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Tailored crowdfunding: Jonathan May on how universities can target alumni more effectively in order to improve their fundraising results.

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorMay, Jonathan
PositionINFORM

When I was at university, I raised money for my varsity cricket team by asking former students to help fund the purchase of new sporting equipment. In return for offering .C600, the donors were invited to play in a match against the current side. As a result, an idea was born that would develop years later into a model concept of crowdfunding for organisations such as educational institutions.

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IN A SENSE, appealing to alumni using such a community-based approach is an example of what has always been in existence but is now labelled crowdfunding. Although crowdfunding has been around for about 10 years as a digital concept, it wasn't used to great effect before about 2008.

SPONSORCRAFT is based on the principle that, although universities and similar institutions worldwide have managed to raise billions of pounds over the years, this money has come mainly from companies and rich individuals. The relatively expensive and inefficient fundraising methods that they have traditionally applied have failed to capitalise on a much larger audience of people and organisations that would donate if they were engaged effectively.

BY BUILDING a relationship based on trust, where the key element is social contact, organisations such as universities can build strong relationships with former students until they reach a point when they have the means to donate regularly. Often this is not for some years, but, once they are engaged effectively, they are likely to remain close to the organisation.

BY USING a crowdfunding platform, where sponsorship is sought from a...

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