Table of Contents
Launching a Successful Crypto Crowdfunding Campaign
If you’re new to accepting crypto donations, crowdfunding affords you the opportunity to introduce your organization to the crypto community. Follow these steps to make your first crypto crowdfunding campaign a hit:
1. Define the Purpose
Successful crowdfunding campaigns tell great stories and create a sense of urgency. You don’t need a massive donor list or a handful of mega-donors. Instead, you need a compelling sense of “why now” that will make readers stop scrolling and allow themselves to be moved by your mission.
Keep these questions in mind as you brainstorm:
- Are you trying to reach local donors, or fundraise for an international cause?
- How does your story resonate with this prospective audience?
- Why does this campaign have to happen now?
- What happens if your campaign succeeds? (For fear-based motivation, you can also try the opposite approach, depending on your audience and/or mission: what happens if it doesn’t succeed?)
- How will prospective donors miss out if they don’t contribute?
- How is the campaign part of a larger story of your organization/cause?
2. Set a Goal and Make it Known
A crowdfunding campaign might serve as your biggest fundraiser of the year, but it doesn’t have to be so lofty. Setting smaller, achievable goals can often be a powerful motivator for your supporters.
Here are few examples of short-term crowdfunding goals:
- Establishing a local community mutual aid fund
- Rebuilding a damaged home or community center
- Funding a need-based scholarship for a student
Your fundraising target announces to the world what your campaign wants to achieve. By sharing your specific goals with donors, they will feel like their contributions are critical to your success—no matter how big or small.
3. Establish Crypto-Friendly Donor Incentives
There are two primary ways that incentives can encourage your potential crypto donors to give.
Giveaways
The first kind of incentive is a way to promise your supporters something in return for their gift. Examples include branded freebies, social media shout-outs, and handwritten thank you notes from your board chair. For donors who share their personal information, this can be a fun way to acknowledge their generosity.
However, many crypto donors give anonymously, which means they don’t share identifying details with the nonprofits they support. This is an inherent feature of crypto transactions, which are recorded on the blockchain with public key information, rather than personal information like name, email, and mailing address. Have you considered incorporating NFTs into your campaign?
For your crypto crowdfunding campaign, you’ll need an incentive that doesn’t require knowing your donors’ email addresses or names. Here’s where the second type of incentive comes in:
Impact Data
Many campaigns successfully drive donations by showing the impact of a charitable gift. What would your organization do with 1 Bitcoin? How about 1 ETH? Data-driven insights give donors a tangible sense of where their money goes and, for crypto donors, conveys your understanding of their preferred financial assets.
If your campaign has donor incentives, consider setting up three or more tiered giving levels and an option to donate whatever amount the donor chooses. Doing so can empower your supporters to make informed decisions about their donations.
When donors can say, “My Dogecoin donation covered a week of groceries for a family in need,” it not only makes them feel good, it also provides vivid detail for them to share with their fellow crypto users.
The example below shows how CARE USA incorporated the impact of different cryptocurrencies into its fundraising appeals on Twitter:
