The Internet is making it easier for donors to connect with meaningful social projects in their community and for local organizations to engage their supporters from all over. This poster presentation focuses on best practices in crowdfunding for nonprofits with an emphasis on examples of viral projects. The poster will look at past crowdfunding projects and evaluate its effectiveness. Best Practices will be identified and explored so nonprofits can utilize this new fundraising technique in the future.

1. Crowdfunding: The Future of Nonprofit Fundraising
Jacklyn Brown, Emily Flynt, Victoria Guest, Julie Holt, and Melissa Thompson
George Dean Johnson Jr School of Business and Economics
University of South Carolina Upstate
800 University Way Spartanburg SC 29485
Brownj92, eflynt, vguest, holtjy, thompsmf@email.uscupstate.edu
Abstract — The Internet is making it easier for donors to connect with meaningful social projects in their community and for
local organizations to engage their supporters from all over. This poster presentation focuses on best practices in crowdfunding
for nonprofits with an emphasis on examples of viralprojects. The poster will look at past crowdfunding projects and evaluate its
effectiveness. Best Practices will be identified and explored so nonprofits can utilize this new fundraising technique in the future.
Keywords — Crowdfunding, Nonprofit, Fundraising, Online Fundraising
Introduction
Crowdfunding is a new fundraising tool that has emerged in the past few years. Crowdfunding is an online platform
that allows users to donate to causes and projects they feel passionate about. It is also a platformfor nonprofits to
tell their story and spread awareness. Crowdfunding sites have been on the rise and they are not always used
efficiently. This poster presentation will look into crowdfunding projects and identify best practices for nonprofits.
The poster will also emphasize viral projects and what makes them viral. Then the viral qualities will be applied to
nonprofits to show how nonprofits can create viral projects.
2. Crowdfunding Basics
Since crowdfunding is a relatively new topic, there has been some conflict about how to define crowdfunding. One
way to define crowdfunding is an open call over the internet asking for monetary donations often in exchange for
some future product or service. By using the internet, crowdfunding allows creators to interact with funders through
an online payment system. Crowdfunding is based off the internet so one common problem for nonprofits is to
decide which platform to use. There are over 50 platforms in the US each with its own advantages and
disadvantages.Nonprofits need to evaluate each platform and decide which platform fits their program the best.
Then the nonprofit needs to create a profile and upload their project details, goals for funds, and a timeline for the
project. Many projects have accompanied videos and photos.Creating a timeline is important because giving
deadlines creates a sense of urgency for the donors.After the page is created, the nonprofit now has the job to
market and share the project to gain views and potential donors.Crowdfunding is a new emerging technology
3. Best Practices
The first step nonprofits need to do is to set goals for their crowdfunding project. It is important for the goals to be
smart objectives that align with the mission of the organization. The goals should answer three questions:what is the
problem you’re looking to solve, whom or what are you trying to impact, and how will you do it.
The next step is for nonprofits to decide their donation tiers and whether or not to provide rewards. It is best for the
rewards to be exciting and creative not just swag with the organization logo. The program planner has to think about
the donors and what they would want to use that creates a deeper connection with the donor.Also make sure the
reward matches with the mission of the organization. Donation tiers allow donors severaloptions of giving. But
donation tiers are also good because you can pair donation tires with tangible benefits that their donation will
provide.
The next step nonprofits need to think about is gathering an audience. Program planners need to define what their
target audience is. It is recommended that organizations think beyond their current donors.If the organization has a
strategic partner, then utilizing their outreach may be helpful. The program planner may also want to reach out to
reporters to get the word out about the project locally.

2. The next step nonprofits need to think about is how the story is going to be conveyed.The story needs to be
interesting and creative. It is recommended that the program starts with a short informational video. Many
crowdfunding platforms have a placeholder for videos and it is expected that there is one. There are also many other
apps and softwares out there that can make the project materials stand out from the crowd.
4. Motivations for Giving
5. Examples
Conclusions
Crowdfunding is a great tool for nonprofits to use to raise funds for a project. The project can range anywhere from
an annual giving campaign to building a product for someone. Crowdfunding is an easy way to get in touch with
many people quickly and effectively. Different people give for different reasons. Crowdfunding allows the creator to
customize their project page to attract a wide range of donors by touching on those motivations. What makes
crowdfunding special is the creativeness and the share-ability. With crowdfunding platforms available, the
possibilities for creativeness are endless. Each platform allows users to do different things and really let the project
page reflect the organization. Crowdfunding is also a good tool because people can easily share the project page.
Because crowdfunding takes places all online, funders can share their favorite projects to all their friends through
various social media sites. If the project page is done well, it can become viral in no time. Crowdfunding has proven
to be effective in the past and will continue to grow in the coming years.
Acknowledgements (12pt font, bold)
(10pt font) Place any acknowledgements here. DO NOT USE FOOTNOTES!!
References (12pt font, bold)
(10pt font) Use APA style.