5 Ways to Fail AT Crowdfunding Leah Davis (Associate Director, New Media) & Andrea Kennedy (Director, Development Communications)

Transcription

1 5 Ways to Fail AT Crowdfunding Leah Davis (Associate Director, New Media) & Andrea Kennedy (Director, Development Communications)

2 Boston university launched in projects and we re still testing! Beta 1: Project SEARCH Beta 1: BU Bands Beta 1: Post-natal HIV care in Africa Beta 2: NinjaGame (speech rehab video game) Beta 2: BU Dance Team bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 2 of 12

3 Boston university launched in projects and we re still testing! Beta 1: Project SEARCH Beta 1: BU Bands Beta 1: Post-natal HIV care in Africa Beta 2: NinjaGame (speech rehab video game) Beta 2: BU Dance Team bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 3 of 12

4 You Win Some, You lose some BU Bands, $$$ for extra instruments 80+ team members & and extensive alumni base 68 donors Raised $5,016 in 40+ days Project search, ID via ear scans 3 team members & an unknown base 101 donors Raised $10,655 in 42 days bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 4 of 12

5 What s the best way to fail? bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 5 of 12

6 #5 Skip the application process PROBLEM Choosing projects from the top down means that you re not letting your most engaged fundraisers self-select as crowdfunders. SOLUTION - establish an online application process - let the projects come to you - refine your project selection & approval process bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 6 of 12

7 #4 expect a campaign to go viral PROBLEM Student crowdfunders aren t always comfortable with and they re pretty sure that social media will work just fine thankyouverymuch. SOLUTION - educate, educate, educate - review group s available lists before accepting a project - make templates available bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 7 of 12

8 #3 Focus on the $$$ PROBLEM Donors push back when university-affiliated groups ask for community support. Our most common question has been, Why doesn t BU just pay for it? SOLUTION - choose projects carefully - focus on the above and beyond - help groups transparently answer donor questions & concerns bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 8 of 12

9 #2 ignore the rules PROBLEM Funding priorities and looming deadlines can tempt inexperienced crowdfunders into breaking the unspoken rules that donors have come to expect around crowdfunding projects. SOLUTION - get familiar with best practices - educate, educate, educate everyone has to be on the same page - ignore the rules but only when it makes sense bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 9 of 12

10 you miss 100% of the shots you never take. Wayne Gretzky bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 10 of 12

11 #1 don t try crowdfunding PROBLEM You re worried that crowdfunding isn t right for your institution. SOLUTION - ask around there are 57+ university-specific crowdfunding platforms* in use worldwide - define your goals crowdfunding is not a magic bullet - educate your peers crowdfunding works just like any other fundraising campaign - learn from our mistakes *via ScaleFunder & 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 11 of 12

12 THANK YOU NOTES & SLIDES bu.edu/campaign/slides/crowdfunding andreak@bu.edu, ldavis2@bu.edu bu.edu/crowdfunding 5 Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding 12 of 12