,Read up on all the details about crowd funding and the jobs act. There is a third part that's comings , not signed into law yet but hopefully it will be and then people will have allot more opportunity. If they remove the requirement which is in essence law that only accredited investors can invest, millions more will be able to get funded.
My thinking is that hundreds of thousands of more businesses will be initiated many of whom will succeed. Venture Capitalist , total rip offs, Angel investors greed , greed, greed. They fund very few but in reality their investments have contributed significantly to the GDP , They do deserve allot of credit but at what expense if the entire country is stymied
You see I have dealt with millionaire investors that were dumber that a paper weight. We use words like savvy, sophisticated, experienced, but in reality allot of them are full of it, steer companies in wrong directions, push , push , push to make companies worth something only to assure themselves an exit. Its all about money to them and who gives a ....f......... about the companies and all their workers.
I am not suggesting this is prevalent only that it does happen and they are terrible businessmen, allot of them just somehow got money but they ruin as many or more lives as they help in my opinion that destroys a nation's ability to be competitive. Do you think that all generals are effective leaders just because they are generals? We would like to think so but study military history and see what massive mistakes they make, how they personally are responsible for devastating losses. The same is true about investors they are just human beings. Yes some are exceptionally bright and effective business and investment managers my hat goes of to them but what criteria has the government set up to make sure they do not make a mess of things as many have. So do we justify everything because its their money and they are not accountable for the lives they affect and the manner in which they guide the development of the country?
Yes they make it possible for many companies to become public and the public can then invest in those companies, that represents the interests of the country but we need more something different, now we only have one choice.
My answer to does crowd funding have an important role to play in development and promotion of opportunity and the creation of jobs yes it does but nothing is a complete answer in and of itself. Potential? You bet but its just going back to basics what any 10 year old can tell you in a third world country and what this country once had to offer. Small business is the back bone of this country not emerging new conglomerates. Our country prides itself in consulting , helping emerging markets take root, get established and expand. Ask yourself how do they do it? By setting up new Micro Softs, Hewlett Packards, no they do it be setting up little mob and pop shops first, hundreds and thousands of them.
Read some of these post here on Quora that seem to be written by experienced investors, accredited investors . What do you read, what is being said.
Its really hard to make money as an investor, that is the message. Not all of us want to build a Micro Soft. The government is pushing for every company to be a public company. What are we communist now? What happened to free enterprise?The individual ? Its Government for Government's sake and we have been made into its servants. Its ok with me to be a servant to my county but to be directed my law to serve only the interest of the rich and the government?
What is Government? Isn't it our top management team? We are the ones who pay them, right? To do a job for us. The government is our venture Capitalist that has taken control of our company but only they do it with our money not their own.
We are the stock holders in this country and we have voting rights and should have a say in what our government decides about our company structure.
Yes in many ways they have done an awesome job but in others not so.
The next part of the jobs act relating to crowd funding is a step in the right direction. Yes we will all have to be far more vigilant of Fraud. Fraudsters are like a deadly and destructive virus that is always looking to sink its hooks our veins and get into our blood stream and sabotage everything we work for.
I am frustrated that we are held back from fighting in our own way , from investing is what we feel is in our interest and what we want in our lives , to have the ability to start our own business with those that will support us and not be limited to accredited investor and monsters like Venture Capitalist rip offs.
Our laws make a big deal of loan sharks. What do you call an investor that takes 40% of your entire business for his loan and arranges to get paid forever instead of like a loan shark that only takes a few years away. or can force you to sell your business. In essence this promotes work and productivity and that is good but what good is it if in the end the company is not yours. Do you know that an investor can just vote you out if you give him enough rights. It should be a fair playing field and entrepreneurs and general business owners should be taught about investment contracts so they know how to protect their interests. Isn' t that what the government claims to be doing , to be protecting us?
This is why I think Crowd funding is a step in the right direction but the most important part that will have a true impact is part III which is not law yet. The first part just succeeded in giving accredited investor more of an opportunity but not us. Its our government practicing business as usual, the little guy doesn't count.
- Be an active member of your community - call friends, go to events, like other people's stuff on social media
- Build an email list - gather all the emails of people you know and love
- Write to them to say hello and remind them you care
- Then tell them your launching soon
- Notify them with a strong request to donate on your launch day
- Follow up after 7 days
- Follow up with 72 hours remaining
Personal email conversations drive 90% of the funding you'll get with crowdfunding. DON'T just plug you list into a promotional mailer like mailchimp, don't stuff everyone into a :bcc - actually write to each person o
- Be an active member of your community - call friends, go to events, like other people's stuff on social media
- Build an email list - gather all the emails of people you know and love
- Write to them to say hello and remind them you care
- Then tell them your launching soon
- Notify them with a strong request to donate on your launch day
- Follow up after 7 days
- Follow up with 72 hours remaining
Personal email conversations drive 90% of the funding you'll get with crowdfunding. DON'T just plug you list into a promotional mailer like mailchimp, don't stuff everyone into a :bcc - actually write to each person one at a time, and you'll get astronomically higher conversion rates.
ALSO: Video max 3 min, good audio quality. DONT BORE ME.
Crowdfunding has grown enormously in the past few years. Crowdfunding is essentially the funding of a venture or project through raising money from a large number of people over the internet. Thanks to sites like Kick Starter and Go Fund Me, just about anyone can gain a platform for raising money. Some crowdfunding users like to offer their investors prizes or incentives to donate. This could be anything from coupons to your new business to a sample of your products or services. Just remember that once you make your crowdfunding page, it’s up to you to get the word out. Post the link to all yo
Crowdfunding has grown enormously in the past few years. Crowdfunding is essentially the funding of a venture or project through raising money from a large number of people over the internet. Thanks to sites like Kick Starter and Go Fund Me, just about anyone can gain a platform for raising money. Some crowdfunding users like to offer their investors prizes or incentives to donate. This could be anything from coupons to your new business to a sample of your products or services. Just remember that once you make your crowdfunding page, it’s up to you to get the word out. Post the link to all your social pages, and encourage your friends and family to share. With an incentive program and the power of social sharing, funding your small business is entirely possible through crowdfunding.
Obviously, Yes!
Crowdfunding has become a popular way to get funding for a new project or startup business. It's an excellent way to gauge interest since people will only fund what they're seriously interested in.
The way crowdfunding is presented today brings together many modern elements and new concepts. Even if the ventures and products themselves aren’t technical, today’s platforms are very tech-savvy. They are designed to automate much of the processes for fundraisers and funders. Some on-growing crowdfunding websites are kickstarter, eCrowdFundr, Indiegogo..etc
Yes, I believe the idea of crowdfunding is here to stay.
Whether it be Kickstarter or Indiegogo leading the charge 20 years from now is impossible to say for sure, but they have a massive head start - And the benefits of their head start (trust, network effects, quality software) makes me believe they’ll stay the leading platforms for quite a while.
But let’s separate the crowdfunding platforms from crowdfunding itself. First off, I consider crowdfunding to be a technology. And like any major technology, it will follow the Gartner Hype Cycle.
Crowdfunding has already gone through its “Peak of Inf
Yes, I believe the idea of crowdfunding is here to stay.
Whether it be Kickstarter or Indiegogo leading the charge 20 years from now is impossible to say for sure, but they have a massive head start - And the benefits of their head start (trust, network effects, quality software) makes me believe they’ll stay the leading platforms for quite a while.
But let’s separate the crowdfunding platforms from crowdfunding itself. First off, I consider crowdfunding to be a technology. And like any major technology, it will follow the Gartner Hype Cycle.
Crowdfunding has already gone through its “Peak of Inflated Expectations” a couple years ago. The most funded campaign in Kickstarter history was Pebble on March 27th, 2015 when they raised $20,338,986.
Around that same time we saw many other large crowdfunding campaigns: Coolest Cooler ($13,285,226), Baubax ($9,192,055), Zano ($2,995,712), Skully ($2,446,824, to name a few.
Many of these massive “successes” had extremely delayed shipping or simply never shipped at all. These failures were so bad, they dragged the whole idea of crowdfunding down into the “Trough of Disillusionment”. It was here that you started to have major media coverage of the failures, Kickstarter hire an investigative journalist, communities pop-up like Shitty Kickstarters, etc.
But the concept of crowdfunding was stronger than these failures and crowdfunding kept going. That is why now I believe we are approaching the “Plateau of Productivity” - where crowdfunding will stay for the foreseeable future.
Good luck,
-Mark
Click here for my most popular Quora answers about Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and entrepreneurship.
Crowdfunding is definitely at the beginning of a long road to some type of standard utility that people will use and count on in the future. Step back and look at where facebook is right now and the whole concept of social medial in general. Just a decade ago it would seem hard to pin down why the hell anyone would spend significant time on a site that shows photos and text from people you can probably speak to anyway. Fast forward to today. Look what just transpired in Egypt. You cannot separate historical life changing events from social media anymore, they are simply woven into the same fab
Crowdfunding is definitely at the beginning of a long road to some type of standard utility that people will use and count on in the future. Step back and look at where facebook is right now and the whole concept of social medial in general. Just a decade ago it would seem hard to pin down why the hell anyone would spend significant time on a site that shows photos and text from people you can probably speak to anyway. Fast forward to today. Look what just transpired in Egypt. You cannot separate historical life changing events from social media anymore, they are simply woven into the same fabric. Its a water shed moment where something new has become something like the phone or email... everyday tools which were novel and gimmicky at one point in time.
Crowdfunding and crowdsourcing is just a natural extension of social media and connected life. At its core, its about harnessing the connectivity between people to drive specific actions that would otherwise not be accomplished. It is a specific use for the general phenomena of social media. If for example you wanted to raise $10,000 to help upgrade the computers at a local high school, you could use facebook or twitter and simply put the message out or create a group etc and hope people respond. Crowdsourcing / Crowdfunding is about creating tools that are better suited to situations like that. Payment integration, voting mechanisms to activate projects based on social support, vetting that funds are only released once the project is fully funded, making sure the person getting the money is not a crook... these are parts of a tool that is an extension of general social media. If you look at the history of social networks and the competition that occurred over the years you can see that once the function and user demands become standardized.... consolidation tends to happen with only 1 or 2 giants and a few smaller players picking up the niches. Crowdsourcing/funding will probably play out much the same way.
My guess is that certain scenarios or world events will find a way to use these new more specific tools to address issues in a way that standardizes a set of requirements for these new sites. Social activism or some aspect of positive social impact will play a role in driving expected standards as more people look to each other for resources instead of the traditional NGOs and Non Profits. Geo will probably play a large role in this functionality as people will be able to pay and contribute to crowdfunded actions based on location or QR codes. Certainly there will also be a few surprises nobody can predict. A late entrance from a tech giant like amazon or facebook, the evolution of niche sites into more general crowdsourcing platforms etc. If I had to guess I would say we're probably 2 - 4 years out from having some sort of standardization followed by several consolidations/mergers and unfortunately many players going out of business in the wake of the few who remain.
Crowdfunding (equity) will only grow if people start making good money on their investments in crowdfunded offerings. Right now very very few cf offerings return any money to their investors.
Eventually crowdfunding will encompass all investment. True marketplace investing.
What I mean with this is that in this interim stage it has its own name (crowdfunding) but in time all transactions will be done peer to peer. This will be without registered intermediaries, because the systems of the future will enable people to be involved with things they are passionate about without some centralised entities having their noses in the trough at several stages of the transaction. It is hard to visualise but even now people, worldwide, can buy recordings directly from some recording artists with
Eventually crowdfunding will encompass all investment. True marketplace investing.
What I mean with this is that in this interim stage it has its own name (crowdfunding) but in time all transactions will be done peer to peer. This will be without registered intermediaries, because the systems of the future will enable people to be involved with things they are passionate about without some centralised entities having their noses in the trough at several stages of the transaction. It is hard to visualise but even now people, worldwide, can buy recordings directly from some recording artists without going through intermediaries. This will grow as systems like the blockchain allow one to one contact with built in trust factors.
The term to be used is “marketplace investing”. More here from Ryan Caldbeck.
I know there are a lot of other answers but this is the big picture of potential. The democratisation of value exchange in a marketplace of investors.
- create a great product.
- present and describe the product in the most flattering way possible.
- This means: photography, graphic design, and communications.
- tell as many people about this product as possible.
- This means: marketing, PR, and grassroots.
The crazy part is all 3 steps are equally as important.
Part 1 of 5:Figuring Out Your How and Why
Before you start your campaign, know with certainty how you will ask for money and why you need it. As crowdfunding consultant Sydney Malawer put it, "Do you have a legitimate ask besides 'we want money'?" People want to feel that they are a part of something big and important. They want to know that their money will play a significant role in accomplishing that goal. People crowdfund for all sorts of reasons: new business ventures, projects or causes they care about (e.g., a family member, friend or pet who is sick).
2. Do research and outline your goal
Part 1 of 5:Figuring Out Your How and Why
Before you start your campaign, know with certainty how you will ask for money and why you need it. As crowdfunding consultant Sydney Malawer put it, "Do you have a legitimate ask besides 'we want money'?" People want to feel that they are a part of something big and important. They want to know that their money will play a significant role in accomplishing that goal. People crowdfund for all sorts of reasons: new business ventures, projects or causes they care about (e.g., a family member, friend or pet who is sick).
2. Do research and outline your goals.
To justify and support your goals, you'll need to be clear about what the money will do. For personal causes, outline clearly how the money will be used and what impact it will have.
3. Present your goals.
For commercial ventures, use graphs where useful. Write out an estimated budget for your campaign, based on any quotes you've received from manufacturers, insurers, lawyers, suppliers and distributors. For personal causes, describe what the money is for and how it will be used. E.g., $1000 will pay for Sharon's mortgage as she undergoes four weeks of chemotherapy. If this sounds like a lot of work, it doesn't have to be. Just be transparent about what you are trying to achieve.
Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo provide helpful tips on their websites. http://Mycause.com.au, which specialises in cause-related crowdfunding, offers their fundraisers 24/7 email and phone support. Mike del Ponte wrote a great post on "Hacking Kickstarter," offering a list of factors to consider that contribute to campaign success, and the Unreasonable Institute shared some good lessons from their failed campaign.
5. Find videos or high-quality photos.
Images can make or break a campaign. If you are crowdfunding for a commercial project, consider getting a professional videographer who is willing to work pro-bono, or make a video yourself. Focus on telling a compelling story. Keep it under three minutes in length. For personal causes, find heartwarming and emotional photographs, and upload them to your page. The more visuals you have, the better.
Part 2 of 5:Designing Your Campaign
1. Decide which platform to use.
There are hundreds available. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the two best options for commercial projects. http://Mycause.com.au generates more than $12 million a year for personal causes.
Kickstarter is quite popular but rather picky about the projects they allow. (They're looking strictly for "creative" ideas.) It can actually be difficult to make it onto their homepage because of high traffic.
The smaller Indiegogo may be able to feature you more prominently on their homepage, newsletter, and social media outlets.
http://Mycause.com.au is the premier cause-funding site in Australia, raising more than $12 million a year for personal and charity causes. Mycause will allow you to fundraise for overseas residents or charities, as long as you are clear on how you will get the money to them. You can forward money to a charity through PayPal.
2. Design the layout of your campaign.
Have your story outlined (who, what, when, where, why, how) and your video and images in place. Make your explanation clear, simple and to-the-point.
3. Offer rewards.
Particularly in the case of commercial ventures (where people don't often give out of kindness), rewarding contributors with prizes can be an effective motivating tool. If you can cause potential donors to think, "That looks awesome. I want that," you could then reward them with a taste of the product you produce. For example, "$25 will get you a 250ml bottle of wine. $5000 will get you a weekend of health and wellness at a Napa winery."
Be sure to factor shipping into the cost of the rewards. Your cost will include the price of the goods, plus shipping and a crowdfunding premium (a percentage the platform will take in payment for their services).
4. Make sure you can comply with the estimated delivery date.
70% of campaigns don't deliver on time. Select a date that gives you plenty of time to meet your commitments. New projects often take longer than anticipated.
Part 3 of 5:Building the Movement
1. Make sure you have a core team of people promoting the campaign for you.
Think of crowdfunding as the layers of an onion. Your first layer is family and friends. If they won't donate to you, who will? Your second layer is coworkers (past and present), teammates, business associates, casual acquaintances. Your third layer is the press and general public.
2. Reach out to organizations and workplaces.
Some organizations can provide wide networks of potential donors. Make a list of local organizations related to your cause or field. Ask them if they'd be willing to publicize your campaign through their social media.
3. Use the media.
If you are doing the campaign on your own, you should draft a standard press release as a template. Personal interviews, however, are more likely to get you coverage. If you use a platform such as mycause, their publicity team will send your story to the press free of charge. They will work to generate publicity on your behalf.
Part 4 of 5:Launching the Campaign
1. Know your goal.
If it's a commercial venture, you should aim to raise 25% of your funding within 24 hours. If you succeed at that, Indiegogo or Kickstarter might feature you on their homepages. If it's for an individual or a cause, mycause recommends reaching out to your first two layers of "the onion" (friends, family, coworkers, teammates) in the first 14 days and then going to the general public through the press after that.
2. Try all forms of communication:
email, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest), blogs, media, opinion pieces, personalised letters. Remind your network to spread the message as well. Platforms such as mycause have integrated Facebook, Twitter and Gmail into their platform to make sending communications easy and effective. For systems that aren't fully integrated, you can try other tactics:
In Gmail click on Contacts → More → Export (All Contacts, CSV). Then you can import those contacts into your preferred email service provider (e.g., MailChimp).
Copy and paste the URL to your page, and give it a "New" status on Facebook. Tag supporters who will share the status.
Focus on key influences on social media. After your general status post, reach out directly to key influences, posting specifically on their social media pages.
Create a personal pitch. Hold an intimate event, make personal phone calls, and send individual emails to influential people who might respond to your pitch.
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3. Allow time.
Plan on sending updates to your backers and networks throughout the campaign, and also after it has ceased. Don't bombard people with messages, however. They might be tempted to mark them as spam.
Excellent way to part fools from their money which they would waste some other way. My latest favorite is the 3 people who did the “poor veteran” scam. $400K, what a haul. In the meantime there are kids at St Jude who could use the dough for real.
In one word: Yes.
There are lots of platforms for crowdfunding out there, and you can crowdfund anything your heart desires, from a potato salad (yes, really) to a new brand of beer.
Crowdfunding platforms charge a commission though, so be prepared for this.
This means you're keeping more of the money you put hard work into raising. There are other platforms out there for all kinds of projects e.g. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe. Some of these platforms are more catered to arts-related projects, and commission rates include a charge on payments made- but take a look and see what you think.
As a
In one word: Yes.
There are lots of platforms for crowdfunding out there, and you can crowdfund anything your heart desires, from a potato salad (yes, really) to a new brand of beer.
Crowdfunding platforms charge a commission though, so be prepared for this.
This means you're keeping more of the money you put hard work into raising. There are other platforms out there for all kinds of projects e.g. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe. Some of these platforms are more catered to arts-related projects, and commission rates include a charge on payments made- but take a look and see what you think.
As a blog writer here I would recommend using StudentBackr - because it was made specifically for students trying to fund their studies, it has the lowest commission rate out there (5% all included with no extra charges on payments).
It's worth remembering that crowdfunding is not an easy-fix solution and you do have to put work in to succeed, but if you succeed you can gain the money you need AND prove to future employers your masterful marketing, campaign managing and communication skills.
Coming at if from a future market size approach:
Fred Wilson made a statement to the effect that if every American family funneled 1% of its investable assets into crowdfunding it would unlock $300 billion of funding for entrepreneurs annually (10-20x the average yearly amount invested in the sector).
According to GEM, historically, an average of about 5% of 18-64 year old Americans (60+% of the population) have provided funds for a new business started by someone else in the past few years. That's about 10 million people. Their 2006 global survey (the latest I could find) showed that informal
Coming at if from a future market size approach:
Fred Wilson made a statement to the effect that if every American family funneled 1% of its investable assets into crowdfunding it would unlock $300 billion of funding for entrepreneurs annually (10-20x the average yearly amount invested in the sector).
According to GEM, historically, an average of about 5% of 18-64 year old Americans (60+% of the population) have provided funds for a new business started by someone else in the past few years. That's about 10 million people. Their 2006 global survey (the latest I could find) showed that informal investors provided $600B+ to entrepreneurs, dwarfing venture capital which peaked at just under $40B in 2007.
We're talking about a significant market potential here.
Update: I should point out that these numbers are meta, the next step would be to drill down and look at market share percentage (variable) and platform fees (6% on average now), which are clearly important on a company by company basis.
The benefits of crowdfunding are many. It’s a great way to find ambassadors for your company or product. You can also look at it as a giant focus group. You will receive a lot of helpful feedback about your company from people who want it to succeed. Of course the primary goal is to raise money and crowdfunding has been a great successful alternative to traditional funding.
Crowdfunding can be a viable option to finance your child's education. There are several platforms that allow you to create a campaign for this purpose. Here are a few options:
- GoFundMe: This is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms. It's used for a wide range of purposes, including education costs. GoFundMe allows you to create a detailed campaign page, share your story, and upload photos or videos.
- YouCaring: This platform is specifically designed for personal and charitable causes, including education. YouCaring doesn't charge a platform fee, but there is a processing fee for each do
Crowdfunding can be a viable option to finance your child's education. There are several platforms that allow you to create a campaign for this purpose. Here are a few options:
- GoFundMe: This is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms. It's used for a wide range of purposes, including education costs. GoFundMe allows you to create a detailed campaign page, share your story, and upload photos or videos.
- YouCaring: This platform is specifically designed for personal and charitable causes, including education. YouCaring doesn't charge a platform fee, but there is a processing fee for each donation.
- Kickstarter: While this platform is typically used for creative projects, it can also be used for educational purposes. However, keep in mind that Kickstarter operates on an all-or-nothing funding model, which means you must reach your funding goal to receive any money.
- Indiegogo: This platform is similar to Kickstarter but offers more flexibility, as it allows for both all-or-nothing and flexible funding options.
- ScholarMatch: This platform specifically targets education and connects donors with students who need funds for college.
- GiveCollege: This platform allows friends and family to contribute to a child's 529 college savings plan.
Before you start a crowdfunding campaign, it's important to plan it carefully. Be clear and transparent about why you're raising funds and how the money will be used. Share your campaign with your network of friends, family, and colleagues, and use social media to reach a wider audience.
Also, keep in mind that most crowdfunding platforms charge a fee, typically a percentage of the funds raised, plus payment processing fees. Be sure to factor these costs into your fundraising goal.
Lastly, it's important to note that money raised through crowdfunding may be considered taxable income, and if you're raising funds for another person (like your child), it could potentially impact their eligibility for financial aid. It's a good idea to consult with a financial advisor or tax professional to understand the potential implications.
Crowdfunding is a method to get capital to make a product a large group of people feels should be made.
In websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, small companies can release their first products and users can give them money, sometimes receiving the product at a lower price than retail. A great part of these campaigns are a flop. Many think corporations will forever continue to make the products we all want and deserve.
The Pebble watches showcase perfectly the potential crowdfunding has and are a notable exception to what I mentioned earlier. The first iteration, the Pebble, blasted through
Crowdfunding is a method to get capital to make a product a large group of people feels should be made.
In websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, small companies can release their first products and users can give them money, sometimes receiving the product at a lower price than retail. A great part of these campaigns are a flop. Many think corporations will forever continue to make the products we all want and deserve.
The Pebble watches showcase perfectly the potential crowdfunding has and are a notable exception to what I mentioned earlier. The first iteration, the Pebble, blasted through its initial goal of $100K, collecting over 10 million dollars. Then came the Pebble Time. It again absolutely annihilated its goal of $500K and instead got funded for over 20 million dollars. Though not a market leader in the realm of wearables by any means, the Time is still a budget, high battery life smartwatch and competes directly with the big boys like the Apple Watch and timepieces running Android Wear.
My initial point still stands, however. Millions of products have been crowdfunded and none have been revolutionary. A corporation, in contrast, has the backing of its shareholders and is able to manufacture top-of-the-line goods through the hiring of a capable workforce, researching, the accessibility of connections for acquiring materials; and then market those goods to the people.
I believe, though, that crowdfunding can grow to be a much more popular testing ground — a place where early companies can get first-hand experience in the processes of planning, goal establishing, and fulfillment of deadlines. With this, the early company can observe how an audience works and reacts to the product. The knowledge gathered from the exposure can help companies get the ball rolling and continue to churn out better, more innovative products, contributing to the development of new technologies.
Crowdfunding is available for any and every purpose that crosses your mind.
Education crowdfunding, on the other hand, is not just available but is the need of the hour.
The Covid-19 pandemic has left most of us in an impecunious state. This situation has made education a burden on many parents who lost their job or sources of income. Education crowdfunding could help educate many children around the world with small amounts of donations from many.
According to recent findings of the survey (NSS 75th round), the proportion of students that never stepped into the country’s education system has ris
Crowdfunding is available for any and every purpose that crosses your mind.
Education crowdfunding, on the other hand, is not just available but is the need of the hour.
The Covid-19 pandemic has left most of us in an impecunious state. This situation has made education a burden on many parents who lost their job or sources of income. Education crowdfunding could help educate many children around the world with small amounts of donations from many.
According to recent findings of the survey (NSS 75th round), the proportion of students that never stepped into the country’s education system has risen, About 1 in every 10 Indians complete their graduation degree. It goes without saying that the numbers diminish further for post-graduate and research-based degrees like M.Phil. and Ph.D.
Education for many students is deteriorating due to a lack of funds which can be strengthened with crowdfunding.
Education crowdfunding can be started by a student, a teacher, or an NGO underpinning an educational cause. It will follow the procedure of other crowdfunding online.
Hope this was helpful.
Yes
Crowdfunding is really effective and productive if used rightly.
This depends on your pre Launch activities, reaching target Group and the trust you can build among the communities. Crowdfunding is a community driven industry. If there is no community then there is no crowdfunding. If the particular cause or product has no real need in the community then the crowdfunding will fail.
So before you venture out into crowdfunding , first analyse if the product, cause or Project is a fit in the community.
Good luck
Let's Break It Down into TWO.
- The Crowdfunding Seeker
- The Crowdfunder
Crowdfunding is good. But it's based on luck for the seeker. You can crowdfund for a year and still not get up to your desired goal amount. And you may exceed. It's not just about the story you put out there, but grace and mercy. Fortunately for the seeker, you may not necessarily need to pay your funders in cash, could be in kind or some other incentives agreed. Or nothing. Depending. This would help you with your cause. Unlike loans or Investments.
2. Crowdfunding for funders is also good. As the saying goes “givers never lack
Let's Break It Down into TWO.
- The Crowdfunding Seeker
- The Crowdfunder
Crowdfunding is good. But it's based on luck for the seeker. You can crowdfund for a year and still not get up to your desired goal amount. And you may exceed. It's not just about the story you put out there, but grace and mercy. Fortunately for the seeker, you may not necessarily need to pay your funders in cash, could be in kind or some other incentives agreed. Or nothing. Depending. This would help you with your cause. Unlike loans or Investments.
2. Crowdfunding for funders is also good. As the saying goes “givers never lack…” you may get your funds back in cash or in some other incentives or more blessings from God. Either ways, know why you are doing it and what you are doing it for. Are you parting that cash away like you do to charities or beggars on the street, or you are doing for something in return. Have the reason clear. And you're good to go. But either ways, you need to know the outcome is 50/50 so advise is you part away with money you don't mind losing.
CF is good. It doesn't weigh more on a particular individual. But it's based on luck. Good luck.
It already is.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/08/crowdfunding-state-of-the-union/
This is just scratching the surface. We haven't even seen the impact of equity based crowdfunding yet. We've only been online for a couple weeks since our launch at Fundable.com but since then we've seen significant interest from investors looking to take equity stakes in the handful of companies we have launched.
What we're really talking about here is moving a significant portion of capital that is already being funneled into startups and making that distribution more efficient by using platforms.
So the money i
It already is.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/08/crowdfunding-state-of-the-union/
This is just scratching the surface. We haven't even seen the impact of equity based crowdfunding yet. We've only been online for a couple weeks since our launch at Fundable.com but since then we've seen significant interest from investors looking to take equity stakes in the handful of companies we have launched.
What we're really talking about here is moving a significant portion of capital that is already being funneled into startups and making that distribution more efficient by using platforms.
So the money is already out there - hundreds of billions - it's just being distributed through a clunky analog version. We're looking to change that.
Absolutely! Crowdfunding is all about having a great product, great marketing, and sometimes, just a little bit of luck. Because you’re fundraising money, these qualities are especially important, as well as the ability to connect with others. It’s a bit more of a personal process since your customers are essentially early patrons of a business that hasn’t quite taken off yet.
There’s a lot of hard work and dedication involved in crowdfunding but it definitely can be successful.
Yes, countless people have been successful with crowdfunding, dating back thousands of years to the earliest concepts of capitalism.
The recent rise of online crowdfunding portals has made the concept more accessible to some people. It has piggy backed on the rise of social media platforms. They do this by providing an easy way to format and then sell your project ideas to those networks and social circles you have developed (ie your "crowd.) Whereas pre-internet/pre-social networks this sort of rapid engagement was a challenge for crowdfunding, these days it is much easier. Of course, you st
Yes, countless people have been successful with crowdfunding, dating back thousands of years to the earliest concepts of capitalism.
The recent rise of online crowdfunding portals has made the concept more accessible to some people. It has piggy backed on the rise of social media platforms. They do this by providing an easy way to format and then sell your project ideas to those networks and social circles you have developed (ie your "crowd.) Whereas pre-internet/pre-social networks this sort of rapid engagement was a challenge for crowdfunding, these days it is much easier. Of course, you still need an idea, and you still need a loyal "crowd" of friends and fans.
And yes, I have successfully used crowdfunding many times. My first was in the 1980's at age 13 in a rather complex project to fund a very large purchases of fireworks. I needed to raise $1000 (there was a sharp escalation in bonus firrworks and sharp decrease in shipping costs for large dollar orders, and $1000 was a huge bonus) and did so through small pledges from about 40 classmates. I utilized pen and paper and face to face conversations to track and promote the project.
My most recent was to fund an expansion of my photo studio. I used Kickstarter, and reached 100% of my funding goal in under 24 hours.
Thanks for A2A,
With crowdfunding, individuals and organizations raise money for projects by collecting relatively small amounts of money from a large number of people, called crowdfunding. Crowdfunding can be a great asset to schools or educational organizations.
Since crowdfunding gives you a platform to share your story, you have the opportunity to spread the word about your cause as you raise funds and continue to educate students.
http://DonorsChoose.org and eCrowdFundr are the popular websites for school donations and fundraising as many educators have experienced success.
1) Plan your campaign. By taking the time to think through your goals, missteps, and what you need to do to succeed, you'll be in a much better position when launch day comes.
2) Choose the right platform. Not all crowdfunding platforms are created equal. Do your research to find one that best suits your needs.
3) Create compelling rewards. What can you offer backers that will get them excited about supporting your campaign?
4) Set a realistic fundraising goal. If you're asking people to donate money to your cause, make sure you have a clear idea of how much money you need and why.
5) Have a marke
1) Plan your campaign. By taking the time to think through your goals, missteps, and what you need to do to succeed, you'll be in a much better position when launch day comes.
2) Choose the right platform. Not all crowdfunding platforms are created equal. Do your research to find one that best suits your needs.
3) Create compelling rewards. What can you offer backers that will get them excited about supporting your campaign?
4) Set a realistic fundraising goal. If you're asking people to donate money to your cause, make sure you have a clear idea of how much money you need and why.
5) Have a marketing strategy in place. You shouldn’t just launch without building some momentum.
People who wish to crowdfund successfully do the following things well:
1. They go find the people who most care about their type of project
2. They engage with that specific audience and invest themselves in the community
3. They work to form a clear story and to foster the support of those who are closest to them
4. They find champions who will speak on their behalf and share their story
5. They secure early dollars from those who are closest to them - as much as 60% or more for maximum success - all of this money accounted for in the first week of their public visibility
6. When they have a
People who wish to crowdfund successfully do the following things well:
1. They go find the people who most care about their type of project
2. They engage with that specific audience and invest themselves in the community
3. They work to form a clear story and to foster the support of those who are closest to them
4. They find champions who will speak on their behalf and share their story
5. They secure early dollars from those who are closest to them - as much as 60% or more for maximum success - all of this money accounted for in the first week of their public visibility
6. When they have accomplished successfully these things - their success rate jumps tremendously
Cheers!
I hope not. I always love disruption, democratization, new entrants, fresh blood and competition, shakeouts of an existing “Politburo”, opening up a closed system or society. However, for decades the problem has been that there is too much money chasing too few deals, inexperienced VC’s, inexperienced entrepreneurs, too many VC-backed companies competing in the same market segments, unrealistic bu
I hope not. I always love disruption, democratization, new entrants, fresh blood and competition, shakeouts of an existing “Politburo”, opening up a closed system or society. However, for decades the problem has been that there is too much money chasing too few deals, inexperienced VC’s, inexperienced entrepreneurs, too many VC-backed companies competing in the same market segments, unrealistic business plans and goals, valuations bid too high, negative follow-on financings. Followed by...
There are two sides to this answer: Answering (1) Why do project creators use Crowdfunding to finance their projects? (2) Why do people from the crowd back projects. (and bonus (3) Why do Entrepreneurs develop Crowdfunding platforms? Which make the whole ordeal possible in the first place.)
As your development suggests, you're more interested in answering part (2), so there you go:
A few reasons can explain why someone would back a project, and these reasons are not mutually exclusive. To be perfectly honest, my studies are a lot more oriented towards explaining (1) rather than (2), but I'm stil
There are two sides to this answer: Answering (1) Why do project creators use Crowdfunding to finance their projects? (2) Why do people from the crowd back projects. (and bonus (3) Why do Entrepreneurs develop Crowdfunding platforms? Which make the whole ordeal possible in the first place.)
As your development suggests, you're more interested in answering part (2), so there you go:
A few reasons can explain why someone would back a project, and these reasons are not mutually exclusive. To be perfectly honest, my studies are a lot more oriented towards explaining (1) rather than (2), but I'm still going to try:
- The project is valuable enough so that people want to see it get made, to a point where they'll participate. (Personal example: I backed a documentary about a primary school where kids decide themselves which classes they want to have, in the form of a democratic vote (that can be as out-of-the-box as trumpet lessons). I had never heard of such a kind of school. I really wanted to see how that worked out, so I gave a little.)
- Rewards. Pretty obvious, but to take the example of Pebble, I'm guessing most people pledged as a way to pre-order these extremely cool watches. This only applies if rewards are of actual value, and not overpriced. Levels of pledging tiers and rewards associated to them are getting better and better as successful projects multiply, and data is shared to show which tier/reward ratios are acceptable and which are not.
- Sheer goodwill. Some projects are so endearing that some people would back them just to help it get made. I figure that is far from the majority but it's there. Never underestimate how good people are.
- Help out. People are ready to help someone else according to the strength of the relationship that binds them together. You'll go the extra mile to help a close family member, your best friend etc all the way down to a stranger. I'm not an expert in this but I'm sure there's some kind of ladder breaking this down. This goes to show that the importance of building a sense of community around your project early on should never be underestimated. And you definitely can get to care for someone you just know over the Internet.
- No pressure on the founders' shoulders. That is kind of a big one and it's also one reason why crowdsourced databases like Wikipedia work so well. There is no punishment if you made a bad decision, except blaming yourself. If you fund a project, you're done. The power shifts to the Creator and you're relieved of all the hassle behind bringing the idea to life. (for Wikipedia, it's that you're never forced to write an article, or do anything to develop it. You choose to pinch in because you want to. Pretty much like Quora, isn't it?)
- Enable someone else's dream. Again, I'm no expert on the domain, but I'm sure people hold the belief that allowing someone else's dream is getting them closer to making theirs come true. The amount of self-help books preaching positive thinking + positive actions like Rhonda Byrne's The Secret surely helped spread this belief in the later years. And I have the feeling that it's more true in the USA than anywhere else. (just a feeling, if anyone has a study on that...)
To complement this, RockthePost isn't all that different from Kickstarter and people do not give out money to finance projects willy-nilly. Even there, funders make an investment in exchange of a reward. Rewards also work in tiers.
(By the way, this is the first time I have been asked to answer a question since I started being active on Quora a few days ago, and it felt awesome to receive that notification on my phone, so thanks Jonathan!)
Now, as for your request, some of the reasons I found for project creators to turn to crowdfunding are. Disclaimer: these are adapted from my research, conducted on a few filmmakers who user Kickstarter, so not crowdfunding in general.
- They ran out of other options. Depending on the size of their project, these options can be traditional financing, bootstrapping, self-finance, lending from friends and family... When there's no money left there, crowdfunding is a very valid alternative.
- It's new. A lot of people turn to crowdfunding (particularly Kickstarter in my sample) because it is a new method, an arising trend that they want to try.
- It's an opportunity. In the same lines as the previous point, people see it as an opportunity to do something different and thus differentiate themselves from other projects. These 2 points will lose their interest with time, as crowdfunding practices will become mainstream.
- It's "easy". They want to avoid filing for grants and other traditional methods that take time and loads of paperwork (at least they are perceived as such). I think the difficulty of leading a successful campaign was underestimated until a certain point, but it's not anymore. Today, the high majority of creators know the level of involvement that has to go into a campaign and accept it because they also understand the next point, that is:
- Community building. Some -not all- project creators included crowdfunding in a carefully thought-out plan of action in the creation of their project. They don't see crowdfunding as a sheer alternative to traditional funding but as a way to include their end customers in the process. That can mean give them a voice in the creative process, but more often, that means letting them in on the knowledge loop of project advancement and start a conversation with them. A few campaigns have done this extremely well with great results. That is the case for Indie Game: The Movie, for example.
- Gage the audience. With the involvement of the crowd, crowdfunding is an extremely powerful way for one to measure the appreciation of the product or work that one is trying to sell, and do so very early on in the creation process. People can test many key factors, from design and features to pricing.
- Ensuring creative freedom. Crowdfunding allows creators to stay true to their projects, without having to answer to any greater structure nor follow any agenda (aside from trying not to disappoint the crowd that got involved). Surprisingly, this wasn't mentioned a lot by the people I interviewed, but logic has me think that it becomes prevalent on projects with bigger budgets.
Crowdfunding is a method of fundraising that lets you collect a little from a large population of people to fund a cause you support or bring to life an idea or project. It’s widely popular these days because it doesn’t pressurize to pay back like loans do and it’s free to start a campaign on most websites.
You can choose from dozens of crowdfunding websites that will give you the space to tell your story to a global audience and provides the platform to accept monetary contributions as well. Here’s a quick brief on how it works:
- Choose a platform based on your needs (for example, Impact Guru is
Crowdfunding is a method of fundraising that lets you collect a little from a large population of people to fund a cause you support or bring to life an idea or project. It’s widely popular these days because it doesn’t pressurize to pay back like loans do and it’s free to start a campaign on most websites.
You can choose from dozens of crowdfunding websites that will give you the space to tell your story to a global audience and provides the platform to accept monetary contributions as well. Here’s a quick brief on how it works:
- Choose a platform based on your needs (for example, Impact Guru is a great platform for social and medical causes in India, while Indiegogo is a great platform for innovative projects in the west)
- Write a sincere, emotional story to move your audience and make sure it contains every single detail YOU would want to know if you were a donor. Don’t be afraid to include a CTA - it’s important to actually ask your audience to make a donation.
- Include photos of your project and consider making a short video if you can. Visual imagery helps audience make a connect. Include documentary proof, if it’s relevant.
- Publish your fundraiser and make sure your closest family and friends make a donation and share right after it’s approved. The first few hours after your fundraiser goes live can determine how the next month pans out.
- Ask your family and friends to create support fundraisers and share your story across their social media.
- Post updates on your social media regularly - your existing donors need to be kept in the loop so they know you appreciate their donation. This may naturally convince them to find more donors for you through social media.
Hope this helped. Happy crowdfunding!
What makes you so special that people should crowd fund your education? Unless you have some special circumstances, I think people will keep their money in their pockets, not give it to you.
Publish your campaign in the top leading fundraising platforms like Kickstarter & Indiegogo. Refer some important tips here to make your crowdfunding campaign successful.
1. Be strong on your ideas
2. Publish Image/Video about your project
3. Create a helpful landing page / social media page
4. Ask people to overview the idea rather than asking money immediately
5. Build interest before people come
6. Stay for communication
In case, you are about to brand your own white label crowdfunding site for fundraising, then hook up with ecrowdfundr.com. It is a leading white-label solution, supports crowdfund
Publish your campaign in the top leading fundraising platforms like Kickstarter & Indiegogo. Refer some important tips here to make your crowdfunding campaign successful.
1. Be strong on your ideas
2. Publish Image/Video about your project
3. Create a helpful landing page / social media page
4. Ask people to overview the idea rather than asking money immediately
5. Build interest before people come
6. Stay for communication
In case, you are about to brand your own white label crowdfunding site for fundraising, then hook up with ecrowdfundr.com. It is a leading white-label solution, supports crowdfunding opportunities in cloud lending, retail, microfinance, payday loans, medical & dental and charity based donations.
Thanks for A2A.
The best crowdfunding site/platform would be the one that understands and caters to the need of your cause.
For education crowdfunding, there are a few elements that you should look for while selecting a platform.
- The platform should support education crowdfunding
Each platform is designed to cater to a certain type of crowdfunding. Therefore, it’s vital that you check if your platform is eligible to run an education crowdfunding.
- Should have successful campaigns and experience in education crowdfunding.
After you land on a platform that undertakes education crowdfunding, you should inspect their c
The best crowdfunding site/platform would be the one that understands and caters to the need of your cause.
For education crowdfunding, there are a few elements that you should look for while selecting a platform.
- The platform should support education crowdfunding
Each platform is designed to cater to a certain type of crowdfunding. Therefore, it’s vital that you check if your platform is eligible to run an education crowdfunding.
- Should have successful campaigns and experience in education crowdfunding.
After you land on a platform that undertakes education crowdfunding, you should inspect their completed or ongoing fundraisers to evaluate their experience and success.
- The platform should be user-friendly (saves time and efforts)
During an education crowdfunding process, time is crucial. You will have deadlines to pay your fee installments. When the crowdfunding platform you choose is user friendly, it allows a swift campaign initiation. We facilitate starting a fundraiser in less than 5 minutes.
- An experienced platform will always have an established audience/donors who trust the platform.
When a crowdfunding platform has established its name with successful campaigns and experience, it builds its own donor community who trusts the platform. Starting crowdfunding with an experienced platform will immediately expose you to their donors which in turn will be beneficial for your campaign.
- Flexibility in funds withdrawal.
We are one of the first platforms to launch a campaigner application, on which the campaigner can access the dashboard and withdraw funds on the go.
Many platforms do not transfer the funds raised if the set goal has not been met. We believe in flexibility and ease for which we transfer your funds at the end of your campaign irrespective of the goal met.
- Should be equipped to provide necessary professional assistance specific to your cause.
Crowdfunding for your education fee can be overwhelming. We provide professional support for our campaigners to assist them with anything and everything throughout the campaign. We provide tailor-made service catering specifically for the respective campaign.
Looking out for these elements in the platform will deliver your cause to the best crowdfunding website.
Hope this helped!