Examples of Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a great way to generate interest and revenue from a larger group of people.
There are variety of different industries that utilizes crowdfunding, higher education, healthcare, arts and culture, museums, lower education (K-12), business, charities and nonprofits.
Higher Education Examples
An example of higher education using crowdfunding is The University of Essex. They launched their own platform, Click in 2015 (A Medium Corporation, 2017). In a year they were able to raise £40,000 across 37 projects (A Medium Corporation, 2017).
Somerville College (University of Oxford) used crowdfunding the last two academic years which included online and social media advertising (A Medium Corporation, 2017). Their efforts increased their participation rate from 16% to 29% (A Medium Corporation, 2017).
Yet another university that used crowdfunding is Cornell University. Who raised more than $900,000, since 2013 (Carter, 2017). According to Chronicle 46% of alumni (who graduated in the last 10 years) have contributed to the university through crowdfunding sources (Carter, 2017). Which has helped more than 70 campus life initiatives (Carter, 2017).
Carleton University, has been a client that has been highly successful using the Make Giving Happen platform, FutureFunder. In just 18 months online giving tripled, with brand-new donors comprising over 50% of donations. From 2013-2016 Carleton University raised more than $900,000 in one-time gifts for about 150 community-led crowdfunding projects. For CU Giving Tuesday 2017 campaign, they reached their goal of $250K before noon. By the end of the day they raised $386,226.00 all in just one day. For further information please review our case study on Carleton University.
Healthcare Examples
Dr. Gregory Czarnota, a Chief of Radiation Oncology; and Michael Kolios, an Associate Dean at Ryerson University’s Faculty of Science used crowdfunding to generate interest for their research project (Gerstar, 2013). Their goal was to improve breast cancer treatments. Previously, they were unable to gain grants for a software that can help better manage treatments. The reason for this project was chemotherapy for breast cancer patients is less than 50% successful.
The software is to help determine if chemotherapy is working (Gerstar, 2013). The companies that Dr. Czarnota and Mr. Kolios approached for funding said their idea was great, but to come back when it was developed (Gerstar, 2013). However, without proper funding, they would be unable to develop the product. They were unsuccessful in reaching their goal on Indiegogo but did raised up to $53,390. The campaign itself gained the attention of MaRS Innovation whom stepped in to help fund the project.
Another example is, TrueNorth Healthcare who used crowdfunding to develop their service. TrueNorth Healthcare created cloud-based platforms that assist with medical planning (TrueNorth Healthcare). The purpose of the service was to help doctors know the kind of care their patients desired. TrueNorth Healthcare helps patients pick their Advocate who make important healthcare decisions when the patient is unable to. The platform allows users to create and share important electronic documents. The platform is also accessible through electronic medical platforms, so they can be made available when needed (such as in the hospital emergency room).
Other successful campaigns mentioned in previous blogs, include CureCrowd and Eve Medical. Both used crowdfunding to fund and create their product/service.
Art and Culture Examples
One example of successful crowdfunding project was Luchtsingel Rotterdam, in Netherlands. The project was to create a 400-metre pedestrian bridge to connect three previously disconnected areas of the city. This bridge runs through a building and across railways that link to individual public projects, such as rooftop vegetable garden and a new park. As a token of appreciation donors received their name on a wooden plank that would be used for the creation of the bridge. Just after a few weeks 17,000 planks were sold (£25 each).
Another example of a successful crowdfunding project was The Veronica Mars Movie Project. Those of you who do not know, originally Veronica Mars was a three season TV series about a young private eye. Veronica works for multiple clients, but the main purpose of the show is to solve murder cases. Fundraiser Rob Thomas used crowdfunding to fund for the movie. The project was a great success surpassing their $2 million goal by an additional $3 million. The crowdfunding project also gained international reach.
Museums Examples
Space Center Houston used crowdfunding to help renovate the exhibit of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The money donated was to accurately portray the space center and for visitors to see how it was operated at that time. They were able to raise $506,905, which is still growing.
UK Science Museum used crowdfunding to rebuild Eric, UK’s oldest robot. Eric was first debuted back in 1920s, which helped form the early impressions of robots. The campaign goal was to rebuild the robot and gain funds for the exhibit. The museum successfully raised £51,000.
Smithsonian Foundation used crowdfunding to help fund two separate campaigns.
The campaign for Neil Armstrong and Alan Shepard’s spacesuit crowdfunding campaign was to conserve and digitize the space suits. The goal is to show the progression of spacesuit technology during the space race era. They have now raised more than $700,000.
The Iconic Ruby Slippers and Scarecrow Costume campaign was to help conserve them. In addition, the funds will be used to help determine the materials used, condition currently in, treatment and best method to display both iconic items. Currently the campaign raised over $300,000.
Lower Education Examples
Some charter schools have had great successes. One example is a Charter school in Washington DC, Ceser Chavez Public Charter Schools raised $11K for a new gym.
Another example is Chicago’s Academy for Global Citizenship charter school raised over $50K to support a Net-Positive Energy Campus. Which is a campus with the purpose to encourage positive learning which also serves as a community collaboration as well.
Business Examples
One of the many examples, was back in 2013 Oculus Rift, which was a great success. Its aim was to take virtual reality into accessible home gaming dimension. More than $2.4 million was raised for their $250K campaign.
Another example is MATE, which is smart bike that has a 3-step folding system that is affordable but innovative bike. Which raised $3 million dollars on Kickstarter.
Charities/Nonprofits Examples
The Crisis in the Horn was a campaign organized by World Help. Their goal was to raise $120K in order to send 20 containers of food to the Horn of Africa, providing 4.8 million meals to those in need. They had a team over 150 volunteers and helped raise awareness and funds. They raised over $180K.
Another great example was The National Domestic Violence Hotline, was seeking to expand awareness of violence against women. Since the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994, they have responded to over 3.5 million calls. However, the challenge is making others relate as best as possible (to help increase donations). The National Domestic Violence Hotline raised $53K in just 6 weeks.
Want to learn more?
If you want to learn more about crowdfunding and see if it’s a fit for your organization, don’t hesitate to reach out. We are always looking to meet new people and determine if crowdfunding fits and how it can.
We look forward to hearing from you.
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