Ten Things You Can Do to Help During an Online Crowdfunding Campaign
It Goes Well Beyond Only Donating Money
Donate money to someone you care about if you have the means (and let me be clear when I say that even $1-$5 has an impact, especially when you utilize your microdonation to get others to donate).
Engage with the content: like, share, and comment on content about crowdfunding and make sure if it is video content that you watch it all the way through.
Taking the time to engage with other commenters in the comment section of crowdfunding content is useful in pushing the content out to more people and inspiring others to donate. When you encourage/challenge other people to donate and thank those who have declared they have donated, you’re more likely to continue the collective effort of crowdfunding.
Create original content for the crowdfunding campaign, even a duet or re-upload of the content about the crowdfunding is helpful.
Engage in the chat of a live stream, reminding others of the crowdfunding campaign and how they can help. Reminding people of how easily the goal can be reached with microdonations will inspire people to give money and share the live stream with friends.
Guesting on a live stream event can be helpful to alert your following to a crowdfunding campaign and streamline the process of sharing the live to your mutuals on TikTok (which you should do as well)
Hosting a live space for crowdfunding is a great way to get donations from people. It allows you to explain the crowdfunding situation without a time limit of a video and people with hesitation can ask questions about the crowdfunding campaign.
Utilizing a background that tells people who needs help, how much they need, when they need it, and how to help, can make a crowdfunding live stream particularly effective. I strongly recommend including a breakdown for microdonations in your background and updating it as often as possible to show the progress of the crowdfunding campaign.
Offer kind words during a difficult time. Often an overlooked and underrated tactic, basic kindness goes a long way in a process that can be embarrassing for people.
There was a time while I was writing articles to sell for search engine optimization when everyone wanted to publish a top 10 list. I’m not even sure this fad completely went away so I decided to include in my writing about crowdfunding a top 10 list of what you can do to help during an online crowdfunding campaign.
My hope is to accomplish two things with this piece: Inspire people to become more involved during a crowdfunding campaign and prove that when someone says they need help crowdfunding, helping goes well beyond only giving money and there are many ways people can help crowdfund basic income for someone.
Please note that nearly all of my crowdfunding efforts have been done on the social media platforms Twitter and TikTok, so while I reference them specifically the things I say could be applied to Instagram, FaceBook, and other social media apps.
Donate
If you have the means to donate to an online crowdfunding campaign of someone you care about you should donate. Last year I had the means to budget $573 in microdonations (nearly $50 a month) that I distributed to dozens of different online crowdfunding campaigns and causes. Most of my donations were only $1 - $5 so I could give money to more people. Since they were so small in amount, I could rally other people to do the same as me which gave an even bigger impact when I donated. When you donate make sure you declare it and challenge others to do the same.
Like
Liking content about someone’s online crowdfunding campaign is something that everyone can do. It should be noted, if the content you are liking is a video then you should watch the video all the way through in addition to liking it. That way the algorithm of the platform you are viewing the video on is more likely to boost the crowdfunding content.
Boost the Content with a Thoughtful Comment
I cannot stress enough that one thing so many of the online crowdfunding campaigns that I have been a part of were missing was an active comment section. This is not always the easiest thing to coordinate but anytime you can start a conversation in a comment section or join one already happening it’s a benefit to an online crowdfunding campaign. Content with an active comment section is going to be pushed out a lot more than content with a quiet comment section. Again, if you donated, make sure you declare that and encourage others to do the same. Don’t comment that you can’t donate (I could write a whole piece on why you shouldn’t do this, scratch that, I will write a whole piece on that someday).
Engage with Comments
Ideally, you should leave a thoughtful comment and reply to anyone else who has already commented as well. Thanking someone for donating while engaging with the content goes a long way. The interaction pushes the content out and reinforces that others should donate too. Updating people on the progress of the crowdfunding campaign usually inspires them to donate again because the goal is so much closer so an update on progress is a useful reply to leave in the comment section as well.
Share the Content
Share the content that is promoting an online crowdfunding campaign. If you’re on Twitter promoting content for someone’s crowdfunding, retweet their tweets about the crowdfunding campaign. Quote tweet the tweet and add some thoughtful words about microdonations. If you’re on TikTok repost the content about the crowdfunding and share it with multiple mutuals. Ideally one or more of your mutuals will join in the collective effort but even if your messages go unread, sharing the content will still boost it out to more people's feeds.
Create original content about the online crowdfunding campaign.
If you are up for the task, create an original tweet about the online crowdfunding campaign you are invested in. A link to a Go Fund Me page and some words about it can help people find the crowdfunding campaign who never would have found it otherwise. Likewise, creating a stitch or duet with original content on TikTok helps boost the original content and puts the circumstances about the crowdfunding in front of more people. Taking it a step further and making an original TikTok about the crowdfunding is also very helpful as original content tends to do the best on any social media platform. Content updating people on the progress of the crowdfunding campaign allows for multiple original pieces to be made periodically during the crowdfunding campaign.
Engage in Live Stream Chat
Live streams on different platforms with the intent of crowdfunding are very popular. If you are engaged in the chat of a live stream on YouTube, Twitch, FaceBook, Instagram, or TikTok there is a lot you can do to help. If you’ve donated make sure you declare it and see if anyone will match you. Remind people of the crowdfunding, why the person is crowdfunding, how you can donate, and thank anyone who has liked, shared, or donated in the live. Keeping up with this engagement is almost impossible for a host to do on their own and as someone who has crowdfunded for hundreds of hours, I’m always grateful when I see the chat has people with reminders and declarations of gratitude.
Guest on Live Stream
If you are in the position to be a guest or co-host with someone on a social media platform this can be particularly helpful in reaching new people. Guesting on a live stream event can notify your following of the crowdfunding campaign live stream. This is great because it streamlines the process of sharing the live stream to people (which you should do as well). People who are following you who aren’t following the host may never have stumbled across the live or crowdfunding campaign without you guesting. People will be more confident donating if they see a familiar face on screen. Live Streams are more fun with more people so all around any time you can guest on the live stream it’s a good thing.
Host Your Own Live Stream
Everything about guesting on a live stream applies to hosting your own live stream to help someone crowdfund with a few more things to keep in mind. At the time of writing this, I’ve never hosted a live stream where I was crowdfunding for myself (I should really try that soon) but I’ve hosted hundreds of lives where I was crowdfunding for other people. It hands down is the most effective way to crowdfund quickly and efficiently. Utilize a background that streamlines the most important information: who you are crowdfunding for, why they need help, how much money they need, how you can help, when they need the money, and how many people will it take to accomplish the goal. A background alerts people to the situation and helps you remember all of the details that you have to repeat and helps people in your chat repeat it as well. There are no rules to what you can talk about while hosting a crowdfunding campaign live stream and I encourage you to keep it informative of the situation and if possible chill and fun for you, your viewers, and the person you are crowdfunding for.
Offer Kind Words to the Person Crowdfunding
I debated on grouping this in with engaging in the comments but I decided to have it as its own thing because it is so important. The vast majority of crowdfunding campaigns that I have been involved in were emotionally difficult for individuals in need. They often have a level of shame and embarrassment that while understandable giving society’s take on needing help, is no fault of their own and a societal failing. In addition to all of the aforementioned things above remember to extend some kind words to the person in need and if you’re reading this and are the person in need remember to be kind to yourself during your crowdfunding campaign.