You Ask, We Answer: The Future of Crowdfunding

Last Wednesday we had another interesting Twitter Q&A and would like to give more in depth answers to your questions. Here we go!

Q: What do you expect to see in crowdfunding trends? Will crowdfunding startups drop off due to saturation?

A: We’re just getting started! Saturation means high demand for the new model of raising funds for good.Saturation drives competition, resulting in companies striving to create a better, more efficient ,and easy to use product at a lower cost. Just as with any new idea or trend, many companies jump into the market and only the strong survive. Think back to the mid 1990’s and the emersion of Starbucks. What started out as a few shops in the northwest soon blossomed into an every corner affair throughout the world. Many other chains jumped onto the java train and created a saturated market. While hundreds of Starbucks franchises closed and only the premium competition survived the winnowing process, the caffeine addiction clearly staked its claim into the fabric of our culture. It may not be the frenzy it once was, but the taste for high quality coffee at the drive through has even made its way onto McDonald’s menus.

Just as Starbucks altered our view of the simple beverage, so crowdfunding has incorporated its way into the psyche of nonprofit fundraising. Obviously natural disasters are never good, but from the American Red Cross efforts surrounding Hurricane Katrina to the tsunami in Japan, crowdfunding has become the new norm of joining the masses together for social good. Fundly is proud to be one of the first companies to unite social media with social good, and our statistics show that this avenue of fundraising is only getting stronger as donors gain trust and experience with online resources. The access to the multitudes and the convenience of the internet are incomparable to traditional methods of reaching potential supporters.

Q: If the industry is over saturated, will we see new crowdfunding sites dropping off because of not gaining favorability?

A: It’s safe to say some will be successful and some won’t. The exciting part is competition drives donations and an ever-improving product. The crowdfunding sites that will continue to go strong and gain favorability are the ones that listen to their customers, evolve with the ever changing use of the internet, and provide ease of use to customers. Every online company seems to ebb and flow (even the giants such as Apple and Yahoo!), but innovation seems to be at the core of its stability and longevity.  At Fundly we are continually testing our product, partnering with our clients to gauge their successes (check out our weekly Fundly Spotlight), and analyzing market and fundraising trends.

Q: I’ve just started researching using your site. Can I add donations made in our office manually to a campaign?

A: Yes! You can add offline donations to the total and allow donors to receive updates on the campaign. The purpose of a Fundly fundraising page is to show your progress, celebrate those who donated, and share your cause with potential supporters. The Fundly dashboard allows you to easily add offline donations: from the dashboard, select “Enter Offline Donations” in the left-hand colomn and input the donor’s name, email, and amount donated. These donations will be reflected on your fundraising total and thermometer and will also appear in the export of donor data.

Do you have a question about online fundraising for one of our Fundly professionals? Follow #fundraisingtips on Twitter every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. We look forward to helping you create successful online fundraising campaigns to promote your cause. If you won’t be able to attend the Q&A, leave your question in the comment section below and look for it in the recap next week!