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Crowdfunding: An Innovative Way To Fundraise For College Libraries
You might be wondering, "What's crowdfunding and why makes it innovative?" Crowdfunding is "a way to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to donate money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period of time, such as a few months," according to GrantSpace: a service of Foundation Center.
With the help of social networks, crowdfunding is completely online which makes it easy for people to get involved with a cause or project and share the word via their social networks (GrantSpace: a service of Foundation Center).
Chris Cox and Rod Library's Crowdfunding Campaign
Chris Cox, Dean of Rod Library - Source: From the Dean - Rod Library
I was lucky enough to get an interview with Chris Cox to talk about Rod Library's crowdfunding campaign.
Background on Cox
He is the Dean of Library Services at the University of Northern Iowa. His roles include determining the strategic direction for the library, managing the library's budget, promoting the library and encouraging Rod Library's staff, faculty, and student assistants (like me!) to raise up to their immense potential.
Crowdfunding: what is it?
According to Cox, crowdfunding is reaching out to a larger audience to raise money to accomplish a goal or project. The KickStarter platform or through social media are a couple of resources one could use to complete a campaign of this nature.
Cox believes there is a difference between tradition fundraising—which is done with a few large donations—and crowdfunding—which is done through a multitude of small and independent gifts.
"The benefits are that you get to reach out to a new group of potential donors. The drawback - that you need to have a project which resonates with donors or you won't be able to meet your fundraising goals," said Cox.
Northern Iowa Jones and the Quest for the Surface Hub
Rod Library launched crowdfunding campaign of their very own to purchase a Microsoft Surface Hub. This collaborative tool was chosen "because it offered the opportunity to provide a new collaborative technology to students and faculty," and the library didn't have $7,500 to purchase one on their own.
Cox explained the next few steps for this 'quest'. "The library put together a planning committee to work with the University Foundation to put the campaign together. We used UNI's crowdfunding platform, PawPrint, and developed a marketing plan and video to reach out to prospective donors." As for the video, the planning committee chose a whimsical and humorous approach for the campaign rather than an upfront and direct approach—the final idea was a parody of Indiana Jones.
For your enjoyment, here is the cheeky promotional video. (You might see a familiar face.)
Northern Iowa Jones' Successful Quest
They needed to raise $7,500 in 30 days. Quite an ambitious feat for some, but not for Rod Library and its faithful supporters. They instead raised $8,622, which surpassed the goal by over $1,000, and met in 29 days. Almost 100 donors contributed with "an average donation of $66.40."
"We have since purchased the Hub, which lives in library room 287. We are one of the first libraries in the country to have one. In recognition of the campaign, Rod Library won the 2016 Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development Award [administrated by the American Library Association]," said Cox, when asked about the campaign's success.
Future Crowdfunding Campaigns?
When asked the question about what changes he would like to see with future campaigns, Cox said, "I'd like to involve UNI students and faculty at the start so we know we have a compelling project for them to fund. Also, I'd like to start planning earlier - a lot of prep goes into to running a successful campaign."
It Takes A Community...
Creating a crowdfunding campaign is no easy feet. Just ask Chris Cox, and I did. "It took a lot of work to generate the money - over 10,000 emails, 1,000 postcards, and lots of social media posts. It wasn't as easy as simply having a good idea and putting it out there, which is what many people expect from crowdfunding," explained Cox.
Cox went on to say that even though the many hours of hard work and dedication, he believes crowdfunding is beneficial way to fundraise. He gave me this statistic: "of the 99 donors, 72 or 73% of them gave to the Rod Library for the first time. This is phenomenal and wouldn't have happened with a traditional annual giving campaign."
From A Dean To Another:
"Academic libraries are just beginning to scratch the surface of the potential of crowdfunding. I think it's a great, creative way to reach out to new, potential donors," said Cox.
Be sure to stop by Rod Library, room 287 to check the Hub out!
Stay tuned for next week's post!
Sources:
GrantSpace: a service of Foundation Center
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