Crowdfunding for Good: Veterans Take Point
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This is a presentation Devin Thorpe made to the Veterans Take Point social entrepreneurs program at the Atlantic Council.
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Crowdfunding for Good: Veterans Take Point
- 1. Devin D. Thorpe @devindthorpe #letsdosomegood
- 3. A little about me 2
- 4. 3 Teton Dam
- 6. Champion of Social Good 5
- 7. Crowdfunding • The use of third-party websites to raise money for your project • Examples – Kickstarter – Indiegogo – Rockethub • Hundreds of others 6
- 8. Types of Crowdfunding Rewards T-shirts, albums, games, DVDs and technology Investments Debt and equity issues Donations Nothing but thanks in return 7
- 9. Crowdfunding Potential • $200 million for a skyscraper in Bogota, Colombia (investments) • $13 million for a cooler that will charge your phone and blend your drinks (rewards) • $5+ million for Habitat for Humanity (donations) 8
- 10. What to Expect • Crowdfunding for investments is new, with average raises of about $100,000 in the UK • Crowdfunding for rewards and donations average about $4,000 to $5,000 • Many campaigns fail to raise any money at all • Most campaigns raise less than $5,000 • A few, big winners skew the average 9
- 11. Where The Money Comes From • The “Crowd” is almost as difficult to find as sasquatch • The money will come mostly from your own network (about 75%) • The most successful campaigns get 75% or more from the “crowd” 10
- 12. SMAC! Monkeys
- 13. Trust • Are you trying to cheat me? – Use your real identity – Connect to social media accounts associated with your real identity • If not, are you capable of being successful? – Describe your qualifications – Highlight past success 12
- 14. Crowdfunding Timeline Phase I: Reconnaissance Phase II: Preparation Phase III: Ground War Phase IV: Air War Campaign 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Campaign Timeline in Weeks 13
- 15. Assessing Your Team • How many partners? • How many champions? • How many boosters? • Partners are worth an average of $2,000 each. • Champions are worth about $1,000 each. • Boosters are worth about $500 each.
- 16. Assessing Your Cause Score your cause on a 5-point scale: Face Urgency Politics Geography Community Project or event
- 17. Face • The “Face” of your campaign: is it appealing? • Celebrity not required • Beauty not required • Authenticity required • Person or critter • Logos can’t be the face of your campaign • Objects can’t be the face
- 18. Urgency • The urgency: is there a native reason people must act now? • Boston Bombing v. American Cancer Society
- 19. Politics • Is your cause potentially divisive? • Cancer v. Marriage Equality
- 20. Geography • Local v. Global
- 21. Community • Is your cause tied to a larger community, religion or club? – Veterans – Football fans – Online gamers – Methodists – Rotarians • Can you reach the community?
- 22. Project or Event • Is there a specific project or event to be funded? – Construction project – Service trip – 10K Run
- 23. LiveMoreAwesome
- 24. Assessing Your Project • Rate your project on a 0 – 5 point scale for each of the four areas: – Face: __________ – Urgency: __________ – Politics: __________ – Geography: __________ – Community: __________ – Event: __________ • Total: __________ • A score above 25 has high potential to reach beyond your personal network. • A score below 15 is unlikely to reach far beyond your network. 23
- 25. • Reaching way beyond your network requires: – Passion among your friends, fans and followers – Media attention (blogs, newspapers, radio and television) – Luck Going Viral 24
- 26. Platforms • Indiegogo • Fundly • Razoo • Crowdrise • StartSomeGood • Many others 25
- 27. Platform Considerations • Hundreds of platforms to choose among • Remember, the money comes from your network—not the platform’s • Few people are browsing the sites looking for places to drop money • There are thousands of projects on each site 26
- 28. Crowdfunding Timeline Phase I: Reconnaissance Phase II: Preparation Phase III: Ground War Phase IV: Air War Campaign 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Campaign Timeline in Weeks 27
- 29. Preparation • The activity you see in a crowdfunding campaign is a fraction of the total work • Start preparing in earnest 30 to 60 days before you launch your campaign 28
- 30. • Build and organize teams • Train your team • Organize lists • Design your rewards/recognition • Write a press release • Produce a video What to Prepare 29
- 31. Partners • Your business partners should be your crowdfunding partners • Get them committed • No one person can carry the whole team 30
- 32. Fanatics • People who will campaign on your behalf • Your mom • Customers who already love what you are doing 31
- 33. Train the Team • Train Your Partners • Have your partners help you train the Fanatics • Teach everyone what you are learning here 32
- 34. • Partners and Fanatics • Everyone prepares her own list • Gather names, phone numbers and email addresses • Download list from online email provider • Download list from LinkedIn Organize Lists 33
- 35. Rewards • Nothing but thanks • Incentives • Products 34
- 36. Acknowledgement • Only acknowledgement or appreciation may be appropriate for: – Small donors in any campaign – Campaigns for causes or charities • Technologists will generally want to use rewards in addition 35
- 37. Creative Appreciation • For small donors, a simple, automated email expressing appreciation • For large donors, be creative – Social media – YouTube – Your website – Your product – Product features • Be careful to ensure that the biggest donors get special recognition in addition to standard recognition 36
- 38. Premium Priced Rewards • Works for: – Causes – With creative appreciation – Social entrepreneurs – Launching a business with a compelling new technology • Use cheap things: – Tee shirts – Posters – Downloads – Your current products – Your future products 37
- 39. Powerful Press Release • Press releases are fairly standardized • Follow these instructions or use a template • A press release is a pre-written newspaper article you give to the media so they can post it online as if they wrote it • Make it sound like they did • Use facts and figures and avoid marketing language 38
- 40. • Title • Subtitle • Introductory paragraph • Supporting paragraph • One or two quote paragraphs • About the company with a link to website • ### signals the end • Contact information Press Release Basics 39
- 41. Targeting Media • Each partner and fanatic should: – Identify bloggers and reporters with whom they have a connection – Identify bloggers and reporters who cover your “space” – Be sure to look for national as well as local media – Target local writers for Forbes and Huffington Post 40
- 42. Video • Most important thing on your campaign page – Make an effort! • The page is not so important to your campaign – Don’t break the bank! – Budget less than 5% of your goal 41
- 43. Be Sure to Ask Ask viewers to: Donate Share 42
- 44. Crowdfunding Timeline Phase I: Reconnaissance Phase II: Preparation Phase III: Ground War Phase IV: Air War Campaign 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Campaign Timeline in Weeks 43
- 45. Line Up The Big Backers • Strategic partners • Suppliers • Distributors • Large customers • Wealthy friends and family • Target 3 to 5 who are likely to support you 44
- 46. Work the Phones • Every partner should work her own list • Choose 20 to 30 people from your lists – Most likely to support – Friendly to you or your project – Make this easy on yourself 45
- 47. Email—Not Spam! • Personal email messages can yield up to 50 percent results • Every email must be personalized • Do not BCC all of your friends at once • Email 50 to 150 people personal notes one at a time • If you have a commercial email list, use it, too 46
- 48. Commercial List • If you have a commercial list, you track results • A majority of your email messages go unopened • Most of the opened messages get no clicks • Go ahead and use your list to generate support • Getting 1 to 2 percent of your list to participate will be a big win 47
- 49. Track the Contacts • Keep a log of every contact • Don’t call someone twice who turned you down! • Follow up with email reminders weekly until they pledge online • On the first day of the campaign, remind them to go online to pledge • You want 50% of your total on day one (if only so you can actually get 30%) 48
- 50. Crowdfunding Timeline Phase I: Reconnaissance Phase II: Preparation Phase III: Ground War Phase IV: Air War Campaign 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Campaign Timeline in Weeks 49
- 51. Have a Ball! (or at Least a Party) • On the first day • Have fun! • Engage as many people as possible • Make giving easy • Create incentives for using social media • Announce contests for your “fanatics” • Be creative 50
- 52. How to Reach the Media • Don’t just send a press release and expect people to share it • Connect with the media; pretend you are dating • Give them a reason to care • Follow protocol • Send a second release • Be prepared for an interview 51
- 53. Don’t Just Send the Press Release • A typical reporter sees 200 pitches per week • Reporters have stories they are pursuing, too • Statistically, your chances of getting coverage are low • If you just send your release in an email you guarantee reporters hit the delete key 52
- 54. How to Date the Media • Read what they write or watch what they produce • Subscribe to them personally where they write and on social media • Send a “love note” with the release – Start with her name – Explain what you’ve read and why you loved it – Note that you’ve subscribed and followed – Pitch your story as being a good fit for her 53
- 55. Give the Media a Reason to Care 54 • Explain why your story is relevant based on what she’s written in the past • Identify reasons the audience will care • Highlight the reasons you are interesting – A cause – New to town – Young entrepreneur – Old dog learning new tricks – Great speaker/funny • Sell, sell, sell
- 56. Follow the Protocol • The media has learned to hate email attachments • Send your press release— after your pitch—in the email itself • Note in your pitch that: – You have photos and video available or provide links – You are available for interviews • Do not follow up more than once without an invitation 55
- 57. The Second Round with the Media • After the launch send a second press release • Highlight: – Success and momentum of the campaign after only one or two days – Talk about the party – Refocus on goals and/or the product • Provide links to photos and video of the party • Tell the story of a groundswell of support • Be available for interviews 56
- 58. Social Media: Where the Rubber Meets the Road • Post daily across all of your platforms • Post everywhere you have an audience—and on Google+ • Keys for good posts • Examples • Tips for: – Facebook – Twitter – LinkedIn – Google+ • Keep posting pictures of your lunch or selfies with bed hair 57
- 59. Keys for Good Posts • Announce funding progress – People want you to succeed – The more backers you get the more backers you get • Remind people why you are raising money – Focus on the product and its benefits • You can never thank people too much for their money and their trust 58
- 60. Coordinate with Your Team • Send an email each day to every member of your team • Include suggested posts for all of the main platforms • Be sure to include links to new media hits • Make it easy for them to be active on social media 59
- 61. It’s Not Over… • Keep your team engaged • Keep making phone calls • Keep sending personal emails • Tell everyone you meet about your campaign 60
- 62. Make a Coordinated Push • Rally the team • Update the media • Have another party • Make more calls • Send more email • Big finish 61
- 63. Vivienne – Make a Stand
- 64. Visit devinthorpe.com/acvtp • Free download of my book, Crowdfunding for Social Good • Today’s slides • My contact information 63 Q&A
- 65. Mid-life Crisis
- 66. You Are the Cavalry
Editor's Notes
- A few of you may recall when in 1976, the Teton dam in Southeastern Idaho failed, damaging or destroying about 80 percent of the structures in the small town of Rexburg. Living then as I do now in Salt Lake City, my father invited me to join him and a volunteer group to Rexburg where we helped dig mud out of a basement and otherwise work to salvage a home. As an 11-year-old kid that was a lot of fun. The whole trip took about 24 hours, leaving about 2:00 AM, arriving at dawn, working all day, leaving at dark and returning after midnight. Now, I’m not a big guy. Picture me as an eleven-year-old standing next to a shovel—I wasn’t as tall as the handle and just lifting the empty shovel was a task for me. I’m sure I was of virtually no real help that day, but the experience has come to define my life. I felt so good helping people that day that I promised then I would never miss an opportunity to .serve. Of course, I have missed many opportunities to help. I was, perhaps, distracted by building a successful finance career, but ever since I was let go from my position as the CFO for a global food and beverage company three years I have focused on channeling the enthusiasm of my youth to do my part to make the world a better place.
- A nice way to break up the monotony of regular text slide content. Relevant visual can go above the text. But don’t feel like you force a visual on every slide.
- Turned 40 8 years ago. Looking for something to keep me young. Decided to buy a Harley, but before doing so I took a class to learn how to ride. Rented a Harley for a long day of riding Bought a Harley. Gail swore she’d never ride on the back. She went for a ride on the back the first day. We loved riding together The trip The Gas The crash The rescue.