Involvement in team sports creates important learning experiences for children the world over, and Wewoka, Oklahoma is no exception.  For over 70 years, the Lions club little league baseball field has served thousands of children in Wewoka and the surrounding rural communities, but over time the field has fallen into disrepair.

The Wewoka Ballpark Development Squad is undertaking a project to restore their "field of dreams." To this end, they have sought funding from multiple sources, including embarking on a six-week YouHelp crowdfunding campaign to raise $150,000 for the new field. The Wewoka Ballpark Development Squad, comprised of the City of Wewoka, Jearl Smart Foundation, the Wewoka Chapter of Lions Club International, and a team of consultants organized specifically for the renovation and expansion of Wewoka's Historic Ballpark, is encouraging Wewoka Tigers Alumni, current and former residents, athletes, supporters, coaches to contribute to the campaign and share the information with their friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media channels. 

The complex will consist of four fields, with a capacity to serve more than 3,000 children in the surrounding communities. 

"In restoring the little league fields, we hope to not only provide these opportunities for the youth in Wewoka, but we also hope that this project demonstrates to each child what is possible. A new, state-of-the-art field would represent the idea that anything is achievable regardless of your current circumstance. In this way, the project benefits not only the children but every citizen of Wewoka. We understand that this project will require an immense amount of time, work and energy. Our children are worth it," said a spokesperson for Wewoka's baseball field project. 

A Dream Come True

When major league baseball (MLB) All-Star and 2008 World Series champion Chase Utley announced this year's winners of the 2019 MLB award with Scotts Lawn Care grant award many were in disbelief to hear him congratulate the City of Wewoka named first among the four recipients. Utley was one of a panel of judges which included Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., Olympic Gold Medalist and MLB Youth Softball Ambassador Jennie Finch, World Series champion and MLB Network analyst Cliff Floyd, and additional executive leadership from MLB and Scotts. 

"We're looking forward to fixing up your fields. Listen, I have two young boys. I enjoy watching them play baseball, especially on beautiful fields. I think every kid should have the opportunity to feel safe, feel comfortable, and really look forward  to that experience of going to a beautiful baseball field and what Scotts and Major League Baseball have done over the past several years is extremely important and true to my heart, to support their program and they've done a great job. 

The City of Wewoka was chosen from 350 applicants to receive the grant, a partnership between the Scotts Company LLC (Scotts) and Major League Baseball. The two partner each year to refurbish youth baseball and softball fields around the country. Grant applications this year came from over 300 cities in 46 states. The grant initiative is part of the Scotts Field Refurbishment Program which provides youth with modern, playable baseball and softball fields in American communities of need. More than $200,000 in repairs and upgrades will be made across the four fields in the next few months. 

The other winners of the grant program this year are Allentown School District and Lehigh Valley RBI Baseball (PA),  Friends of Ray School PTO (Chicago, IL) and Friends of Mount Vernon Arts, Recreation and Youth Programs, Inc. (NY). 

In addition to the grant, Scotts will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at each chosen field as well as a youth baseball clinic run by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation that will be attended by special Major League guests. A new equipment package will also be provided to each of the four grant recipients. 

The poverty rate in Wewoka exceeds 55% in children under the age of 18. Growing up in a struggling rural community like Wewoka, youth face many problems like economic disparity, educational inequality, poverty, and in many cases, abuse and neglect.

Nearly 10,000 children in and around Wewoka use this field, allowing them the opportunity to dream of a better future, learn important life skills, build friendships, find mentors, and grow.  

The money raised will expand the Lions Club Ballpark in phases; pay for building and refurbishment of fields, provide new concession and bathroom facilities, as well as shading, seating, and parking.

The entire budget for the project is $700,000. Donations for over $109,000 have been received so far. 

Find out more about renovation projects for individuals, businesses, and nonprofits on YouHelp. Start a crowdfunding campaign to renovate, repair, or rebuild a home, business, or your nonprofit's premises today. 

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp and all GrantWatch websites.

Sometimes it takes a village, sometimes it takes a crowd. One thing is certain, it doesn't just take one or two individuals when i comes to crowdfunding for nonprofits. At YouHelp we emphasize the importance of campaign organizers' efforts. You must do the work for your campaign to be potentially successful. We have a unique 30-day chart that we have formulated for you to follow and raise the chances of reaching your funding goal. 

Fundraising of any kind, is work – but seeing your idea come to fruition makes it all worthwhile.  To raise money, you need to reach out to possible contributors and create excitement and stimulate interest in your nonprofit, small business, invention or emergency need. 
 
The interactive chart below is available to all campaigns once they go live from the navigation bar Tips and Templates tab. 

Are you ready to be truly engaged for thirty days after the campaign is approved?  If not, let us know and we will take down your started project and put it up again when you're ready. We're here to help you succeed. 

If you're ready, then start posting and sharing the most engaging campaign ever with your crowd. 

Here are some essentials:

1. Personally contact your friends and family (your inner circle). These can be your strongest supporters. 
2. Send out emails to all your contacts.
3. Use social media. Upload your email contacts to Facebook and other platforms and continue to build your contact base and post about your campaign regularly across platforms. 
4. Tell the story. An engaging story brings in donations 
5. Have a serious business plan you can present to anyone who asks. Include an explanation of how the money you raise will be used. 
6. Include a short, concise video pitch with a request for contributions.
7. Have realistic goals. 
8. Thank your donors and supporters. Many experts recommend crowdfunding campaigns give gifts and rewards for different levels of giving. 
9. Be prepared to stay active on social media for the duration of your campaign. 

For more information on building a successful campaign, see our recent article: The Three Circles of Fundraising and Crowdfunding Success. 

Crowdfunding provides a nonprofit, startup or individual with money to improve upon – or begin – its enterprises. In addition, it provides a potential base of followers on your social media. So, post often and respond to questions. For businesses, the exposure provides potential customers and for nonprofits, future donors. Your crowdfunding for nonprofits campaign can be the first time an individual hears about your organization.

If your story, or pitch text, is not engaging, you are less likely to obtain contributions. Luckily, YouHelp offers flexible funding. So, if you don’t reach your monetary goal you can keep whatever funds you raise. For your pitch text to be engaging, tell your back story. Where did you start and how have you ended up where you are? What are you hoping to raise funds for? Provide details about where contributions will go.

It's important to accurately gauge your fundraising goal.  If it is too high, unrealistic, or does not match the need described, people will contribute elsewhere. If you are planning a stimulus package of perks include their cost and the cost for shipping (if any) in the amount of money you want to raise.

For more information, talk to our crowdfunding mentor today: 888-240-1494, or start a crowdfunding campaign for you nonprofit today on YouHelp. 

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp.com and all GrantWatch blogs and newsletters.

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YouHelp wants you to succeed in your crowdfunding campaign. Here are 5 important tips to ensure campaign success. 

Crowdfunding is about being a part of something bigger than yourself. It's about being involved in your community or with exciting new projects that you wouldn't have the opportunity to accomplish on your own. In the past, only big entrepreneurs and philanthropists would be approached about opportunities available to the general public via the internet, whether it was a play or a movie, investing in a new company or building a new community center or funding a season of the orchestra. 

1. Pick YouHelp

Why should you choose YouHelp when there are so many crowdfunding platforms available? YouHelp has probably the best customer service available with 30 days of support from a crowdfunding mentor who will check on your progress and encourage you to reach out to your "crowd" through email, chats and your social media to friends and followers.

YouHelp is a free platform and you will receive all the funds raised (minus the credit card processing fee) as opposed to on some other crowdfunding platforms which only pay if you reach your fundraising goal. Other platforms might allow you to get the money, raised if you've only raised part of your goal, but they charge a higher percentage – up to 9% of the total. 

You can choose if you are going to give gifts and incentives to funders.  You can raise money for a nonprofit, emergency, disaster, individual needs, startup, business or invention.  

2. Get their attention and keep it

You do this by having a catchy title, a great pitch and telling a compelling story. Your need for the funds should touch people's hearts, moving them in some way. 

For someone to make a contribution, they need to:

• feel "your" pain
• feel the pain and needs of the community you represent
• catch your excitement about the possibilities you're presenting
• feel their contribution will solve a problem
• feel their contribution will make the world a better place
• feel empathy with your cause.

In addition, it's also important to engage their rational mind. The rational brain addresses the "What?"  you're doing versus the emotional brain, which addresses the ""Why?"

To engage both the emotional and rational (right and left brain), you need to:

• tell the story of your project or company
• tell the story of your customer
• describe who your project truly impacts (or will impact) 

After you write an initial short description which will appear on the project card write your full description/pitch text. Tell more of the story here, but remember to always ask for contributions and explain why they are needed, in the first paragraph. This could be a story about yourself, your organization, or a customer or patron. It should portray the necessity of you or your organization in the community. Furthermore, this is where to explain to potential donors, why they should donate to YOU. As a nonprofit or small business, you should include words from your mission statement and tagline. If you’re an individual, close your pitch text with a quote from a notable (and politically correct) personality. 

Please note, videos often double success rates for crowdfunding, especially "rewards campaigns." 

3. Incentivize your campaign

We encourage offering perks to donors. These could be anything from personally written thank you notes to complimentary items like t-shirts or coffee mugs. Think of perks that tie into why you’re raising dollars. If for instance, you are an organization benefiting the education of children, perhaps, a hand-made piece of art or a thank you note from the children. Some donors consider perks before donating. They ask themselves, would they be able to get that perk on their own?

4. Engage your Supporters

As we mentioned earlier, it is important to keep your closest friends and family in the know about your crowdfunding efforts. Many crowdfunding campaigns fail to engage their First Circle of Success, which leads them to fail. MAKE SURE you have a strong group of friends and family willing to put in the first few dollars for your crowdfunding campaign. This will get the ball rolling. You can engage your supporters by having conversations with them, texting them, or emailing them.

5. Plan your Marketing and Outreach

A successful campaign is usually one in which multiple people are promoting the campaign through phone calls, emails, and social media. Don’t try to do this with strangers. YouHelp allows you to invite people to join your team and have them feel a part of the campaign.

Organizations gain contributions through social media followers or previous donors. If you are a nonprofit and have an email list of previous donors, that is a perfect list to work from to ask for donations to your crowdfunding campaign. Use our 30-day chart created for a team of members promoting their crowdfunding campaign. When you're raising money it sometimes helps to view some localized successful crowdfunding campaigns.  

When crowdfunding, the name of the game is consistency. Consistently be reaching out to your first, second, and third circles of success as mentioned in a recent article: The Three Circles of Fundraising and Crowdfunding Success to gain traction and attract donors. Stay actively involved in publicizing the campaign and communicating with your supporters and always remember to show your gratitude. 

Organizations and businesses in need of funding can start a free campaign on YouHelp today, or contact our crowdfunding mentor:  888-240-1494.

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp.com

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Does your business or nonprofit have an online newsletter or email newsletter? Do you really need one? 

For some organizations and institutions, it's not even a question anymore. It's just expected. Many nonprofits like schools, congregations, community centers, and NGOs have already been sending out a newsletter or bulletin regularly by mail, and now they want to, or are already, sending it out by email. (Some are now expected to be sent out via both snail mail and email, but let's not get into that…)  

If you're embarking on a YouHelp crowdfunding campaign, it's important to stay in contact with your potential supporters. Maintaining a current email list and distributing a digital newsletter or maintaing an online newsletter is one of the best ways to do so. 

For decades, a Houston private school sent a paper weekly newsletter to all of the school families. The newsletter was sent to grandparents, alumni, and supporters of the school who wanted to be informed of all school and community activities. The newsletter included acknowledgments about births, engagements, marriages, new jobs, condolences, and major donations as well as the ongoing school events. In addition to that newsletter, another weekly newsletter was sent out to each early childhood class, created by the teachers and proofread and printed by the front office staff, to be put in each child's backpacks by the end of the week.

The print version had been a staple in the community since the 1970's when the school was founded. 

A new tech-savvy administrator decided that it was time to collect everyone's emails and send the "Thursday Thunder" out to all their subscribers via the internet. This put even more work on the overburdened office staff, especially with the slow computer system that got overloaded. Over time, instead of sending out via a listserv, or from a number of groups so they didn't wind up in a spam folder, they upgraded to free trial of an email marketing software and found out how many people were actually reading the newsletters and "clicking-through" to different sections of the newsletter on their website.

They included links in the newsletter to sign up to attend, volunteer or donate to all their fundraising events and their crowdfunding campaigns. These links would go back to their school website or the crowdfunding platform.  

All kinds of analytics could now be studied… and to top it off, it was much cheaper than color printing, and the families much preferred to see photos of their precious angels in color than in black and white.

As technology advances, newsletters get more creative and the online versions often have videos.

"Nonprofits that use weekly newsletters create awareness about the programs and services they provide. People want to be a part of something that's productive and meaningful. Using a newsletter will keep your constituency informed, engaged and make them want to contribute and be a part of your next fundraiser," said YouHelp founder and CEO, Libby Hikind. "The whole concept of crowdfunding is to reach out to the people and businesses affiliated and familiar with your nonprofit; and to increase interest in those not presently affiliated. Featuring your fundraising efforts and initiatives in a newletter together with a donate button that links back to your campaign will most definitely increase contributions."  

Let's take a look at how an email newsletter and blog can help you. 

• One of the best ways to engage leads – potential customers or donors, people who are already your customers/members/donors, sell more products, get more people to attend your events, find or engage volunteers for your activities, or just stay on the top of people's minds, is to send out newsletters on a regular basis. 
• An email newsletter can help you reach your target audience. Be sure to use email marketing software, also known as "SAS" (Software as a Service) that will keep track of your open and click-through rates. 
• Email newsletters should use a variety of different types of content about different parts of your business or nonprofit, including event reminders, surveys, educational information about your products and services, or your industry and promotions. Due to their diverse content, email newsletters have a difficult time getting readers to complete a call-to-action. 

Newsletters can help you:

• Spread brand awareness. Communicating with subscribers on a regular basis helps them recognize and respond positively to your brand. 
• An easy way to create the content for your newsletter is to publish recent blog posts from your website or summarize these blog posts and link them to the newsletter (or vice versa), and other content from your website like your calendar of upcoming events if you're a nonprofit, and acknowledgments.  
• Get feedback for your products or programs through surveys linked to your email. 
• Include discounts, current sales, opportunities, and events. 
• Expand your reach –
  • Reach more people regularly than your social media pages or personal contact would. 
  • It's easy for people to forward newsletters to their friends and people they know might be interested. 
• Generate additional revenue from affiliate marketing. 

Getting Started

Imitation is the best form of flattery. Take a look at successful email newsletters you're familiar with. Use the best parts of those you like and think are effective. Pick and choose, combine different pieces of each.

Consider, with the resources you have available, can you do this successfully? 

10 Newsletter Tips:

1: Readers don't want to always feel like they're being "sold" to or "pushed" into buying something or making donations. Current best practice recommends that you balance the content of your newsletter so that you include 90% educational or informative material and only 10% promotional. 

2. Have a page to subscribe and a clear way to unsubscribe.  Your emails might be forwarded on to other people. Make it easy for them to sign up to get your newsletter and not have to keep relying on friends to send it to them or go out of their way to find out how they can get added to your list. 

3. Create interesting email subject lines so people will be intrigued or feel excited to open. Make sure they're not too vague. People are so bombarded with emails and their time is valuable. Creative subject lines can make all the difference between your newsletter being opened or deleted without being viewed.

4. Pick one primary call-to-action – ie: "If you only click one thing, CLICK THIS." Too many calls to action can be confusing or a turnoff. 

5. Keep plenty of "white space." People are turned off or feel stressed out when pages are overly cluttered. Having an empty space helps people focus on what they want to read and click on to learn more. Use "read more," buttons with links to articles and more information on your website or others, but you don't want people to feel trapped, or if they open your email they'll have to spend all day reading it.  

6. Make sure images have alt text in case they can't see the image, because if they don't have images enabled, they will still know what should be there. 

7. Test it! Choose the best email marketing tools for you. MailChimp and iContact are two of the most well known, but there are others out there that might be right for you. There might be one that connects directly with your CRM and will add your new subscribers automatically. 

8. Have a consistent design and layout. 

9. Make sure you're legally compliant. 

8. Analyze and improve: Keep track of your click-through rates, conversion rates, list growth, forward rate, delivery rate, and overall ROI. 

A thorough online resource, "How to Create Email Newsletters That Don't Suck", by Hubspot, can guide you through the process. 

Now the Houston private school is so hooked into social media that most people get their updates daily through a private community Facebook page, SMS updates, Twitter, and Instagram posts. The question has arisen as to whether it makes sense to continue to send out the weekly newsletters. At last vote, the answer was "yes," but it's back on the agenda for the next board meeting.

If you liked this post and would like to read more like it, see all our other blogs on GrantWatch, YouHelp, MWBEzone, GrantWriterTeam, and GrantNews. 

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp,com

While researching this year’s Palm Beach and Martin counties annual “The Great Give” event, we found that many more counties across the country are hosting them as well.  

The Great Give operates like a crowdfunding campaign matching day, kind of like “GivingTuesday.” The goal of the Great Give is to raise as much money as possible for as many local nonprofits as possible in just one short, defined time period. The date is planned in advance for nonprofits and their volunteers to plan events and activities in advance to correspond with the date planned for the regional event. It is open to the public, to anyone with a credit card and access to the internet or a telephone.  

The Great Give Florida Day will be held from midnight to midnight on April 24th this year.  This will be the sixth year for Palm Beach County to host the event. The event, led by the United Way of Palm Beach County and United Way of Martin County is designed to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in a single day in order to bring greater awareness, publicity, and support to the great work they do. The United Way of Palm Beach County is serving as the fiscal agent on behalf of the host partners.

This year’s event is using the social media hashtag – #GreatGive424. 

All registered nonprofits in these counties that are 501(c)(3), IRS compliant, are eligible to become a part of this amazing event. The minimum donation accepted per donor is $20. This donation is compounded by an additional percentage of the bonus pool that is raised by the Palm Beach Community Foundation.

Fundraising Tools for Nonprofits

Finding funding can be difficult. However, with GrantWatch.com, a MemberPlus+ can search thousands of grants by any number of criteria, such as funding source, geographic focus, and specific interest. Over 600 new grants are added each week, to provide many new funding opportunities for nonprofits. With over 50 categories to choose from, GrantWatch.com provides your nonprofit with the fundraising resources to support your campaign. This link is for grants for Florida nonprofits that are currently available on GrantWatch.com.

Synergize Your Grants with Crowdfunding

Grants require focused time and energy and at times a grant for the program you want to implement may not be available. Another great way to fund your campaign is crowdfunding on YouHelp. On YouHelp, you can tell your story and showcase your cause. Creating a campaign is simple! Contributions will be in your account on the very next day.  YouHelp is a free crowdfunding website.

More Resources for Your Nonprofit

Make fundraising a full-time priority for your organization. Go to GrantWatch.com, and apply to the new grants posted each week. Combine your grant writing efforts by starting a crowdfunding campaign on YouHelp. This style of fundraising allows you to reach new supporters through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, your contacts and email list.

 For more information, call our team of nonprofit experts at 888-240-1494 today!

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp.com

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Crowdfunding is all about inspiring many people to donate relatively small amounts of capital to fund your venture – whether it be for a new business or an invention, for a nonprofit, or help for a family in need.

How do you get the word out to the people you wish to attract? Social media engagement is a must for your campaign to succeed.

To be truly engaging, you need more than to post your campaign to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, it's important to manage and plan your social media posts with the help of a calendar. 

Barry Feldman of Feldman Creative wrote an insightful article on social media engagement through an easy to remember mnemonic device – the 5 vowels – an AEIOU list. 

A – Ask questions

E – Invoke Expression 

I  – Provide Incentives 

O – Make Offers

U –  Deliver Utility 

These social media engagement strategies are not just for crowdfunding. They will help nonprofits and for-profits to build their businesses, increase followers and create buzz about what they're doing. Anyone and everyone can use these methods to boost sales or increase donations.

One Facebook group, Nonprofits for the 31st Century, has regular engagement posts asking for people to post "6 Word Stories," in answer to their questions such as: "Tell us a 6 WORD STORY about the last place you personally volunteered your time or talents," or "Tell us the 6 word story of your crowdfunding campaign." 

Getting people to rack their brains and test their creativity by coming up with responses that make people laugh, smile, respond or just take notice, is a brilliant way to engage people who are constantly bombarded with images and content. 

Social media engagement is essential for crowdfunding campaign success. In addition to the usual suggestions of contacting everyone you know, having the three circles of contacts, sending emails to all your email contacts and posting your request to social media platforms, be clear about what, how, and when to post. 

The story you tell is important. Use pictures that evoke emotions as well as videos. Videos are the best tool to tell your story, if you're able to produce them. They don't have to be elaborate, complicated or expensive, just tell your story in front of the camera with images, or have a number of people involved in your project all speak with clips of each. 

For more information on crowdfunding strategies, our page on YouHelp that explains How it Works can assist you to start your campaign. 

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp.com

When someone sees a need and acts, it's to be commended. Those are the people who change the world.

Many people might see the need, but only a few are change makers. It takes a special type of person to start their own business or nonprofit and take the risk. 

Crowdfunding takes some of the onus off the inventor, developer or start-up business. 

"To succeed in business you need passion, persistence and drive."  Libby Hikind, CEO and Founder of GrantWatch advises. "Find something you love, something you know well.  Do the research and test the market. Research will tell you if a good idea is a great idea or just an idea." 

Sometimes the passion and purpose are born out of adversity, as was the case for Javier Camacho, of Puerto Rico. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in the fall of 2017, Javier Camacho, a self-taught software developer dedicated a year to provide solar powered electricity using recycled materials by himself.  He provided solar powered electricity to 49 families, and developed a prototype for a generator and a kit that people can put together themselves, wanting to get them to as many people and places as possible, so those hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters will never be devastated by a failure in the infrastructure again. His DIY Solar Generator is a product that's not difficult to produce.  He is seeking funding to complete the project for public distribution and bring it to market.  

"There are tried and tested methods for starting a business that can be followed for a higher chance of success. YouHelp assists campaigns with six-weeks of mentoring, guidance and advice," says Hikind. 

"Successful entrepreneurs and business owners are often happy to help those just starting out, interested in following in their footsteps. Don't be afraid to ask." 

People starting a business can often find grants on MWBEzone.com. Nonprofits can find grants on GrantWatch.com, and both nonprofits and small businesses can use YouHelp platform for crowdfunding for start-up costs, testing the market and for expanding their businesses and organizations. 

Some of the expenses mentors recommend when starting a business include: training, building a website, advertising and promotion to create awareness for the new business.  While looking and applying for grants, entrepreneurs become proactive and start crowdfunding campaigns on YouHelp. 

For more information on starting a YouHelp crowdfunding campaign, see How It Works. 

"All the business services under the GrantWatch umbrella were created to help nonprofits, small businesses and individuals raise the funds they need for projects for the common good; through the daily updated grant database, the crowdfunding platform, providing the latest news on grants for nonprofit and business leaders, or helping people find and hire a grant writer. We offer support and mentors to work with you for the best results," said Libby Hikind, CEO and founder of GrantWatch and affiliate sites, MWBEzone, YouHelp, Grant Writer Team, GrantNews, and the next project in the works, the Grant Writer Institute.  

"We have made the process simple to open a YouHelp.com crowdfunding campaign. YouHelp.com, a free fundraising website, offering the best in crowdfunding capabilities to forward-thinking men and women who are looking for funds for a nonprofit, to start a small business or individual needs. The process is simple: start a fundraiser, enter your fundraising goal, add a compelling message that donors will find worthwhile — and launch. If the idea is deserving, and you do the sharing-out of your campaign to your crowd of family, friends, colleagues, your community, persons of the same interest and nationally, people will pledge their support.

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp.com

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Fundraising is a tale as old as time, and community fundraising has always been a part of helping those less fortunate. Whether it’s the collection plate at church, or a community secretly organizing funds for a member fallen on hard times. As we move further into the digital age, fundraising itself has changed, and technology has made it easier for the global community to help their fellow “neighbors.” There is still plenty of work to be done to improve the conditions of those who are most vulnerable, but crowdfunding, a form of community fundraising can help not only individuals who are struggling but help to close funding gaps for non-profit organizations, who then can help more people.

So how does crowdfunding work, and why is it a better way forward? Well, the answer is that it’s a pretty unique system for raising funds, and it fixes a lot of the issues with traditional fundraising. Here are three ways that crowdfunding outpaces traditional fundraising.

1. Crowdfunding is significantly more time(and cost)-effective than traditional fundraising: With traditional fundraising, there are a lot of steps to raising money, and often minimal reward. Be it targeting prospective donors, or sending out email after email to find the right point of contact, or even cold calling to raise funds. And with offline fundraising, there are often significant marketing costs involved in design and promotion. Crowdfunding can often be a much more bootstrapped project and can leverage already existing networks, as well as family and friends to help with the cause. And with crowdfunding, even people that aren’t currently in the orbit of the non-profit, or start-up, or individual can contribute, at minimal cost to the entity who has put out the campaign.

2. Crowdfunding is a much more accessible way to raise money than traditional fundraising: Though crowdfunding is made easier if there is an existing network to draw on, money can be raised even if the organization (or individual) is just starting out. For example, if a non-profit wanted to raise money for a project, but they had little name recognition because they had just started out. What could this non-profit do to up their chances of raising funds? They could write up a very compelling description of their project, and impact that those funds would have for the community (or purpose) they were working to serve. The non-profit could then create or utilize existing social media accounts and promote their campaign. This effort, especially with a team working on it, can be relatively low cost, and can actually increase the visibility of the non-profit’s work overall.

3. Crowdfunding is significantly less restricted in the use of funds than traditional fundraising:  While a lot of conventional fundraising can come with a lot of strings, with promises made to donors or sponsors, crowdfunding has an advantage for people looking to raise funds. If a non-profit is looking to raise general usage funds for their organization, or a person in a tough situation is looking to raise funds to assist in that problem, crowdfunding can be very helpful also, because crowdfunding is a relatively less regulated industry.  

So if you’re a non-profit, small business or individual looking to raise money with less hassle, consider setting up a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds. While there are many crowdfunding platforms, there is only one that allows for campaigns to keep 100% of the funds raised. Youhelp.com is a crowdfunding platform created to help individuals, small businesses and non-profits raise money so that they can continue to do great work in their communities and better the lives of the people around them. Our team at Youhelp.com is always available to help with any questions about crowdfunding, or social media promotion of crowdfunding campaigns.

About the Author: The author is a staff writer for YouHelp.com

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