A lot of people ask me ‘what is crowdfunding?” because we use it partially to fund the Freelance Jungle.
It’s hip, it’s trendy, but why use crowdfunding over say building and selling membership products? Well, any creative or socially innovative person will tell you that there is often a tremendous support for their idea from friends, family and like minded people within their networks. That same person may talk of the struggle they have faced to raise the funds needed to make their dreams a reality and how hard it is to market and continually run fundraising initiatives to fund their projects.
Through crowdfunding, we aim to bring those passionate people directly to the projects they want to support and give them a means in which to support that project in their own terms financially so the project creator can continue on their journey.
Crowdfunding captures funds from various sources
The easiest way to think of crowdfunding is to think of an empty bucket out on a rainy day. Every little drop that gets added will eventually fill the bucket. This is essentially how crowdfunding works. A person sets a funding target (the bucket) and brings their peers (the rain) together in order to fill the bucket to nourish the growth of an idea. If the person is successful, they receive the funds for their project. If they do not reach their target, the funds are returned.
What is crowdfunding in simplest terms is a way of pooling interest together and transforming it into tangible support.
Crowdfunding supplies a tangible way for people to get behind the projects they believe in to bring it into fruition. Unlike angel investment or a loan, you don’t have to make changes to your original idea in order to meet an investor’s requirement, nor do you have to pay back the money at the end.
It also addresses the issues faced by many creative and socially innovative people in Australia regarding age limits, previous credentials and so on with grants because the project owner does not have to meet any external requirements beyond reaching their funding target to be successful.
Crowdfunding is also a great way to test the popularity and acceptance of your idea and gives you a tangible demonstration for future investments and fundraising potentials.
The important thing to remember with crowdfunding is it is a project unto itself.
You cannot put your project on a platform like Pozible or Patreon and expect the money to start rolling in. You have to market your campaign to friends, talk about your project, and work out a strategy for promotion and stick to it.
Being online means you can ask friends from all around the country (or world!) to support you- just remember to be sincere, creative and innovative in your campaign so your supporters understand why you need the help.