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If you dream it, it will come. How many of you remember the movie, “Field of Dreams,” starring Kevin Costner? For the younger generation who haven’t seen it, I highly recommend that you watch it. It is a very inspiring movie that helps motivate leaders to go after their dreams – to “dream it and believe it.”

Crowdfunding for a mission has a lot in common with the methodology of this film. You see, in order to get your project funded, you have to picture your project already done and then work backward. There is a direct connection between one’s dream and what one is destined to do in this world. If you dreamt it then the means exist for you to accomplish your dream. The only question is: Will you do the work that is needed in order to get it done?

The problem is that we often let naysayers get in the way of our dreams. We bump into a wall, and we hear the voices of all those negative people saying, “I told you so!” When that happens, most of us pack up our bags and head home. After all, very few people have the level of willpower to keep on going when the chips get stacked against us. So, here are a few tips for you to get through the difficult faces in a crowdfunding campaign.

1. Create a vivid vision.

You had a vision of a better future, and as a crowdfunding campaign leader you must keep that vision alive and well for everyone to see. Express your vision in its fullest details, making it as vivid as possible. Make sure the vision is so real that you can even smell the flowers and taste the freshly brewed coffee. Picture the people coming and going into your nonprofit and thanking you and your staff for the tremendous difference you made in their lives. Now take that vision and go over to canva.com and create some social media posts that portray that vision to the world. Share it out on your Facebook,Twitter,LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.

2. Psyche yourself up with excitement!

Pinch yourself and ask yourself: Are you awake or are you still sleeping? People don’t follow leaders that are sleeping. They want to follow leaders that are filled with enthusiasim for their mission. People look to connect with people whose lives are alive with a purpose! So ask yourself, just how passionate are you about your mission? Leaders that are passionate about their mission see their mission much greater than something bound to their physical capabilities. The only way your mission will get to where it needs to get to is by jumpstarting inner excitement of those around you to join with you in your cause.

3. Design and implement a practical strategy to reach your goals.

A dream will stay a dream unless you plan a practical strategy to implement your dream. Some people who are dreamers have a bit of trouble with this step. This is where the YouHelp.com coaching sessions come in. Working with a coach will help you set practical, smaller milestone goals in order to build your way up the ladder to reach your final goal. Once those milestone goals are reached, you will start to see the formation of the project. This will encourage you to move up on the ladder step by step, rung upon rung, until we get there together.

4. Use the YouHelp.com weekly goals chart.

The goals chart asks campaign leaders to carefully list five small daily goals that they accomplished. Starting off with a low bar and working ourselves slowly upwards keeps away the desire to quit. The goals chart is how we open our coaching sessions, so that team leaders can share their accomplishments and discuss what difficulties they are having with reaching their goals. In addition, by the mere fact of knowing that the goals chart will be reviewed by the coach, can provide a positive pressure to campaign leaders to make sure the goals are accomplished.

5. Truly believe in your mission.

There is a famous story of a poor person that came to a mystical holy man and asked for a miracle to help him with his financial situation. The holy man gave the poor person some money and told him to buy a ticket for this week’s lottery drawing. The poor person purchases the lottery ticket with the first prize in the hundreds of millions.

A few minutes later he bumps into his friend, excited that he purchased a lottery ticket with the money from the holy Man and soon he will be a millionaire. His friend asks him to sell him the ticket for $1,000. The poor person says, “No way, this is the winning ticket. I am not letting it go for less than $5,000.” His friend purchases the ticket for $5,000 and wins the lottery. So, the reality is based on what you truly believe to be true. You can only expect other people to believe in your mission as much as you truly believe in it. So, dream it and believe it!

To find out how your nonprofit can transition to online fundraising with the help of a crowdfunding coach send an email to support@YouHelp.com

One of the most important rules for a productive crowdfunding campaign is to be constantly working in a positive environment. A positive space can make a big difference in the outcome of your crowdfunding campaign. So, here are five ways that you as a nonprofit team manager can create and sustain that positive crowdfunding environment.

1. Remove any toxicity from the group.

It is important to remove the rotten apple before he or she spoils the rest of the fruit. No matter how talented or well-connected the team member is, he or she must be removed instantly. Just like a virus, toxic team members are not content with a negative comment here and there. They always look for opportunities to transform small issues that may arise into larger, negative issues. Remember that crowdfunding is about finding and developing unlimited opportunities, not the opposite.

2. Make sure that the team learns from your example of how you point out their key contributions.

Each team meeting should open by having a staff member pay a compliment about someone else on the team. It doesn’t have to take long, but it has to be authentic and required of each member. This will automatically increase the positive energy and productivity and create a positive crowdfunding environment for your campaign.

3. Make sure that each team player is carrying his/her own weight.

Team members that feel appreciated won’t mind having to cover for someone else in an emergency situation every once in a while. However, if one team member feel that another member is taking advantage of others by not contributing as expected, this could snowball into a much larger issue.

4. Play to their strengths.

A team leader has to be smart on how to divide the work amongst his/her staff, so that assignments play to the unique strengths of each team member. This way, the collective group profits from each team member’s work. And, this also brings a positive crowdfunding environment to your nonprofit as they see their collective work bring results.

5. Share your charity’s achievements with your team.

Your nonprofit is achieving its admirable goals of helping the less fortunate. Share your achievements with your team so that they can connect with the mission of the charity in a deeper and more meaningful way.

As the team leader, you must believe completely that your crowdfunding goals are obtainable. As Richard Bach once said, “You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.”

To learn more about how to create the right crowdfunding team feel free to schedule a YouHelp.com crowdfunding coaching session with coach Yitz by sending an email to support@Youhelp.com.

And, be sure to check the available grants for support services for nonprofits at GrantWatch.com.

Dream It and Believe It