Crowdfunding has picked up speed over the last couple of years with small businesses learning the finer points of promoting their projects and financial needs to large groups of people.
So how can this trend benefit after school programs and other social enterprises?
The concept of getting buy-in from strangers to get behind a worthy project is closely tied to an individual’s social network. How well a person can leverage their family and friends with the first wave of donations is critical. Once a campaign picks up speed with friends telling their friends, others are likely to jump in and upward the dollars go!
Many programs have large numbers of former students and families who’ve greatly benefited from your services, which is a huge advantage. This is your social currency and built in fan base that would most likely help spread the word!
A little research may be well worth your time seeing how others have positioned their campaigns and how successful they were in reaching their goal. Think about culminating events around one of your focus areas, such as bringing in a STEM related presenter or a visiting artist.
Here are three projects I found with an after school angle that may provide inspiration:
- Think College Now After School Program
- After School Arts Program
- Children’s After School Music Program
With the large number of potential services to help your effort, it’s probably a good idea to narrow the field by beginning with sites such as Causes, Crowdrise, Network for Good, and FirstGiving. Many of them have how-to articles and solid advice on planning a campaign.
Overall this is a interesting phenomenon worth exploring for after school programs.
Do you have a dream project that needs a financial jump start? This could be your big opportunity!
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