Crowdfunding as a Social Enterprise
Crowdfunding as a Social Enterprise
What is crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is a short-form online fundraising exercise typically run over a 4 week period, seeking financial support from a wide variety of sources. The crowdfunding process involves the creation of a page on which to tell a story, the development of a precise network of supporters and a marketing plan with which to reach them and ensure the campaign’s continued promotion.
Social enterprises have the potential to perform well when crowdfunding because of the dual motivation to support them. They are serving society and therefore attract donations, while their capacity for trade often gives them the opportunity to offer rewards in the form of products and services.
Why crowdfunding?
There are many community organisations and businesses in the UK who are caught in a funding gap between the lack of grant finance available to support their unrestricted development and the unsuitability of loan finance from social investors for those without the necessary revenue to support any debt.
Crowdfunding allows for a more collaborative and transparent approach to finance. Instead of a bid for a grant or investment done behind closed doors, it’s done out in the open on a digital stage. Crowdfunding allows for public participation and the cross fertilisation of a campaign from multiple sources of funding.
Yet crowdfunding is more than just finance and presents a social enterprise with the opportunity to:
– Tell its story
– Develop new content
– Promote a solution to a societal challenge while inspiring others
– Test new marketing approaches
– Engage with its audience and expand its network
– Raise its profile on both a local and national level
– Investigate new sources of revenue through the trial of different rewards
Crowdfunding makes collaborative finance possible, where platforms like Crowdfunder UK host a variety of match funding opportunities from local authorities, corporates and other organisations.
What’s covered in the webinar?
– Introducing crowdfunding, how it works and whether it is suitable for your organisation
– Examples of successful crowdfunding for social enterprises
– The three key stages of preparation
– Planning your project
– Creating your project
– Running your project
– Match funding opportunities
– How to access free coaching support!
There will also be time for your questions!
About your speaker
Bertie Herrtage is the founder of The Crowdfunding Coach, supporting the successful development of donation and rewards based crowdfunding for small businesses, charities and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations. He promotes crowdfunding education across the UK and abroad; working with councils, accelerator programmes and social sector organisations. Bertie was the Senior Coach at Crowdfunder UK for 5 years and is the author of the crowdfunded magazine Crowdfunder Stories and director of its supporting 10-part YouTube series.
Bertie has coached over 900 crowdfunding campaigns, raising over £10 Million between them.
https://www.thecrowdfundingcoach.org/
E: Bertie@thecrowdfundingcoach.org
LinkedIn: bertie-herrtage-11987663
Instagram: the_crowdfundingcoach