Stoking the Fire in Crowdfunding Campaigns

Over time, I noticed a dominant factor in all my successful crowdfunding campaigns – Motivation. Now, this may sound obvious, but it is not as easy as it sounds. It is one thing to excite a donor, someone who is used to being asked for a donation on a project or cause they believe in. It is another to recruit an ambassador to do something they are not used to, maybe uncomfortable doing, and "hold them accountable" for their commitment. Yes, they agreed to take this commitment on, showed up to a rally event, and created a link and a financial goal. But all this does not ensure participation or actually reaching the goal. It is up to us to motivate them throughout the campaign process to succeed.

At the start, we need to be able to inspire before the campaign. This is a form of motivation where someone is moved to action through admiration, excitement, understanding of our vision, and having the desire to bring it to life. At Causematch, one of our favorite ways of doing this is at the Rally event. Here we inspire, galvanize, and invigorate them for the upcoming campaign and mainly to achieve the important cause of the campaign.

Once the campaign goes live, we move into encouragement. We need to give support, confidence, and reminders to take action and reach out. Sometimes this even involves giving out incentives to participate or continue participating. The emphasis here is that we, the leaders, must have direct interactions with our ambassadors (each and every one), such as verbal or emotional support. This specific point can make or break a campaign.

When it is all over, we need to be able to commend. We need to motivate with words and actions to recognize their accomplishments, hard work, and dedication, but also provide positive reinforcement during the year for future endeavors.

Let's do a quick self-assessment. Are we comfortable asking our people (not donors) to support us? Are we good at motivating others? Are we comfortable with holding people accountable (giving that motivational push if necessary)? Having a candid conversation with someone? Are we the face of the organization? The people person? Are our staff, faculty, and board members involved?

Yes, having your team involved is a leading factor for motivating others to participate or donate. Your supporters want to be acknowledged for donating, and they want you to know they gave for you!

Having answers and the right person to all these questions/points can influence the outcome of a campaign. Am I saying a campaign can make or break depending on the motivation element? YES! Time and time again, I have seen this element overcome others in successful campaigns. In crowdfunding, people give to people. The same element works for motivation. People can motivate people! When our supporters are motivated correctly by you, they are more likely to achieve for you!

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