Original rewards
Original rewards make it more fun to contribute to the project. A symbolic thank you, an invitation to an opening or a product are ways to involve supporters in your project. And rewards make it likely more people will donate or will donate more. That’s kind of important! Be creative and step in your audience’s shoes: where would you like to spend money? Think of five to seven different rewards for amounts from €10 to €500. We’ll give you some tips you can use in your campaign.
Three reasons to use awards
Original and appealing rewards are the key difference between a traditional fundraiser and a successful crowdfunding campaign. Three reasons to choose rewards for your crowdfunding campaign:
1.Make it more fun to donate and to get bigger donations
First of all, donations make it more fun to contribute; it entices supporters to make bigger donations. If you add a digital thank you with €10, an invitation to the opening party with €25 and an exclusive sweater with €50, many more people will choose the higher donation. By choosing a smart reward system and give expensive or exclusive rewards or experiences with higher donations, it’s easier to reach your target amount.
2. Build and fortify the community surrounding your project
Second of all, rewards can help you build and fortify the active community surrounding your project. When people come to the opening, you can celebrate the realization of the project, mentioning names fortifies the connection to the project, and people will personally stop by when they attend a workshop or come by to collect a product.
3. Use rewards as a campaign tool
Last but not least, original rewards are an excellent campaign tool. Maybe proposing marriage during a carnival performance, or naming a museum ward in their name will not be chosen, but it will definitely put a smile on people’s faces. They’ll talk about your project sooner, and an original reward can prompt the media to write an article as well.
What we found out about rewards
On our platforms, on average six out of ten supporters choose a reward. So not everybody wants something in return.
Rewards are important. Without some form of compensation, one in four donors would have donated a smaller amount (20%) or no donation at all (4%).
With the more commercial initiatives these percentages are even higher. The Cat Café initiatives (the coffee cafés that house cats) show that almost 80% of the donors choose a reward. Almost 40% would have given a lower donation or no donation at all, without some return benefit.
Types of rewards
Here you’ll find an inspirational list of different rewards for different amounts. Take a look!
1.Presale of a product or service
If your campaign is about publishing a book, the opening of a village café or the organization of a festival, you can presale your products or services. Culture café Queridon offered a lunch or high tea, while Ninos de Guatemala offered the option to preselect an exclusive sweater. It could be something that is low-cost for you, but has value for the donor, such as a tour of the farm. This way, you collect money, you get people to participate in your initiative and you can presale your products.
2. A symbolic thank you
As a donor, you receive an appropriate memento or a personal thank you that shows your involvement and your appreciation. Supporters of the Lumen lamp, to make the work of Tanzanian night fishers safer, received a key chain. But a card or a picture is a great option too!
3. A creative (and exclusive) experience
An exclusive tour behind the scenes or an exclusive workshop, make the donors a part of the process! A campaign for a bee barn offered donors the chance to join the beekeepers and take care of their very own bee population. Or give donors the option to attend the rehearsal of the children’s orchestra, like at Klassiek rondom de Klas.
4. Naming names
Share the names of your supporters creatively or offer people the possibility to adopt a part of the project. Install a wall of fame, or have them adopt a chair, a tree, a flowerbed or a rabbit (symbolically). Companies sometimes like to have their logo on your website, private citizens don’t find it as important. So use a creative twist. Like the Amsterdam Animal Ambulance, where all the names of the donors and the names of their loved ones or pets were printed on the side of new ambulance.
5. Adopt or sponsor part of the project
A fun way to get people involved in your project is to make it possible to symbolically sponsor or adopt part of the project. At Starters4Communities you can adopt a starter who will keep you informed. And when Young Urban Achievers set up a campaign for a movie theater in Monrovia, people could adopt a movie seat. You can also show what’s possible with a donation. For example, by illustrating next to the different rewards, what amount sponsors a breakfast packet for refugees on the Greek island of Kara Tepe.
Find the right title for you reward
A reward that gives you karma points, where you are being named Golden Fan, Superstar or Friend of the Mill, or where coffee in the cat café is named a cat-o-cinno makes contributing a whole lot more fun. Sell your rewards by giving original and appropriate names, and market them, instead of just mentioning them. Turn them into gold and “sell” your rewards!
So which rewards do you choose?
Select rewards that are connected to your project and that can be offered easily. Think about a farm tour, or a jar of honey from beekeepers, or adopting a planted tree. Think about the different groups of supporters and what they would like in return. Maybe your best friend wants nothing in return for his contribution, but a vague acquaintance will be pulled in with an original and valuable product. And probably the local baker would like something different than your neighbor. Exclusive rewards that can only be obtained through a crowdfunding campaign are always popular.
And what about the costs?
It’s fun to go overboard with original and attractive rewards in your crowdfunding campaign. But keep in mind that many rewards cost money and time too. You can put the costs of rewards in your budget. And you can also maximize the number of times a reward can be selected. Try to organize the rewards and the distribution in a smart way. Make your supporters come and collect their chosen Thank You reward, for example during the opening, instead of mailing them individually. Also, ask companies if they, instead of making a donation, would be willing to sponsor the rewards.
Finally, please note that you might need to pay taxes on all sales of crowdfunding products.
