdfunding campaign.

People will NOT go looking for you.

You can’t just create a campaign and expect that people will find it.

YOU have to reach out and find them…and convince THEM that your campaign is worth backing.

You have an AMAZING idea…a worthwhile cause…now get out and tell everyone about!

post originally posted: https://moveyourmountain.org/blog/crowdfunding-crowd-7-secret-ways-find-people-donate-campaign/