Fundraising

Finding a grant that will fund 100% of a project is rare. Even if you are successful in securing funding you might still need to think of other ways to generate income for your work.

Fundraising is another great way to raise money for your project. Raising the money, yourself will give you more control over how you spend it, and an innovative fundraising campaign can also work as a fantastic marketing tool. Be creative and think of different ways to raise the money you’ll need – a bake sale may work, but if you’re looking for a larger sum then fairy cakes might not cut it!

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is one way of fundraising for your project, and basically involves collecting community donations online.

Once you’ve figured out how much money you would like to raise and set yourself a target, you can register your project on a crowdfunding site such as Pozible or Kickstarter, and start approaching people for pledges. You will only receive the pledged money if you reach your target amount so make sure you have a great promotional strategy to ensure you make it!

Tips for crowdfunding success

Read the terms and conditions

It’s important to read all the finer details on crowdfunding websites to ensure that you understand the process before signing up. This will ensure you’ll know exactly how much of the final amount that you will receive and what happens to the money if you don’t reach your target.

Pick the right project

Make sure the project you want to crowdfund for is exciting, unique and inspiring. Think about why you might donate to a project and make sure your venture ticks all the boxes!

Set a realistic target amount

You may not be able to raise all the money you need through crowd funding, so set yourself a realistic target. On most crowdfunding sites, if you can’t reach your target amount, you won’t receive any money at all, so make sure set a challenging, but an achievable goal. Think about how many people you have in your networks, and consider how many of those will actually donate to your initiative.

Develop a marketing strategy to drive pledges

Get support for your project from key industry leaders, use social media, make promotional videos, whatever it takes to cut through the clutter and get your project noticed!