Last week our readings for class were totes apropos of this super fundraising-y time of year. Granted they were talking about start ups, and most of the loudest fundraising going on right now is for very established local organizations- but with big social impact factors. For example, past few days while I've been driving and listening to my beloved WYEP, they've been in the midst of their biannual development drive.
If you listen to public radio, you're no stranger to the non-stop week of the DJs asking for donations in exchange for covetable items like WYEP coasters and mugs. They employ many different "ask" strategies and tell different stories and unabashedly go for the hard sale over and over throughout the week. All I can think is how inexhaustible their development team must be and how I better become a sustaining member ASAP. I want that sick mix tape album for my old school CD player in my car! When you go to the their website during this week the donate screen comes up first- http://www.wyep.org/. They've got this fundraising strategy down to a pretty perfect science. Listen live if you don't believe me! http://www.wyep.org/listen-live
Rosemary Welsch who is basically tantamount to WYEP said something that got me thinking about the evolution of crowdfunding websites. She commented that public radio and television's membership drives were the OG of crowdfunding. I guess I'm just surprised I hadn't made the connection myself yet. So what makes these decades long crowdfunding efforts sustainable, how do they get the same people to join over and over again? Or more importantly, what can I copy as I both move forward with the Indiegogo Campaign for GDF11 and my career in Development?
Right now, I'm feeling the perks of any campaign, aside from the inherent social impact are actually more important than I've thinking. Sure I want our campaign to focus on the social impact, lowering health care costs for pets and humans in the long run is awesome but the instant gratification the crowdfunding investors get in the form of a freaking mug or something suddenly feels like the key. I also feel like I've had this thought before, so it's really time to take it off the back burner.
So now, as we've sent out some of the some reengagement emails to the first funders and I'm working on an infographic to show campaign fund transparency and rehashing our video script/themes, I'm feeling like "shoot! What about our perks?!" We need to prioritize deciding on some perks! So I ask you all, am I just being brainwashed by WYEP's super effective strategy and have perks on the brain, or are perks the key? And if they are, what are some that you would like to see for the GDF11 campaign?
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