10 learnings from the Kentaa Fundraising Inspiration Session about Crowdfunding

We recently organised an inspiration session about crowdfunding for our clients. During this session, they discussed the most important lessons that they have learned from crowdfunding with the Kentaa platform.  This article features ten of them.

1. When is your platform a success? Set up KPIs to make it measurable.
Crowdfunding doesn't happen by itself. It takes time and effort. That is why it is important to determine when you deem your platform successful. How many projects do you want to finance in a year? What should they yield on average and what average donation amount do you strive for?

2. Do you have to deal with external campaign managers? Be critical in your selection.
If you are not the executor behind the crowdfunding campaigns on your platform, make sure that the external campaign manager is ready to pull a crowdfunding project. That is, the campaign owner must be willing to approach his network and really do his best to make the project a success. The campaign owner is the driving force and face of the campaign. Therefore, be critical. If the motivation is not there or, for example, the timing is not right, do not start.

3. Prepare your campaign well.
No matter how cliché, good preparation is half the battle. Before you start, make a solid plan. What can help you with this is the crowdfunding canvas by Douw&Koren which you will find in our recently renewed whitepaper on crowdfunding for non-profits. Segment the target groups you want to approach and ensure appropriate communication for these target groups. Moreover, do not approach these target groups in one go at the beginning of the campaign. Phase your communication so you don't shoot all your gunpowder at once. Read more about segmenting target groups here.

Download the whitepaper

4. Set realistic goals (using this formula).
One of the questions that came up during the session was: how do you determine a realistic target amount for a crowdfunding project? Because regardless of what you think you need as an organisation, the amount must of course be feasible to crowdfund.

First of all, it is important to realise that 70-80% of your target amount will come from people in your current network. So, people you can approach directly. Think of colleagues, newsletter subscriptions and social media followers. Only 20-30% of the proceeds will come from people who are approached indirectly, for example via social media, press or your ambassadors.

Furthermore, we keep a conversion rate of 4% with the people you can approach directly and an average donation amount of 50 euros. This results in the following formula to determine a realistic target amount:
Target amount = (Number of people you can approach directly * 4% conversion * € 50,- )/ 70%

For example:

• 3.400 contacts * 4% conversion * € 50,- = 6.800 euros
• = 70%-80% of your target amount
• Which makes an amount between 8.500 and 9.715 euros realistic.

You can then match this with your project and see if you might have to use other fundraising channels in addition to crowdfunding.

5. Test your proposition during an informal sparring session.
Testing your crowdfunding proposition ensures that you can make it more realistic. Organise (for example) a pizza session and invite people from your target group, or who are close to your organisation and challenge them to take a critical look at your campaign. Not only can you sharpen your proposition with their help, but you also create involvement in the campaign (ownership) and thus a group of ambassadors that you can fall back on for help during the campaign.

6. Learning by doing: get started and try it out.
Sometimes you are too careful. Especially organisations that are new to crowdfunding, find it very exciting and are afraid of failing. However, in most cases, the best way to learn is to just do it. So just start with a small campaign.

7. Personal fundraisers as a flywheel for your crowdfunding campaign.
Let your supporters start fundraisers to raise even more money for the crowdfunding campaign. Think of an activity that these 'campaigners' can do that is related to your campaign.

8. Bring the people for whom the campaign is intended into the picture.
People give to people. Therefore, get a good picture of the people who benefit from the crowdfunding campaign. Do you crowdfund for scientific research? Put the researchers on your images. A new playground nearby? Put children playing on the banner.

9. Invite major donors
Dare to ask! In addition to lower amounts, provide donation buttons or rewards linked to high donation amounts. This way you can also appeal to major donors or companies with your campaign. If you do not show them, these groups are less inclined to make large donations.

10. Tackle the campaign dip
Almost every crowdfunding campaign has a dip. Many donations come in at the start and often at the end. But it is precisely in the middle of the campaign that things can get more difficult. Good news, you can do something about it. Have you received any commitments? Then wait to come back to that until the moment when your campaign needs some extra donations. You can also add special rewards in the dip of which there are only a few and which one would like to have.

In addition to these 10 learnings, 'The big crowdfunding book' by Simon Douw and Gijsbert Koren also emerged as a reading tip!