Anyone who has been using social media for almost any time period will be familiar with UGC (user generated content) and crowd sourcing, many businesses source information about their brand this way, it offers them feedback about products and services in addition to answers to questions about possible new products. You are getting responses directly from your own customer base, it's a win win situation.
Many people react to these requests for information out of a brandname loyalty - specially if it's a brandname they've used for a long time, some respond as a genuine wish to have their voice heard, and others due to inducements, such as for instance 'complete our survey and you may maintain to win an voucher to your favourite store' ;.This inducement or reward system is by far the most used basis for involvement and although this type of 'something for something' isn't new there is a whole new platform where incentive, coupled with an amount of philanthropy, is starting to produce its mark on the social scene, and that is crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding which can be also referred to as crowd financing, equity crowdfunding, or hyper funding started as far back as 1997 when fans of a group raised money to cover in order for them to tour. This was carried out minus the band's knowledge and has seen fans finance several more of the bands projects over the years. There were other single projects over time that have utilised this sort of funding model to greatly help launch their projects. Recently platforms dedicated to assisting project owners find supporters have launched, including ArtistShare which launched in the first 2000's and was the first platform for music projects. Popular creative projects site, Kickstarter, is limited to US based residents, and recent stats show your website has funded over 250 million dollars worth of projects. New Zealand residents are offered a similar opportunity from local site Pledge Me, which uses the tag 'funding Kiwi creativity.
Among the newest kids on the crowdfunding block is Sportfunder, a crowdfunding platform dedicated to sports related projects. Although your website continues to be in 'start-up' mode, it boasts some high profile friends and projects, and with the capability to fund projects in several countries around the world Wefunder versus StartEngine, it's in an enviable position of to be able to offer global projects and global funding allowing sports players to collaborate with sports enthusiasts to achieve their sports related goals.
So how does crowdfunding work? Most crowdfunding platforms focus on an 'all-or-nothing' funding model where in fact the project creator sets their minimal funding target and if that is not reached then the supporters don't pay and the project receives no funds. This model actually protects both parties. If the project requires $5,000 and the fundraising only reaches $2,000 then the project owner can not be likely to successfully complete their project with insufficient funds, consequently the supporter isn't creating a payment towards a project that will not get off the ground.
As eluded to earlier, there is an amount of incentive or reward coupled with an element of philanthropy in regards to sponsoring projects. Each project supplies the supporter a reward inturn for their financial contribution. Rewards vary from project to project and depend greatly on what the project is for and the level of 'exposure' the supporter will get. Some recognition may maintain the form of a cultural mention - the worthiness of the depends on the profile of the project owner. A tweet from a local amateur athlete may have less value than one from a high-profile professional sports star, therefore the rewards are set commensurate with the worthiness of the donation and the worthiness of the reward. Rewards are also often aligned with the project itself. If you're to sponsor a project raising funds for a local school team to compete overseas you may expect part of the reward to include an image of the team at the event, perhaps with the team members holding up placards with 'thank you' written on them. Other funding rewards could be naming rights to the event, your logo on the clothing, a note on the website or social network, or branded clothing.
Needless to say, social media plays a sizable role in this sort of fundraising, therefore having a credible online profile, a solid social network, and a professional website can help the project owner in creating the mandatory social buzz to improve the profile of these project and therefore make them achieve a fruitful outcome for their fundraising endeavours.
