Realistic goal is the key to crowdfunding
Third-graders Cole Nickel, right, Logan Gaines, center, and Patrick Varner complete a project with circuit boxes at Burgettstown Area Elementary School Thursday. The school recently crowdfunded a maker space room, where kids can be creative and take part in hands-on activities.
Actors are shown on the set of “The Barn,” a feature-length horror film created by Claysville resident Justin Seaman.
A poster for the movie “The Barn.”
Burgettstown Area Elementary School recently crowdfunded a maker space room, where kids can be creative and take part in hands-on activities. Third-grade student Undyana Wisniewski tries one of the beanbag chairs.
Third-graders Blake Skiles, center, Adrian Plance, right, and Wyatt Stevenson complete a project with circuit boxes at Burgettstown Area Elementary School on Thursday.
Third-grader Christian Moore builds with Legos in the maker space room at Burgettstown Area Elementary School Thursday.
Schools are doing it. Filmmakers are doing it. Even marathon runners are doing it.
Crowdfunding – the practice of funding a venture by raising money from a large number of people – has exploded. In 2015, crowdfunding campaigns raised $16 billion across the globe, according to an industry report by Massolution. North American countries alone raised more than $9 billion.
For those who couldn’t otherwise finance a project, there are a wealth of crowdfunding websites available, from GoFundMe, where individuals or groups can raise money for just about anything, to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where projects are backed by creators who usually offer incentives to donate.
While launching a campaign is as simple as signing up on a website, actually raising capital can present a challenge.
“It was a tedious process. You have to make sure that people are aware (of your campaign) and find different ways to get it out there,” said Mandi Figlioli, assistant to the superintendent of Burgettstown Area School District.
Figlioli led a group that successfully crowdfunded to build a technology-focused “maker space,” a hands-on work area for students to create and apply skills learned in class.
Burgettstown was among 10 schools in the region selected by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to partner on a campaign launched on Kickstarter. From Sept. 29 to Nov. 2, 93 backers pledged $6,137, exceeding the $5,000 goal. A grand opening of the maker space will be held March 14.
In addition to posting on social media and sending mass emails, Figlioli and her team relied on traditional methods of communication by making phone calls and going door to door to more than 40 local businesses to secure funds.
But the tipping point, said Figlioli, was the offered incentives.
“I liked that Kickstarter had some rewards in place. I think that really helped,” she said.
Depending on the amount pledged, donors received gifts of thanks – from their names listed on the district’s website to dedication tiles placed in the maker space. As with most crowdfunding incentives, the more given, the more received.
The flip side to incentives, though, is the effort fundraisers must put into fulfilling them.
“It’s a lot of work, to then redeem all those rewards: thank you cards, Christmas ornaments, packaging, distributing tickets then another round of redemption with the grand opening,” Figlioli said. “But the incentives do help.”
Filmmaker Justin Seaman, of Claysville, agreed incentives can make or break a campaign.
His company, Nevermore Production Films, completed an independent feature-length horror film, “The Barn,” with money raised on Indiegogo.
The slasher vibe of the film lent itself to offering 1980s-era merchandise, like action figures and VHS tapes.
Seaman, who previously made two films without crowdfunding, said the key to success was raising one-third of the funds before launching on the website and setting a reasonable goal.
“I did a lot of research,” he said. “A lot of people tried to do Indiegogo or Kickstarter and failed because they were looking for way too much money or what they were offering (as an incentive) wasn’t up to par.”
There are different types of funding available, the most common being flexible or fixed. With flexible funding, creators keep what they make even if they don’t reach the goal. With fixed, it’s all or nothing, so if creators don’t reach their goal, they don’t get a dime of contributions and donors aren’t charged.
Seaman opted for fixed funding and exceeded his $15,000 goal by raising more than $20,000.
But that amount is a misconception, he said.
“That’s not really what you walk away with. With shipping, fees, perks and fulfillment, it dwindled down pretty far as to what is the actual profit,” Seaman said. “By the time you’re all said and done, it might be a couple thousand bucks.”
Fees for creating campaigns vary, but most charge a small percent from each donation.
For Seaman, the eight-month process was like a full-time job. He invested six months in planning and two actually campaigning.
“It’s not easy at all but I would 100 percent do it again,” he said.
John Six, a physician with family practices in Claysville and McMurray, is currently crowdfunding for Jeremiah’s Place. He will run two back-to-back marathons – Gettysburg on April 24 and Pittsburgh on May 1 – to increase awareness of the Pittsburgh-based safe haven for children and families during times of crisis.
Having already exceeded his original goal of $5,000, Six plans to increase his efforts to $10,000.
He has been a long-time supporter of Jeremiah’s Place, but this year, Six wanted to do more. While brainstorming fundraising ideas on his smartphone, he came across GoFundMe.
“It worked out really well. I’ve gotten some donations from people I wouldn’t have known to reach out to. It’s very interesting how it takes off and wonderfully rewarding to see it pop up on your phone that another donation has been made,” Six said. “I hit a home run.”
Setting up a crowdfunding platform is relatively simple and donating is as easy as typing in a credit card number. But donors should beware.
Websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo do not guarantee projects or investigate if a creator completes their project, so it is up to a donors to determine is a project is valid and worthy.
And, while fraud is rare, it does happen.
In December, a fake GoFundMe account was started for Canon-McMillan senior Luke Blanock, who was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer in December 2013. The site was quickly shut down, but not before someone had collected more than $1,000.
Kelsea Little, media director of GoFundMe said in an email the company uses anti-fraud technology and a team that works 24/7 to monitor campaigns.
“We recommend that all potential donors only give to people they personally know and trust,” said Little.