Crowdfunder | Stories

Why you should send project updates

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:10:50 +0000

In a recent Crowdfunder survey, 84% of supporters said that receiving project updates is important to them.

This indicates that sending updates should be a priority for every project. But it’s just one of the reasons why sending updates is a good idea. Unlike direct messages or emails, project updates are made publicly viewable on your project pages, so can perform more than one role at the same time. In this piece we’ll look at three additional reasons why you should send project updates.

Motivate potential supporters to pledge

Updates are also a brilliant way to show newcomers that you’re active and engaged. This is important as we know that belief in the project owner is strongly linked to belief in the project itself. You can include images or videos showing that exciting things are happening behind the scenes, building on the excitement around the project. Using updates in this way can be really powerful in motivating potential supporters to pledge, as they want to join your crowd!

Empower existing supporters to spread the word

We know that people who have already pledged are clearly on board with your project and want to see it succeed. Because of this, they are one of the best groups to help spread the word even further. Often all that’s needed is a friendly nudge and some shareable content. If you make it as easy as possible, people are more likely to do as you ask. In your update, include a shareable image or bit of text that you can ask your supporters to repost to their own friends.

Build stronger relationships for the future

Updates are the best way to keep your supporters in the loop throughout your crowdfunding journey and beyond. It’s an easy way to keep in touch with everyone, make them feel valued and get excited about what’s coming next. It’s important to remember that you can continue to send updates even after your project has closed. This gives you an ideal platform to share progress, celebrate successes and get your supporters on board with your next big idea!

AND FINALLY…

When you’re logged in, you’ll find the option to send updates on both your dashboard and your project page. Each project update you send will go to every supporter who has opted to receive them, directly to their email inbox. It will also be posted publicly on your Crowdfunder project page, under the updates tab.

Try to send one or two updates a week throughout your campaign. In the final few days it’s fine to send a few more than usual, as things can move very quickly so you’ll want to keep on top of the excitement.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to the Knowledge Hub.

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Using social media to promote your project

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:07:34 +0000

In our experience, social media is a key way to get your project noticed by those around you. It’s a heavy-weight crowdfunding tool that can hugely impact your project’s success, if you use it well. Most of us are pretty familiar with at least one social media platform and may already use it to stay in touch with friends, share photos, find jobs or even just stay up to date with the latest news.

Whether you’re new to the world of social or have been on it for years, we’ve got you covered. Our social whizzes have broken things down to make everything as simple as possible.

Mix it up

You can use social media to update your audience on your Crowdfunder, including the amount raised so far, any new rewards, and exciting developments. It’s a great way to encourage people to keep talking about your campaign and sharing it far and wide.

A question we get asked a lot is how often to post on socials. Well, the answer to that is dependent on the platform! When it comes to Instagram and Facebook, no more than one post a day is best. A Twitter feed moves a lot faster, which means that you can get away with posting a lot more. Though, as a rule of thumb, it’s recommended to post between one and five tweets per day.

Make sure to be engaging with posts from other people too.

Though remember that every social media account is unique, so what works for others might not work for you and vice versa!

Eye-catching images

Social media posts with eye-catching images are far more effective in building support for your idea but it’s not always easy to find the time to make nice visuals. In fact, content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images. Not to mention that visual content is 40x more likely to get shared.

To give you everything you need to get started, we’ve created a marketing library filled with creative and visual content to share across major social channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The wonderful world of gifs

Did we mention that we have gifs? Gifs are a great way to add some fun to your social posts and keep people updated about your Crowdfunder using stories.

If you’ve not used gifs before, it’s really easy to get involved. When uploading a story to Facebook and Instagram, you can search for “CrowdfunderUK” in the sticker search bar and our gifs will appear. You can also find us on Giphy or download your own content from our library!

Connect with Crowdfunder

Here at Crowdfunder we’re always active on social media, shouting about the latest projects, competitions, and crowdfunding news. To stay connected, start by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. We love to share your news, so let us know you’re going live by tagging us in a post.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are a way of letting people know what you’re posting about or joining a conversation on social media. The hashtag #CrowdfunderUK is a great one to use, along with #Crowdfunding, #Funding and #Crowdfunder. You can also use any hashtags relevant to your project or intended audience. For example, if you’re opening a brewery then you could use #Beer, #Brewery or #Brewing.

Instagram: Add your project link to your bio for easy access and use relevant hashtags to get it seen by people outside of your immediate network. If your project has a local focus, tag the location in any posts so that others in your area can find it.

Facebook: Keep sharing your project with your friends and ask them to share it too. Don’t forget, Facebook recommends using video content that’s over 3 minutes long. Post about your project in local groups to connect with others in your community.

Twitter: With only 280 characters, make sure to be clear and concise with your messaging. Use hashtags and tag people in your posts.

LinkedIn: Utilise your professional network and ask them to spread the word about your project.

TikTok: TikTok’s video content can help you tell your story in a fun and vibrant way.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to the Knowledge Hub.

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Launch checklist

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:03:56 +0000

Ready to go live? Check through this list before you launch.

We know that launching your Crowdfunder project can feel a little daunting, so we created this checklist to help give you the confidence to go live. Make sure you tick everything off to give your project the strongest start.

Save the date

Once you’ve decided on a launch date, make sure everyone involved has it marked on their calendar.

Proof read your project page

Give your page one final look over and ask a friend to do the same. Make sure the spelling and grammar is correct to show that you’ve put care and effort into the project.

Double check your target

Is your target realistic and achievable? Remember that once your project is live on Crowdfunder, you won’t be able to change your target. The same goes for the funding method, so give that a second look too.

Check you have entered your social media links correctly by clicking on the icons below your main image or video on your project page preview. Fix any broken links before launching.

Apply for +Extra funding

From the information you’ve added to your project, your project dashboard will match you with any available extra funding. Fill out an application before launching to give your project the best chance of being approved.

Note your project link

You can find the unique web address for your project in the Basics section when creating your page. You can’t change this once your project is live, so check it’s short, relevant and memorable.

Review the plan

Make sure that you are clear on the plan to promote your project from the first day to the last. Check which messages you’re sending out to which groups, when they’re being sent, and how.

Prepare plenty of images

Check that you have lots of new images that you can use to promote your project. Photographs of people, places, events, rewards and products are all great. You can also use free tools like Canva to create bright and bold graphics.

Write your messages

Save yourself time and brain space later by pre-writing your messages, emails and posts before your project launches.

Warm up your crowd

Make sure that your core supporter base knows about your crowdfunding plans. Don’t wait until your project is live to start engaging.

Create a press release

Have a press release ready to go, along with a list of journalists and news outlets to send it to. Read more about getting press for your Crowdfunder project.

Line up your first pledges

Aim to have secured at least 10% of your target in promised pledges before going live. Make sure those people know exactly when your project will go live and are ready to pledge in the first few hours.

Enjoy the ride

While crowdfunding can be pretty addictive, it’s important to maintain perspective. Take plenty of breaks from the campaign, get plenty of sleep and eat well. Crowdfunding can be incredibly fun and rewarding, so don’t forget to enjoy it.

If you’ve completed everything on this list, you’re probably ready to launch your project.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to our Knowledge Hub.

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Five things to consider when setting your target

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:03:04 +0000

When it comes to setting your target, there are some things you need to consider. After all, the correct target is vital to running a successful Crowdfunder.

Though it’s not just about how much money you need to make your project happen, it’s also about what is realistic and achievable.

1. How much do you need to make your project happen?

First things first, what is the minimum amount of money you need to raise in order to make your project happen? This is what you will base your target on. We say minimum because having a more achievable target is a convincing factor in getting your crowd to pledge on your project. Remember you can always stretch your target and raise more after you hit 100%.

It’s also important to let your audience know exactly what their money is going towards. To do this, you can have a rough cost breakdown on your project page.

2. How big and engaged is your crowd?

To hit your target and make your project a success you’ll need to reach as many potential donors as possible. Though it’s not just about how big your crowd is, they also need to be engaged. This is why it’s best to start your crowdfunding journey with an existing network of people you know will support you.

Before you get started, don’t be afraid to reach out to people, groups, and organisations to ask if they would support you and, if so, how much would they be willing to pledge.

If you don’t have a wide and varied network then your target needs to reflect this.

3. Have you accounted for rewards and delivery?

If you’re running a rewards based crowdfunding project, you need to account for your rewards and their delivery in your target. If you have options for discounted goods and services or physical products that need to be sent by post, you need to work out how much it will cost you and add it to your final target.

It’s good to be organised and keep all of your budgeting data in one place. After all, you don’t want to be caught out at the end.

4. Are you aware of Crowdfunder’s fees?

In order to continue running our site and helping dreams become a reality, we charge fees which vary depending on what type of project you’re running. Make sure to look at the fee model your project will fall into and take them into account when setting your target.

5. Have you done a final sense check?

Before you go live with your project, it’s best to give your target a final sense check. Is this target achievable in the timeframe of your crowdfunding project? Is there anything you’ve missed? Has anything changed since you first calculated how much money you need? Is it looking like you’ll get more or less support than you anticipated?

By asking yourself these questions and making sure your budgeting is up to date, you can be safe in the knowledge that you won’t get caught out by any expected costs.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to our Knowledge Hub.

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How to nail your project video

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:01:47 +0000

While adding a video to your page isn’t mandatory, research suggests it’s incredibly worthwhile.

Do you recall the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’? Well, it could be said that a video is worth a thousand pictures! As the online world becomes more video-centric, it’s becoming more important for projects to include a crowdfunding video in their plan. When we compared the success of projects with and without a video, we found that projects with a video are 86% more likely to be successful than projects without.

There could be a few reasons for this stark statistic, starting with the fact that a video allows projects to communicate their personality and passion in a much stronger way than text alone. People fund people – this is one of the crowdfunding cornerstones. If your project page is engaging, emotive and relatable, it’s more likely to connect with potential supporters.

In addition, not only can you use your crowdfunding video as the centrepiece on your project page, you can also share it across social media to draw attention to your crowdfunding efforts. With the rise of popular video platform TikTok, other social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram are increasingly focusing on video. This means that if you’re posting a video, it’s more likely to be seen.

So if you’re serious about raising money through crowdfunding and want to make your project as successful as possible, you should be planning to make a crowdfunding video. Let’s look at some examples to stoke your creativity, then run through our top tips for creating your own engaging video.

Be the critic

There are 101 ways to go about making a crowdfunding video. It’s interesting to see how people approach this task differently and definitely helps to give you an idea of what works well. Using our crowdfunding video scoring sheet, watch some of these examples and take note of what you like and what you’d change. When you’re planning your own project video, look back on these notes and make sure you follow your own advice.

1. Community inspired mural on Downhills Park Cafe

2. Goodness Zero Waste

3. The Leicestershire and Rutland Youth Sailing Association

Telling your story

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:00:24 +0000

When someone lands on your project page, you need to make a connection quickly and get them excited about your plans.

Make the most of the opportunity to connect with new supporters with a well-written story that is engaging, structured and concise. You don’t want to end up with a massively long project page, but you also need to ensure you’re providing enough detail to capture your audience’s attention. It’s a balancing act! Alongside the written text, pictures can also help to add colour and personality to your story.

While this task doesn’t require a professional writer, this could be a good opportunity to get a little help from a friend if you’re not confident in this area.

Key points

Before getting stuck into writing the story for your project page, it’s a good idea to spend a little time planning and making notes about what you want to include. To get started, have a go at jotting down a short but specific answer for each of these key questions:

What exactly are you trying to do?
How are you going to do it?
Why does your project matter?
What impact are you hoping to have?
What makes your project unique?
What are your motivations for doing this project?
When did you start working on your project?
What milestones have you achieved already?
What have you learned along the way?
What will the money raised be spent on?

Bonus question, if relevant: What are the rewards on offer?

These key points make up the foundation of your story, so make sure that you cover each of them on your project page. You could even tick each one off as you go. Next we’ll look at how to structure your story.

Structure

Just like an article in a newspaper, the story on your project page should aim to hook the reader from the very first line. This kind of “inverted pyramid” structure has been around for centuries in journalism. You’ll probably be very familiar with the way a newspaper uses a shocking headline to make a splash, then summarises the key facts of the story before going into detail further down the page.

It’s pretty common these days for us to just read the first few paragraphs before making our next click, so you’ll now find that most stories online follow this structure. To make sure potential supporters read the most important parts of your story, we’re going to use this structure too. It should look something like this:

Start with an attention-grabbing headline to engage the reader
Outline the key points of your project
Dive into the detail and tell the full story
Add some testimonials to back you up and add credibility
Finish with FAQs that people might have about your project, organisation or crowdfund.

Top tips

Organising your story into short sections will make your project page much easier to read. Use headings to break it up and direct your supporters to where they can find the information they’re looking for. You can also use bullet points for lists, along with the bold tool to highlight key points.

When it comes to connecting with people on your page, visuals play a big part too. Add lots of photos, as well as any other images that help to make your project shine. These might include reward images, infographics, maps, design sketches and team photos

Your Crowdfunder project page should be a jargon-free zone. Stick to using simple language that everyone can understand. Try to avoid using the same words again and again. If you’re really stuck , try an online thesaurus for suggestions of similar options.

Be specific when describing your project and your journey to make it happen. Let’s looks at these two examples;

“The local football club has been rubbish for many years”

“Pemburton Football Club hasn’t won a game since 2001”

While they both tell the same story, most people would find the second version much more interesting because of the additional details. It’s not a longer sentence, just a more specific one.

Finally, don’t be afraid to be brutal when reviewing and editing your story. Cut out all the “fluff” to ensure your project page remains short and sweet. It’s often a good idea to ask a couple of friends to proofread it and give feedback too.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to the Knowledge Hub.

The post Crowdfunder Stories | Watch the series appeared first on Crowdfunder Stories.

Building your community

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:58:55 +0000

When it comes to crowdfunding, you need people to support you every step of the way. This could be with their money, time, and their help spreading the word.

You see, to be successful you need to utilise your network and build a community to champion what you’re doing.

Do you want to know our biggest tip? Don’t just wait until you’re live or about to press publish. You want to get in early, warm up your community, and create a buzz as soon as you can.

Let people know what you’re planning

It might seem obvious, but you have to let people know that you’re going to crowdfund for your idea.

A great way to do this is by using social media to create teaser posts and get a feel for what people think of your plan. You can use this initial feedback to edit your page and answer any questions from the crowd.

Using social media is also a great way to build your follower count and increase engagement. This will be invaluable once you go live.

Engage your existing database

If you’ve already got an existing database, make sure to tell them all about your Crowdfunder and make them feel valued. You can even give them an ‘exclusive’ early opportunity to learn more about your idea. By making them feel special, they’ll be more likely to support your project when it goes live.

Using online groups

Become active in forums and online groups that are used by your target audience. You can find lots of groups on Facebook, LinkedIn and Reddit. If you’ve got an environmental idea, search for sustainable groups. If you’re looking to open a cafe in a small town, look at online community noticeboards.

Remember to engage with comments and ask questions, don’t just talk about your project.

Get out and about

If your project is location specific, get out and about and spread awareness in person. Go to events, talk to local people, and start networking. You can collect business cards and email addresses so you can contact them when your project goes live.

Local businesses and groups might let you put up flyers and posters in their windows to get the attention of other people in the community.

Keep engaging

Don’t stop engaging with people and spreading the word. Make sure your community feels valued at the start, middle, and end of your crowdfunding journey.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to our Knowledge Hub.

The post Crowdfunder Stories | Watch the series appeared first on Crowdfunder Stories.

The crowdfunding journey from start to finish

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:57:43 +0000

What does the crowdfunding journey look like? While every project is different, there are many elements that every campaign will involve.

It’s not magic, it’s planning! That’s how crowdfunding projects become successful. It’s important that project owners understand what’s involved, ensuring they can put in the time and energy required to run a great campaign. We created this handy timeline to help you understand what’s involved and give you a starting point when creating your own crowdfunding project plan.

Get inspired

Take a look at other projects who have raised money with Crowdfunder. Note how they put their page together and told their story, as well as the kinds of rewards they offered. Think about what you like about each project and what would motivate you to pledge.

Set your goals

It’s important to have a clear vision for what you want to achieve with your Crowdfunder project, so that you can stay focused on those goals. Think about your personal expectations and what success looks like for you.

Build your team

Build a small crowdfunding team of people you trust to share ideas with and to start the conversation. This could include colleagues, family or friends, along with others who want to help make your idea a reality. Think about who might have skills or expertise that will be useful when crowdfunding.

Map your network

Gather your team together and start mapping out your network to gain a better understanding of the shape and size of your crowd.

Calculate your target

Your crowdfunding target needs to be a balance between what you need to make your idea happen and what you can raise from your crowd. Make sure you set a realistic target – remember that you can always raise more and stretch your target to a bigger number once you hit 100%.

Complete your project page

When someone lands on your project page, you need to make a connection quickly and get them excited about your plans. Make the most of this opportunity with a well-written story, engaging video and attractive rewards.

Verify your financials

You’ll need to verify your identity as the project owner and enter the financial details of where you want the money pledged from the crowd to go. Verification can take up to 48 hours to complete, so make sure you complete this step in plenty of time before you plan to launch.

Get feedback

Send your preview link to friends and family that you trust to give honest feedback. Ask them to highlight anything you could add or change to make your page more engaging.

Apply for +Extra funding

To give your project the best chance of receiving +Extra funding, it’s a good idea to complete any applications once your project page is complete, but before it goes live.

You’ll need to think about how to promote your project to potential supporters. There are a number of ways to shout about what you’re doing, from word of mouth to social media. Make sure you have a plan for each day of your campaign.

Launch checklist

Review our launch checklist to make sure you’re ready to go live. Make sure you tick everything off to give your project the strongest start.

Go live

Once your project is live it will be ready to start accepting pledges and donations. You can make a pledge on your own project to get it off the ground, before contacting family and friends.

Build momentum

Start with the people closest to you and work your way out to your community and beyond. As your project gains more support, it’ll start to look more attractive to people outside of your immediate network.

Engage your supporters

Use project updates to harness the power of your supporters and encourage them to become your loudest promoters.

Celebrate milestones

Break down your target into smaller goals and celebrate each one as you go. This could be reaching 100 supporters or 50% of your target, for example. Use project updates to celebrate with your supporters.

Review your plan

Most projects will experience a quieter patch around the middle of the campaign. This is the perfect time to look back on how effective your efforts have been so far. Use the information on your live dashboard to see what’s been working well for your project and review your plan. Do more of what’s working well for your project and less of the things that aren’t making an impact.

Countdown to close

As your project nears its deadline, you can make the most of the sense of urgency to drive more interest. Go back to your network map one last time and check you’ve not missed anyone. Ensure that everyone knows this is the last chance to get involved and support your idea.

Say thank you

Once your project has closed, remember to thank everyone as loudly and publicly as you can. You could also share the final figures and any acknowledgments on social media.

Receive your funding

Your funding will usually be transferred into your bank account within seven working days after your project has closed. Because our partners have a number of additional due diligence checks in place, it can take a little longer to process extra funding pledges.

Fulfil rewards

After you have received your funding, any rewards that have been pledged on will need to be fulfilled. It’s important to be transparent, so if rewards are going to be delayed, keep your supporters updated.

Stay in touch

You can continue to send project updates in the future to keep your supporters in the loop and let them know how your project is progressing. We hope to see you again for your next crowdfunding project soon!

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to our Knowledge Hub.

The post Crowdfunder Stories | Watch the series appeared first on Crowdfunder Stories.

Finding your crowd

Communities Fund — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:40:19 +0000

Where do pledges come from? It starts with the people around you.

Crowdfunding is all about connecting with people. As it takes place online, it can be easy to forget that behind each pledge is a real person. In this piece we’re going to look at how to find your crowd of supporters for your crowdfunding project.

To make your project a success, you’ll need to engage with a wide and varied network of people. This might sound like a big undertaking, but we can break it down into manageable tasks. To get started, you’ll need to identify your crowd, their motivations and how you’ll connect with them.

Why people support projects

Your crowd is made up of people who support what your project is trying to achieve. They may have different motivations for supporting your project, but they all want to see your project succeed. Let’s look at the three key reasons why people support crowdfunding projects:

You have a close relationship, so they want to support you personally
They believe in your aims and think it’s a worthwhile project
They want to get their hands on one of your rewards.

These three groups should be the starting point when mapping out your network. While people can fit into two or even all three groups, we’ll keep things simple and look at each one in turn. You might want to draw this out as a mindmap on a big piece of paper, jot it down as a list, or even make a detailed spreadsheet – whatever works for you.

Personal support

These are all the people that are likely to support your crowdfunding project just because you are the one doing it. This group of people will look a little different for everyone, but here are some examples that commonly feature:

Partners, husbands and wives
Friends
Parents and grandparents
Siblings and their partners
Colleagues and leaders.

There might also be subcategories within some of these groups that you can list. For example, within your list of friends, you could include school friends, university friends, friends from a sports club or group you’re involved with. Once you’ve listed as many different pockets of people as you can, make sure you take the time to go through and jot down individual names. This will probably take a little while, but it’ll be worth the effort later.

The believers

This next group is really important to spend some time mapping out. If you can harness the support of people who believe your project is worthwhile, you’ll be well on your way to success. The shape and nature of people that fit into this group will vary depending on the focus of your project. Let’s look at an example to show this.

Haircuts4Homeless is a registered charity building a community of hairdresser volunteers who give their time free of charge to provide haircuts for people suffering from homelessness in the UK. They were crowdfunding to print a photo book documenting their work over the last two years. If we were to map out the pockets of people that could be motivated to support this project, because they believe it’s worthwhile, it might look something like this:

People who have experienced homelessness
Friends and family of people who have experienced homelessness
People who are passionate about the issue of homelessness in the UK
Hairdressers who have been involved with the project
Friends and family of hairdressers who have been involved with the project
Hairdressers who relate to and admire the project
Other volunteers and staff
People who follow Haircuts4Homeless on social media
People who live near to a Haircuts4Homeless location
Fans of Jack Eames’ photography work
Collectors of unique photo books.

The list could go on and on! As you can see here, each of these groups has something that connects them to the project in question. It could be a passion, interest or just physical location. Make sure you list out every little cluster of people that you can think of for your own project.

Motivated by rewards

For most crowdfunding projects, their rewards are closely linked to what they’re aiming to achieve. As we haven’t looked at rewards in too much detail yet, you might decide to come back to mapping out this part of your crowd later. In the meantime, take a look at 55 reward ideas to get a good sense of what makes an attractive reward.

If you’ve already pinned down the rewards you’re going to offer, the next bit is easy. Go through each reward in turn, listing out any additional groups of people that might be interested in pledging on it.

Your crowd

By now, you should have lots and lots of people on your list. This is the basis of your crowd! Remember, your crowd is always growing, so add additional people on as you go forward.

If you’d like to take this exercise even further, you can start to highlight any key people whose support could be really critical to your project. This might be someone who is well-respected in your community, a team captain or coach, the boss at work, or anyone else who has clout or influence. These are the people whose support is likely to unlock support from others.

There you have it – your crowd.

Looking for more guidance on your crowdfunding project? Head over to the Knowledge Hub.

The post Crowdfunder Stories | Watch the series appeared first on Crowdfunder Stories.

Kindness Homeless Street

Communities Fund — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 09:50:31 +0000

Kindness Homeless Street Team raised £45,000 with the Aviva Community Fund – helping to open a new café that offers food and support in a safe, warm environment.

Laura McSorley – a Customer Team Manager at Aviva – started Kindness in December 2019. Laura saw the challenges facing vulnerable people in the place she lives and works and knew she wanted to help. She and a small group of friends and family began to hand out sandwiches and supplies to homeless people out of the boot of a car. Now, the charity has over 70 regular volunteers, including Aviva colleagues, who give up to 300 people a week a meal and a listening ear.

And that’s not all. Laura and her team pick up unwanted furniture for people being housed without possessions to encourage them to stay home and safe. They help those who need it get in touch with charities to support with job and housing applications. They run a soup kitchen two nights a week, collect food that would otherwise go to waste to turn into tasty meals, and open a drop-in foodbank four days a week where people can receive clothing supplies and food parcels.

But what the charity really wanted was a community café. They didn’t want people to queue in the cold and rain for food while also fostering community engagement and addressing isolation. So, Laura bought Kindness to the Aviva Community Fund platform to raise much-needed funds. And it was a success. Using the £45,000 raised, the Kindness Café came to life. It’s been kitted out to offer a hot meal and some much-needed warmth, as well as a listening ear for Laura’s local community.

As well as providing food every day, volunteers at the café teach basic low-cost cooking skills to help people budget their money and provide nutritional meals for themselves and their families. And recently, Aviva Glasgow colleagues served up a three-course lunch for the elderly. The experience helped them better understand issues facing vulnerable customers and they said that the smile on people’s faces made it feel really worthwhile.

Laura shared, “We had three people (who’d previously used our services) in a week that visited us at the soup kitchen. One had a diploma from university, one had a house and progressed in their job, and another had just obtained a full-time tenancy for his property. That was three people in a week that came back to say, ‘This is the difference you helped us to make’.”

Laura and her volunteers are dedicated to helping people experience kindness and grow in their lives.

Does your cause support financial wellbeing or climate action? Apply to the Aviva Community Fund today and you could get your donations doubled.

Funding is available for organisations looking to raise up to £50,000 and eligible causes can apply at any time.

The post Crowdfunder Stories | Watch the series appeared first on Crowdfunder Stories.

Crowdfunder | Stories

Why you should send project updates

In a recent Crowdfunder survey, 84% of supporters said that receiving project updates is important to them.

Motivate potential supporters to pledge

Empower existing supporters to spread the word

Build stronger relationships for the future

AND FINALLY…

Using social media to promote your project

So, you’ve set up your project and you’re excited about sharing it with the world. But how do you do it?

Mix it up

Eye-catching images

The wonderful world of gifs

Connect with Crowdfunder

Use hashtags

Our top tips for each social media platform

Launch checklist

Ready to go live? Check through this list before you launch.

Save the date

Proof read your project page

Double check your target

Connect your social media accounts

Apply for +Extra funding

Note your project link

Review the plan

Prepare plenty of images

Write your messages

Warm up your crowd

Create a press release

Line up your first pledges

Enjoy the ride

Five things to consider when setting your target

When it comes to setting your target, there are some things you need to consider. After all, the correct target is vital to running a successful Crowdfunder.

1. How much do you need to make your project happen?

2. How big and engaged is your crowd?

3. Have you accounted for rewards and delivery?

4. Are you aware of Crowdfunder’s fees?

5. Have you done a final sense check?

How to nail your project video

While adding a video to your page isn’t mandatory, research suggests it’s incredibly worthwhile.

Be the critic

TOP TIPS TO NAIL YOUR CROWDFUNDING VIDEO

Telling your story

When someone lands on your project page, you need to make a connection quickly and get them excited about your plans.

Key points

Structure

Top tips

Building your community

When it comes to crowdfunding, you need people to support you every step of the way. This could be with their money, time, and their help spreading the word.

Let people know what you’re planning

Engage your existing database

Using online groups

Get out and about

Keep engaging

The crowdfunding journey from start to finish

What does the crowdfunding journey look like? While every project is different, there are many elements that every campaign will involve.

Get inspired

Set your goals

Build your team

Map your network

Calculate your target

Complete your project page

Verify your financials

Get feedback

Apply for +Extra funding

Create a promo plan

Launch checklist

Go live

Build momentum

Engage your supporters

Celebrate milestones

Review your plan

Countdown to close

Say thank you

Receive your funding

Fulfil rewards

Stay in touch

Finding your crowd

Where do pledges come from? It starts with the people around you.

Why people support projects

Personal support