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What do Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit and Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” have in common? They can both be spruced up with a bit of effectively organized crowdfunding, a fundraising method built on reeling in a large number of small donations over a short period of time.
During their session, “How to Run a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign” at Fundraising Day in New York 2017, Lara Koch, associate director of digital philanthropy at The Smithsonian Institution, and Elizabeth J. Wilson, assistant director of advancement for annual giving and operations at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, recapped their own successes in crowdfunding and provided tips to successful campaigns.
The #RebootTheSuit campaign to refurbish and display Neil Armstrong’s space suit was launched on July 20, 2015 and reached the $500,000 goal in five days, after which a stretch goal of an additional $200,000 to refurbish Alan Shepard’s suit was launched. The campaign grabbed national headlines and resulted in $719,779 in donations from 9,477 supporters. That’s an average of $76 per donation. The vast majority of supporters (95 percent) were new to file.
#KeepThemRuby, an effort to conserve and display Dorothy’s ruby slippers, launched about a year later and hit the $300,000 goal in five days, stretching to an additional $85,000 to conserve the Scarecrow’s costume. Like #RebootTheSuit, #KeepThemRuby drew national press and resulted in $349,026 from 6,451 donors, an average donation of $54. The majority (88 percent) were new to file. Among donations from on-file donors, 63 percent had given to #RebootTheSuit.
Crowdfunding is an opportunity to not only raise money for a project but to grab media buzz, cultivate new donors, and involve and educate current donors, according to the panelists. Campaign timelines typically start four to six months in advance with leadership buy-in, major donor engagement, and media and marketing strategy followed by a campaign — no longer than 30 days — dedicated to multi-channel digital marketing, special announcements such as celebrity involvement, and project updates.
After the campaign, steps are generally taken to survey supporters, migrate data, and provide ongoing updates until the funded project is completed.
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