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Crowdfunding for Nonprofits

Launch a crowdfunding campaign that catches fire and hits its goal.

35 min Beginner 8 modules Pass 80%
For: Nonprofit fundraisers and development staff

What you’ll learn

  • Set a realistic crowdfunding goal and timeline
  • Craft a story and video that motivate sharing
  • Drive early momentum through a quiet phase and launch
  • Build a promotion plan and use matching gifts to multiply impact

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Course outline

  1. 1

    What crowdfunding is — and isn’t

    Crowdfunding is raising money for a specific goal by collecting many small gifts from a large number of people, usually through an online campaign page with a…

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  2. 2

    Picking a platform & understanding fees

    Your platform is where the campaign lives — so the choice matters, but not as much as people fear.

    6 min Quiz Interactive
  3. 3

    The campaign arc: quiet phase to final push

    Successful campaigns follow a predictable shape.

    6 min Quiz Interactive
  4. 4

    The early-momentum rule

    If you remember one rule from this course, make it this: raise the first chunk before you go public.

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  5. 5

    The story & the video

    People don’t give to budgets; they give to stories about a person who needs help and a way to help right now.

    6 min Quiz Interactive
  6. 6

    Rewards, perks & matching gifts

    Two levers reliably increase both the number of gifts and their size: small thank-you perks that make donors feel part of something, and matching gifts that make…

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  7. 7

    The promotion plan

    A great page with no promotion raises almost nothing.

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  8. 8

    After the campaign: stewardship

    The campaign ends; the relationship shouldn’t.

    4 min Quiz Interactive

Sources & further reading

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