One of the most common ways of raising money for charities and non-profits always has been by soliciting micro donations from a large number of stakeholders. Very often it is easier to find 500 people who will support an idea with € 10, then one person who would be willing to spend € 5.000 on a project. With the advent of social media and web 2.0 technologies, this simple and successful fundrising model became an inspiration for CROWDFUNDING - a viable online fundraising tool not only for nonprofit organizations, but also for all kinds of creative projects in graphics, film, journalism and music.
Crowdfunding services are not about lending money or investing them. Project creators do not have to pay the money back. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project. For example, if an NGO wants to raise money to build a well in Sudan, as a reward for € 5 it can offer a digital photo, for € 10 a printed photo, for € 50 a printed poster, a name on a sponsor list on the website and an invitation to a conference, etc.
Crowdfunding services are very popular in English speaking countries.The biggest ones are:
www.justgiving.com
www.pledgebank.com
www.microgiving.com
www.razoo.com
www.crowdrise.com
www.firstgiving.com
www.globalgiving.org
Currently, they are also gaining popularity in Spain. The two most recognized are www.lanzanos.com and www.verkami.com.
Registration processes on all the websites are very similar. You need to log in, provide basic information about your NGO (name, email, etc), describe a campaign and rewards, and set a funding goal. Every crowdfunding service sets a different period for raising money. It can be 40, 50 or 65 days. If the time expires before the goal is reached, the project will not be successful and all contributions will be cancelled, so it is crucial to set a realistic goal.The idea of crowdfunding can also be embedded in NGO's own website. Here you can find the examples of Showroom Service provided by iWith.org:
www.fundaciocodespa.org
www.telecossensefronteres.org
www.ongvols.org
www.ong-cic.org
www.coopera.cc
For more information about crowdfunding on Facebook you can visit:
Fundrazr via Facebook
