crowdfunding for social causes – Page 15

July 24, 2017July 25, 2017

Success Story: Where There’s a Wil There’s a Way

“My name is Dina and I live in Ontario, Canada. My brother Phil and I decided to use Chuffed to help raise money for our older brother Wil who is just starting his fight with mouth and throat cancer.

Like so many people, Wil lives from paycheque to paycheque. He has a modest life, he is proud and independent living by himself in a small town in Quebec. With the doctors telling him what the ordeal will mean for him, the surgeries, the treatments, the recovery, Wil is very anxious about how he will pay his rent and his bills when he will be unable to work. While healthcare is free in Canada, there are many other expenses he can’t afford.

Since the campaign was started on Wil’s birthday, we have found out that Wil’s first surgery will be in August and he will not be able to work for the remainder of the year. We want Wil to be focusing on fighting and recovering and not worrying about paying his bills without an income. He is anxious about other likely expenses that he hasn’t even considered. Wil has been told that he will need to stay near the hospital (home is almost an hour away) to receive chemotherapy and radiation treatments. How will he afford to do this?

My brothers and I all live in different parts of the country and see each other once or twice a year. Phil and I are supporting Wil emotionally, and we can only help him so much with the financial challenges he will face.

There must be many who find themselves in a similar predicament as our brother Wil. We want to raise awareness and build a community that come together to help Wil and people in a similar situation. People who can help with a donation, locals who can donate time to help him get to appointments, perhaps even people who can prepare and deliver food to him during his recovery.

We hope to prove that Where There’s a Wil . . . there is a way!”

Learn more about the campaign to support Wil below:

July 21, 2017July 21, 2017

Success Story: Team Philippines

“In 2010 I was invited, as a GP, to go to the Philippines as part of a medical mission to visit and assist impoverished communities who had been affected by a major flood in Manila. We visited 4 communities, one of whom had been completely displaced by the floods. The government had resettled them in a tiny rural region south east of Manilla, called Calauan. They were living in single room concrete besser block homes with no electricity, no running water, and no access to shops, work, education, fresh food or rubbish disposal. Children were fed one small rice meal per day and there was widespread malnourishment and poor health. The men disappeared for weeks in Manila, finding work to provide their families with some source of income.

The initial trip was a very one-dimensional experience. I felt like we were there to provide momentary western medical ‘magic’ with no longer-term vision of meaningfully improving the health of these communities. It felt like the mission was all about making us feel good, rather than creating real change for the people we were meant to be helping.

Back home I knew that to really make a difference we needed a different approach. In partnership with St Barnabas Broadway and Calvary Christian Fellowship, a plan evolved that sought to improve the health and vitality of the community through long term health care alongside community led education programs—the idea was to teach the community to fish. A novel part of the plan was to invite medical (and dental) students to participate in the medical clinics, giving them access to hands-on experience in a sustained social justice project and the chance to have a direct positive impact on the health of a grateful community in need.

Now, we employ a community nurse, farmer, pastor/youth worker, cook and teacher. We have established a community pharmacy and health clinic, childcare and early education program aligned to a feeding program for severely malnourished children, livelihood programs and a youth centre and youth group. Twice a year, 16 medical students from the University of Notre Dame Australia and 2-3 dental students accompany a small team of dedicated, fully qualified and deeply experienced volunteer doctors and dentists to run intensive medical and dental clinics alongside the education program. They are supported by a team of workers who upgrade and maintain the community’s shared facilities and infrastructure. Recently, in July this year, the team was able to see and help over 500 members of the community in the clinics. The success of this program is driven by our committed team of volunteers, the enthusiasm of the medical and dental students and the ongoing generous donations from hundreds of supporters to fund the required medical and dental supplies.”

Check out Team Philippine’s crowdfunding campaign page:

July 20, 2017July 27, 2017

Success Story: Left Voice

“We’re a group of revolutionary socialists who all have jobs outside our political work. Some of us are also students. What we have in common is our political position on the need for socialism to put an end to economic, racial, and gender-based oppression and the destruction of the planet. Because of this, we run, write for, and edit a website, leftvoice.org. We’re really committed to this and spend a lot of our time on the project.

We all have different paths to socialism: some of us are from outside the US and were involved in the left before moving to the US; some of us have been active in various movements and groups in the US. But we all have life experiences that have shown us that capitalism is a system that requires oppression to concentrate money and resources away from regular working people. We have union organising experience that has proven that collective worker actions can improve the working conditions, salaries, and lives of all workers, and this has given us confidence that the workers have the power to change society and create a socialist system.

Just 3 weeks ago, we saw PepsiCo workers occupy their factory in Argentina to fight against the plant’s sudden closure. Though they’ve faced brutal police repression, they are continuing to fight!

If we collect $ 4,000 or more, we will be able to donate money to workers of PepsiCo and the worker-managed Zanon and MadyGraf, to help them in their struggle against job losses and for the rights of the workers to democratically control their workplaces. This has made us all the more excited to travel to Argentina to see the work of the Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (Socialist Workers’ Party) and to learn how we can bring some of these methods back to organise in our own schools and workplaces. We’ll also share our experience with others on these methods on the Left Voice website which was launched in June 2015 and keeps growing as more workers and students contribute.”

Learn more about LeftVoice’s campaign here:

Watch their video below:

July 19, 2017July 19, 2017

Success Story: Yarn for Baby Blankets

“I used to knit when I lived in Norway: jumpers, socks, beanies… When I moved to Townsville in tropical north Queensland, I had to rethink what to make in the hot climate. I started knitting toys, tea cozies, tissue box covers, and fingerless gloves – because that aircon can be freezing some days – and enjoyed selling them at monthly craft markets. I loved the feedback (and inspiration) from customers, and with the sales I enjoyed a free hobby.

But I was also looking for a charity I could help (with my knitting) in my own town: one that I had a personal connection to, and could help long term.

My work in vegetation management used to take me to pastoral properties all over regional Queensland, and I enjoyed the country, the people and their hospitality. And the Ronald McDonald house provides accommodation for those outback families, so they can stay close to their seriously ill child for weeks or months. Therefore I had once registered as a volunteer at the Townsville Ronald McDonald House. But at the time I registered as a volunteer, they were only after weekday volunteers, which I could not combine with my full time job. But I had mentioned I loved knitting, and knitted some donations instead.

At some point I dropped off a donation of “lego box tissue box covers” at the Ronald McDonald House, which the volunteers thought would look cheerful the living rooms. When I asked what else I could knit, they mentioned baby blankets were always appreciated. I then found out that Townsville is the only other hospital in Queensland outside Brisbane that has a neonatal intensive care unit to care for pre-term and very ill babies. And my sister had a preemie 13 years ago. She told me how hard it was to leave the hospital those 4 weeks her little girl had to stay there: she wanted to be there day and night.

So when the volunteer coordinator asked me a few weeks later if I could perhaps start teaching mums to knit baby blankets for their own child: I thought that was a great idea! Not only would that provide the mums with that much needed baby blanket: the knitting itself can be therapeutical during stressful times, and the blanket is both personal and unique. The pattern or the colours can reflect the families’ passion: being horses, the ocean or the local rugby team.

So far, I have been surprised by in-kind material donations, which I am currently trying to match up so colours “make sense” for babies. Initially I didn’t think black and navy were particular baby like, but while browsing pictures for inspirations, I realised a black and white zig-zag blanket can look very “posh”. While the Cowboys, the Townsville rugby team and popular throughout regional Queensland, is navy, grey and yellow. Perfect match!”

Check out this lovely campaign here:

July 13, 2017July 18, 2017

Success Story: Homeless Healthcare

“I started working for Homeless Healthcare almost 8 years ago initially as their bookkeeper but given my enthusiasm for the cause, my role has expanded to include communications, marketing and now fundraising! They are a charity dedicated to providing healthcare to the homeless and marginally housed people of Perth.

Over the years I have been inspired by the amazing medical staff and their patience and dedication to the cause plus their ability to remain positive when faced with realities that are at times quite grim.

Two and a half years ago Homeless Healthcare started their Street Health program with the assistance of start-up funds from Impact100. Street Health targets rough sleepers who are not engaged with any social or medical services in our community. They are found in the parks, public gardens, doorways and pavements of the CBD, and are among the most disenfranchised and marginalised people in our society.

Rough sleepers have the worst health outcomes in our state with an average life expectancy of only 45 years and are notoriously difficult to engage because of their high levels of traumatic life experience. So as you can imagine, our nurses are pretty special people, full of empathy and compassion.

Their initial focus is on engagement, gaining trust and encouraging rough sleepers to start using services such as drop in centres and Homeless Healthcare GP clinics. The nurses provide basic medical care on the streets like blood pressure and blood sugar checks, suturing of small lacerations and doing wound dressings.

One patient recently said “Without Homeless Healthcare and its Street Health nurses I think I would be dead by now”. They helped to stabilise her diabetes and connect her to mental health services. There are countless stories similar to this. Their work is valuable, often lifesaving and has prevented many costly Emergency Department admissions.

We receive some funding from the Health Department for other services we provide but to date have had no success getting Street Health included. As of the 1^st July 2017 our funding for the program ran out which is why we decided to crowdfund on Chuffed.org.

After only 2 weeks of crowdfunding on Chuffed we managed to raise almost $23,000 which illustrates the level of public support there is for the program and enables our nurses to continue to provide care for another few months. Meantime we are doing all we can to secure funding from another source.”

View the Homeless Healthcare campaign below:

July 13, 2017July 18, 2017

Success Story: Join the Local Food Revolution by Growing Abundance

“I grew up with an immigrant father – his background is Italian and none of his family came to Australia with him. In Italy, food is central to culture. For an immigrant in Australia, food is a living link to the homeland, the family and that distant culture. Subsequently, food and its origins are an important part of my life. I grew up around food, we grew some and celebrated food regularly – much of it not common in Australia at that time. We would go to Italian Delis to procure the meats and vegetables of his homeland, we ate seasonally and preserved the gluts of the season as many traditional cultures do. My parents also owned hotels and made food a very special part of that.

As an adult, I studied permaculture, art and community development and worked as a cook. After having 3 children, food and health became central to my daily life. I wanted to provide my children healthy and sustainable food that would not ‘cost the earth’. I came to The Growing Abundance Project in 2011 with a passion for food and the issues that were intersecting with corporate food production. Food is transported many miles to get to our plates but we are disconnected from our land and especially our farmers, who are increasingly paid less than they need to survive. As I learnt more about our current food systems, I felt increasingly angry that consumers are generally unaware of the inequity in those systems.

The Growing Abundance Project was spearheaded by local people in Castlemaine, Victoria, but it was Lucy Young who really held the seed of intention and the vision for what it could be to build a viable local food system. Over the years we have had many committed and passionate people who have contributed so much to the project. I am currently the café manager of our latest social enterprise, The Local. A café aimed at raising awareness of food related issues as well as financially supporting our Harvest Project that ‘rescues’ backyard fruit that would otherwise go to waste and redistributes back to the entire community for free, through schools, the Salvation Army and Community Lunch. We run a number of food related programs, all aimed at connecting our community through food and raising the possibility that we can all have an impact on food systems.”

Check out their campaigns here:

July 13, 2017July 31, 2017

Success Story: Become a Friendship Sponsor by Host Nation

“My name is Anneke and earlier this year I founded HostNation because I believe in the power of friendship to transform lives. Befriending is not a new idea but it’s a simple one, and I want to deliver it in a new way. I want to use technology and the sort of software used by online dating sites to help deliver it to those, who I believe, need it the most – asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented migrants in our cities. People not defined so much by their immigration status, but by social isolation and loneliness they experience. People who feel marginalised and unwelcome and live on the fringes of our cities. Few ever meet British people informally – someone who treats them as an equal and a friend – few have ever been invited into a British home. Yet when they are it’s transformative.

I’ve witnessed this at first hand. I’ve been volunteering in the refugee sector for many years – as a befriender to unaccompanied minors I was matched with Abu 6 years ago and he’s still part of my family and calls me his UK Mum. I also run a holiday scheme for Freedom from Torture where 100 clients from across the UK are referred to our wonderful hosts families and benefit hugely from their hospitality and on-going friendship.

It seems to me that opportunities to meet socially are too few. Its really hard if you’re a migrant, new to this country to make an English friend. And its pretty hard too if you’re a citizen with goodwill towards migrants. Through City of Sanctuary and Citizens UK I’ve met so many wonderful people who want to help and connect but don’t know how. I want this to be easier because being a friend or a companion isn’t that hard. We’re social creatures and hardwired to listen, talk, share stories, laugh, drink tea and be hospitable.

HostNation is an online introductory web referral and registration process that can match-make 100s of people needing friendship with those offering it and introduce them to one another face to face in their local communities. We’ve had the idea and we’ve hit the ground running. With volunteers working pro bono we’ve launched the website, we’re registering and screening befrienders online and we’re building a robust volunteer database. We have over 125 befrienders in Greater London alone.

We believe this is too important to get wrong and are raising funds to pilot the scheme in London this year. With your help we could start connecting lonely refugees to friendly, welcoming residents within a month and start making a real difference to lives in our capital.”

Learn more about this great campaign here:

July 12, 2017July 31, 2017

Crowdfunding for Legal Action – Australia for Dolphins Case Study

Australia for Dolphins (AFD) is a not-for-profit dolphin protection organisation with just two full time staff members. Even though they’re a small team, they pack a powerful punch.

In 2015, they brought legal action against the world’s peak zoo body, resulting in more than 60 Japanese aquariums being forced to stop buying dolphins from the violent Taiji hunts. They also successfully sued the notorious Whale Museum in Taiji, the centre of the bloody dolphin hunts.

In 2017, they had their sights focused on an Australian marine park, who still held dolphins in captivity. The team decided that they were going to sue the park for false advertising – their ads that said dolphins were happy and healthy, they just aren’t true.

Here’s how they did it:

Tactic 1. To tackle a global issue, focus on one story

The global dolphin captivity industry is such a large scale global issue that it can be overwhelming and lacks an emotional hook.

Rather than focus on the industry issue, AFD focused their story on one particular dolphin at Dolphin Marine Magic.

“We realised that the best way to raise awareness about this complicated issue and drive the campaign forward was to give it a singular narrative. We focused the story on one particular dolphin, called Ji, to give people a better idea of what the bigger picture is about. The title, video, the name of the legal action were all focused on this one dolphin, Ji.”

Tactic 2. Get to new audiences by leveraging your existing ones

For AFD, whenever they run a crowdfunding campaign, they focus on using it to reach new audiences. How?

Two ways:

1. Ask their existing audiences (people who they know are passionate about the cause, including people who had previously signed petitions or signed up to their newsletter) to share their campaigns with their family, friends and networks

“We have a number of supporters that already donate to us on a regular basis, and others that have donated substantial amounts in the past. We don’t want to ask them for more funds and will often exclude them from our other fundraising asks and campaigns. We will, however, keep them updated on what we’re doing: send them an email to let them know we’ve launched a new campaign and to thank them for helping us get this far (we treat them as if they’ve already supported our campaign, because in all honesty, they’re the ones who’ve gotten us this far already!). We may still ask them to like and share our posts on Facebook, so they can help us reach more people.”

2. Run Paid Facebook Ads: Advertising petitions and crowdfunding campaigns on Facebook to selected targeted audiences. They focus on people who are interested in animal welfare or specific dolphin captivity issues.

Here’s an example of a Facebook Ad they promoted during the campaign:

This segmented approach to communications, making their core supporters feel valued and included while focusing on reaching new audiences, is a powerful strategy that has allowed AFD to grow their audience to a strong community of over 200,000 people passionate about dolphin welfare over the past few years.

“Before each campaign we benchmark our database numbers. When we advertise our petitions and advocacy campaigns – we don’t want people who’ve already signed to sign it again – so we exclude them from our email communications to make sure that all the people we are getting involved are new. With this particular campaign (which was a combination of petitions and the crowdfunding campaign), we got 20,000 new people on board, which was really great.“

Tactic 3. Get PR and media on board

The fact that AFD found an avenue of Consumer Law that allowed them to sue the marine park for misleading people to believe that their dolphins were happy and healthy was not only incredibly innovative, but also newsworthy. They knew the story had a good media hook and could get a lot of PR attention.

“A national TV show called The Project produced an exclusive segment explaining the pending legal action and the underlying issue of dolphin captivity. So, when we launched the legal action there was already interest surrounding the case.”

By having all the PR contacts and press releases lined up before launch, and letting journalists know beforehand, they were able to generate awareness during their campaign which they could then use to contact their supporters again and raise more funds.

For more tips on how to get PR on board, check out ‘5 steps to get PR for your Crowdfunding Campaign‘.

Tactic 4. Secure match funding as the ultimate incentive for giving

Perks and rewards are a great way of incentivising supporters to support your campaign or to give more than they usually would. However, because of the nature of their campaign, AFD decided that getting matched funding instead could be the ultimate reward for people to support their campaign:

“Prior to this campaign, we had run a Chuffed.org campaign to put up billboards in Tokyo to blast real images of the dolphin hunts. Each dollar raised during that campaign was matched by EthicalJobs.com.au. This time, however, the nature of what we were fundraising for was quite different and we felt we had to come up with more engaging content. We realised we had to come up with a good video and spent some time on that. But we also thought about prizes and rewards. Because matched funding had worked well in our previous campaign and the nature of the campaign, and the need to keep admin costs low prohibited us from creating fancy perks, we decided to look for match funding instead of prizes.”

This is how the match funding on their first campaign was communicated:

“We’re a really small charity, there’s only 2 full-time staff and although that has its challenges, it allows us to take a very personal approach to our donors. We’ll personally call everyone who gives more than $250 and will meet as many of them in person if we can. We’re in touch with them all the time and really build personal relationships with them. Almost like a community of people. Because we build a great relationship with donors, we find out what they’re passionate about (ie. Taiji or captivity issues). When something comes up that we think they might be interested in, we get in touch with them and see if they want to get involved. Keep them updated throughout – make them feel very involved.”

This is how they communicated the match donation to their supporters on the campaign page:

Small change, big impact

Although the crowdfunding campaign was focused on one particular marine park, the success of the case could have wide ramifications.

“This will send a very loud warning bell to big marine parks like SeaWorld. It will also set a precedent, which we hope will bolster global efforts to end dolphin captivity and help convince politicians this cruel practice has to end.” – Jordan Sosnowski

To learn more about AFD and their Crowdfunding campaigns on Chuffed.org, here are their campaigns:

https://chuffed.org/project/support-legal-action-to-expose-captive-dolphin-cruelty

https://chuffed.org/project/ethicaljobs-australia-for-dolphins-matched-donation

To support AFD’s legal action, sign their petition: https://enddolphincaptivity.afd.org.au/sign

If you are a charity, nonprofit, community group or a caring individual who wants to use crowdfunding to tackle a global issue or a local one, reach out to us at support@chuffed.org. We’re here to help.