This document discusses crowdfundraising for cancer research centers. It begins by explaining why a previous cancer-focused crowdfunding site called CureCancerStarter.org failed due to a lack of marketing and promotion. The rest of the document covers benchmarking results on current crowdfunding practices, defines crowdfunding, reviews examples of successful commercial and nonprofit crowdfunding campaigns, discusses the growth and types of crowdfunding platforms, and provides guidance on how to evaluate whether and how a cancer research center should implement its own crowdfundraising efforts.

1. CROWDFUNDRAISING
April 29, 2014

2. Crowdfundraising
Introduction
Cindy Eller, Vice President for Development &
Executive Director, Roswell Park Alliance
Foundation
Karen Cincotti, Assistant Director Web & IT
Operations, Roswell Park Alliance Foundation

3. Why Us?
Why Us?
• NACCDO centers were approached over a year ago by
a cancer patient who wanted to give back
• He created a cancer only focused crowdfunding site
called CureCancerStarter.org
• Founding partners were:
– Roswell Park Cancer Institute
– UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
– Duke Cancer Institute
– UW Carbone Cancer Center

4. Why Us?
• Site went live in October, 2013 with 5 campaigns
• Brain Cancer Vaccines
• Benefits of Fibrocytes in Cancer Car
• Taking a Closer Look at Vitamin D
• Treating Cervical Cancer Better Faster via UNC Malawi Initiative
• Personalizing Treatment for Colorectal Cancers
• Only 1 campaign achieved their goal of $5,000
What Happened?

5. Why Us?
• There was no marketing plan
to promote the site
• The centers were looking to the
website staff to promote to get
them new donors
• The centers were reluctant to
promote to current donor base
• Hence no traffic
IF YOU
BUILD IT
THEY WILL
COME

6. Why Us?
• Decided we needed to develop a marketing
plan and conduct more research on
crowdfunding options.
• This is a part of our
FINDINGS…

7. Why?
Why Research?
Why Crowdfundraising?

8. Why?
The Numbers
• 2012 - The overall crowdfunding industry has raised $2.7
billion, across more than 1 million individual campaigns
globally. More than ½ from sites based in North America.*
• 2013 – The industry is projected to grow to $5.1 billion.
• 2014 - Crowdfunding will top $10 billion.
* Data form Crowdfunding Industry Report by Massolution

9. Why?
We cannot ignore this
growing trend and online
medium.

10. Benchmarking Results
NACCDO 2014 Benchmarking Survey
• Which platforms are being used:

11. Benchmarking Results
NACCDO 2014 Benchmarking Survey
• Types of crowdfunding programs:

12. Benchmarking Results
NACCDO 2014 Benchmarking Survey
• Who manages your crowdfunding:

13. Benchmarking Results
NACCDO 2014 Benchmarking Survey
• Number of crowdfunding campaigns completed:

14. Benchmarking Results
NACCDO 2014 Benchmarking Survey
• Main audiences for your campaigns:

15. Benchmarking Results
NACCDO 2014 Benchmarking Survey
• Money raised from crowdfunding in the last 12 months:

16. What is it?

17. What is Crowdfunding
First let’s define Crowdsourcing
“Obtain (information or input into a particular task or project) by
enlisting the services of a number of people, either paid or
unpaid, typically via the Internet.”
• Combination of the words 'crowd' and 'outsourcing’
• The idea is to take work and outsource it to a crowd of
workers

18. What is Crowdfunding
Crowdsourcing
• Famous Example: Wikipedia
• Gave the crowd the ability to create the most comprehensive
encyclopedia in the world
• The underlying principle of crowdsourcing is that more
heads are better than one

19. What is Crowdfunding
Definition of Crowdfunding
“The practice of funding a project or venture by raising
many small amounts of money from a large number of
people, typically via the Internet.”
Crowdfunding is a type of Crowdsourcing.
Crowdfundraising is a variation of
crowdfunding to meet fundraising goals.

20. Crowdfunding & Nonprofits
Nonprofits have been crowdfunding for years
• In 1949, Milton Berle hosted the very first telethon for the
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
• A little over $100,000 was raised in 16 hours – one of the
earliest example of public nonprofit crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is simply the act of accruing
micro donations to reach a larger goal and
now it is online and available to the masses.

21. Review of Commericial &
Non-Profit Crowdfunding Projects
Examples

22. Commercial Examples
Movies

23. Commercial Examples
Movies
Music
Amanda Palmer, Grand Theft Orchestra

24. Commercial Examples
Movies
Music
Electronics
TikTok + LunaTik simply transform the iPod Nano into the
world's coolest multi- touch watches

25. Commercial Examples
Movies
Music
Electronics
Start Up Toy Company
(seed money)

26. Commercial Examples
Movies
Music
Electronics
Start Up Toy
Company
Or the “10 Year Hoodie” - raised over $1M so far

27. Non-Profit Examples
State of Minnesota - GiveMN
• Raised $16.3 million in 1 day in November, 2012
• Razoo.com

28. Non-Profit Examples
Tesla Science Museum
• Raised $1.4 million
• Indiegogo.com

29. Non-Profit Examples
DonorsChoose.org –
• Since inception has raised $225 million and helped more
than 175,000 teachers fund over 400,000 projects

30. Non-Profit Examples
University College of San Francisco Medical Center
Challenge for the Children
• Raised over $1 million
• Causes.com

31. History
History of Crowdfunding
1997 – First instance of modern day Crowdfunding (British
band funded their reunion tour)
2000 – ArtistShare – first dedicated platform
2005 – Kiva.org was the first microlending website, lending
small amounts of money to entrepreneurs in
poor, rural areas around the globe

32. History
History of Crowdfunding, cont’d.
2006 – Prosper.com - first peer-to-peer lending site
– Term “CrowdFunding” is first used
2008 – IndieGoGo.com launches - platform for films
2009 – Kickstarter.com launches as a new way to
fund creativity

33. Growth
Growth of ALL Crowdfunding Platforms
2012 – 452
2014 – 800 and growing
Crowdsunite.com – “There are over 800 funding websites
globally and every week new ones are created for specific
demographic, region or category”

34. Growth
Growth of Crowdfunding
2011 – $1.5 Billion
2012 – $2.7 Billion
2013 – $5.1 Billion (projected)
2014 – $10 Billion (projected)

35. Growth
Number of US Donation Based Crowdfunding
Platforms*
– 93 platforms available for donation based projects
–>> 54 platforms available for Non-Profit organizations
* As listed on Crowdsunite.com which reviews crowdfunding sites. The
number continues to grow and you can see our choices are numerous.

36. Types
Types of Platforms

37. Types
Types of Platforms, cont’d.
Equity-based & lending-based (for financial return)
– Is most effective for digital goods (e.g., software, film and
music)
– These categories, on average, raised the largest sum of
money per campaign

38. Types
Types of Platforms, cont’d.
Donation-based & for cause based campaigns
(for intrinsic reward)
– Perform best in reaching goals
– BUT the money raised in these categories are much
smaller, with 2/3 of them generating less than $5,000

39. Donation Campaigns
Majority of donation based
campaigns raised less than
$5,000
Only 10% raised over $10K
Typically majority of money
raised is within 1st or 2nd ask
from fundraiser
* Data form Crowdfunding Industry Report by Massolution

40. How it Works
Parameters of a Successful Crowdfunding
Campaign
1. Concrete Goals
2. Transparent
3. Rewards
4. Social

41. How it Works
Need to be Goal Orientated
– have tangible results for funds raised
– restricted vs. unrestricted funds
– focus should be on what the money raised can do, not
just talk, but specific, if we raise $10K we will be able
to:
- perform XYZ research,
- XXX number tests of on patients
- buy this equipment to complete research

42. How it Works
Have a Specific Fundraising Goal
– Have a specific goal for each campaign or
project, whether it is $5K, $25K or $13,250 – you need
to determine an amount that is your goal
– You can raise more but your stated goal should be
reflective of the amount that is needed for the specific
research or initiative

43. How it Works
Short, Specific Time Frame
– Crowdfunding projects have start and end dates
– 30 days, 70 days, 120 days
– There is a trade-off between giving your audience
sufficient time to engage with the campaign and losing
momentum because of a timeline that is overly long
– According to insights released by Indiegogo, the
optimal campaign length is 45 days

44. How it Works
Personal Involvement of Fundraiser
(i.e. researcher)
– Gives donors the opportunity to meet (vicariously
through the website) and see results from the
researcher
– Provide content, i.e., videos, blog updates, so they
become connected to the researcher
– Makes the donor feel involved in the process

45. How it Works
Importance of Researcher
– The researchers have to keep their donors up to date
and give them progress reports (part of their rewards)
– Need to continue to show them how their funding has
helped and contributed to the process
One of biggest keys to success is to engage the
researcher/doctor/fundraiser in the campaign.

46. How it Works
Reward Donor
– Equity and lending sites specifically offer tangible
rewards for their donors
– Donation based campaigns should also reward the
donor by giving them the updates as described
– This is the intrinsic, emotional reward

47. How it Works
Reward Donor, cont’d.
– Some non-profits also provide tangible rewards
– actual goods - t-shirts, bags, gift cards, etc.
– access - hospital tours, event tickets, lunch with researchers
– special content (video updates, personalized letters)
– publicly giving credit
Remember to plan for what you can actually handle
in terms of fulfillment before you promote the rewards.

48. How it Works
Social Involvement & Online Sharing
– Crowdfunding is an online initiative
– The campaign grows through your online donors
– Give donors the tools to tell people what they just
donated to, we need them to PROMOTE for us
– And you need them to continue the conversation with
their networks by giving them continued content to
share

49. How it Works
Social Involvement & Online Sharing, cont’d.
– The content THEY post and share is most trusted
– YOU NEED TO HAVE THEM SHARE

50. How it Works
Review - Parameters of a Successful
Crowdfunding Campaign
1. Concrete Goals – specific time frame and
fundraising goal
2. Transparent – where the money is going, keep up
to date on progress
3. Rewards – actual or intrinsic rewards
4. Social – need them to share online

51. Online Options
Constituent vs. Organizational Crowdfunding
Centers have the option of:
– sponsoring a campaign or
– letting their constituents do it for them

52. Online Options
Constituent Ex. – Miami’s Children Hospital
– Mike Fernandez
– Personal fundraiser
where he walked
across Europe to
raise money for the
hospital
– A crowd of friends
and contacts raised
over $1.4M

53. Online Options
Organizational Ex.– Univ. of
California, Promise for Education
– Created a
crowdfunding
campaign to rally
their networks for
support
– Over $1.3M raised
for undergraduate
scholarships

54. Online Options
Constituent vs. Organizational

55. Online Options
With constituent crowdfunding
– We can leverage our already inspired supporters to
fundraise for our mission through their own personal
networks online
With organizational crowdfunding
– We can leverage our messaging, our content, and our
research, to encourage existing and new constituents
to help us raise money for a specific goal

56. Online Options
Company Branded vs. Commercial Platform
Centers also have the option of:
– having a Company Branded (white label or internal
initiative) site
– or list their campaigns on a Commercial Platform

57. Online Options
Company branded
(white label or internal initiative)
– A singular site for the organization’s initiatives
– Completely branded by the Center with no platform
branding
– Highlights Center projects only
– Built internally OR using a provider’s white label option
– If built internally no costs or fees are paid to a 3rd party
– If built using a provider’s white label option additional
fees will apply

58. Online Options
Company branded example – Cornell University

59. Online Options
Company branded example – Children’s National
Medical Center

60. Online Options
Commercial Platform
– Platforms where we can jump right in and start a
campaign without any custom build
– Other centers and their constituents are also on these
sites
– Some have large network of followers looking across
the different causes
– Sites are templated with an easy to use CMS system
– Costs and policies are dependent upon the platform

61. Online Options
Commercial Platform Example – Crowdrise

62. Online Options
Commercial Platform Example – Causes

63. Online Options
Commercial Platform Example – Indiegogo

64. Online Options
Commercial Platform Example – Consano

65. Online Options
Internal vs. Commercial

66. Evaluating Crowdfundraising for your Center
– What criteria should be used to evaluate if your center
should participate in crowdfunding
- Why?
- Where?- What platform?
- What projects to fund?
- What resources are needed?
- What are the risks and rewards?
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

67. I. Why consider crowdfundraising?
 It can be a key component in your digital
strategy
 Additional gifts from online donors
 Additional gifts from mail donors to online donors
 Part of a peer to peer fundraising strategy
 Part of an acquisition strategy for new donors
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

68. Evaluating Crowdfundraising

69.  Value of online donors
• Higher gift value
• More efficient renewal and
communications cost
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

70. Evaluating Crowdfundraising
Acquisition:
According to our consultant Grizzard, the
percent of revenue from new donors should
be in the range of 20%
At Roswell Park it is 8.9% and our mail
market is aged and shrinking

71.  Crowdfundraising as a acquisition vehicle
• To secure new donors from patient and
prospect lists; new out of market disease site
interests
• New from cross pollination with others on the
site
• Peer to peer fundraising vehicle for highly
engaged donors and advocates
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

72. Evaluating Crowdfundraising
Ask yourself:
• Do you have a plan to engage trending
online boomers and up and coming
younger generations?
• Does your fundraising channel mix
include mail and digital communications?
• Are you empowering your most
enthusiastic supporters to fundraise and
evangelize online on your behalf?

73. Multi Channel is the new norm
The ideal mix varies from generation to
generation
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

74. Donors routinely respond to direct mail
pieces by making an online donation
Online donors switch back and forth
between internet and direct mail
ROI is not as straightforward
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

75. Evaluating Crowdfundraising

76. Evaluating Crowdfundraising
“Keep your eye on the bouncing ball”
• Boomers likely to be a dominant source of
income at least next decade
• Need to optimize the mix for boomers
while opening the door to younger donors

77. True or False: Digital is for young people and offline
engagement is for old people.
The TRUTH is,
ALL generations
value a mix of
online and
offline.
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

78. According to the “next generation of
American giving”
• The most promising future fundraising
strategies include peer to peer fundraising and
crowdfunding
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

79. Note:
• There is little evidence that social media
is growing as a transaction channel
(not donating through social networks- i.e.
Facebook)
• Growing evidence that social media is an
important stewardship role
Evaluating Crowdfundraising

80. Evaluating Crowdfundraising

81. Evaluating Crowdfundraising

82. Evaluating Crowdfundraising

83. II. Decision to go for it!
First Step: Choosing a Platform
“Research indicates the choice of platform is the
strongest factor influencing the potential success
of the program.”
Incorporating Crowdfundraising

84.  Home grown alone?
 Home grown with similar entities?
(healthcare site?)
 Selection of a pre-existing commercial
entity (52 choices)
Incorporating Crowdfundraising

85. Online Options

86. III. Making it happen!
• Committing the necessary resources; creating
the team
• Not something development can typically do
alone- needs expertise from other specialties in
house
Implementing Crowdfundraising

87. “The Team”
• Web- online team
• Finance/backend- gift processing
• Creative- creating the videos
• Researchers-
engaged, entrusted, committed (i.e.
updates)
• Marketing- driving the traffic
Implementing Crowdfundraising

88. “The Team” cont….
Communications Staff-
Supporting it with social media and other ways
to keep awareness high of funds to date against
target and create momentum; report back on
success of project at completion of research
effort
Implementing Crowdfundraising

89. IV. Deciding what projects to feature on your
site?
• Can benefit from a small gift total
• Can appeal to a specific disease group (i.e.
disease sites or genetics)
Building Your
Crowdfundraising Campaign

90. Building your case
• Should be a 1-3 minutes long with a
compelling video
• Concise and clear- who and why funds
are needed
Building Your
Crowdfundraising Campaign

91. Crowfunding Example - Multiple Sclerosis

92. Leukemia Crowdfunding

93. Setting Your Goal
• Make sure goal is realistic.
• Should be able to raise 25-30% from within your
own network
• Strangers will want to see traction to get excited
about your campaign
• Generally don’t stop funding once a goal has
been reached

94. Setting Your Goal
• For larger projects consider multiple
campaigns with smaller funding goals for
each stage of the project

96. Crowdfunding Example degenerative
diseases
Setting Your Goal

97. Length of Campaign
How long?
• Longer does not mean that you will raise more-
the longer the campaign- the harder it is to build
a sense of urgency and momentum
• ~ 40 day long campaigns are most successful
• Successful campaigns generally raise 30% of
goal in the first two weeks, slows down in the
middle – keep ,momentum going

98. Non Profit Perks
Examples:
• Listing as supporter on website
• Personalized, signed donor certificate or plaque
• Annual updates about progress of project
• Listed as a patron at lab location
• Invitation to conference for scientists, patients and
donors where progress made will be presented

99. Non Profit Perks
Continue to add new perks during
campaign:
20% of repeat contributors are for perks added
after the campaign went live

100. V. The Cure Cancer Starter Model
https://www.curecancerstarter.org/
• How it came to be
• List of participants:
UNC Lineberger Cancer Center (Chapel Hill, NC)
Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, NY)
Duke Cancer Institute (Durham, NC)
UW Carbone Cancer Center (Madison, WI)
• Status- “suspended hold”
A Cancer Only
Crowdfundraising Site?

101. Risks and Rewards
• Potential of diluting or losing donors to other centers
• Opportunity to strengthen existing and acquire new
• Strength in numbers driving interested cancer donors-
prospects
• Clean and easy to access vs. being lost as one of
thousands on a commercial site
Cure Cancer Starter Platform?

102. Cure Cancer Starter Platform?
Next steps for a Cancer Cure Starter?
 Circle back and evaluate with the funding group
the required investment in an online marketing
strategy
 Reinforcing the need for “team” engagement
not just development reps
 Determine future directions of the site and
partnership