Stronger together!
Campaigning with a group isn’t only more fun and less work, it also enlarges your network of potential supporters and together you will come up with the most creative ideas to promote your project. The volunteers at World Garden Verdeliet set up a hot campaign to get their greenhouse cool.
Verdeliet crowdfunded for a schaduwscreen for their green house. After a summer of preparations and active campaigning they reached their goal and hung up their screen! The screen is a godsend for the plants, the staff and the future tenants of the seating and meeting area, with which Verdeliet hopes to become financially independent.
The succes of the crowdfunding campaign of Verdeliet is not only notable in the numbers (they crowdfunded €7000 (7980 USD) in one month) but also in the reactions of their supporters and neighbours . According to Gertie, the coordinator of Verdeliet’s campaign team, the campaign resulted in a growth of brand awareness and increased appreciation. With their promotion on social media their initiative also became more well known amongst youth. During the crowdfunding campaign Gertie got the most joy out of he encouraging comments and overwhelming support they received.
Two months prior to going online, Gertie sat down with four other Verdeliet staff members (volunteers). Together they did a brainstorming session. They documented all their progress and plans in an event script, because communication is KEY!
“ We started setting up a small campaign team quite early on. That is fun, because that way you can come up with ideas together and others have great input. Together we were able to come up with really nice rewards as well”
Stronger together, became very apparent in Verdeliet’s campaign. With their collective network and cumulative creativity, they thought of very creative and fetching rewards. They asked small local businesses for a helping hand, some of which ended up sponsoring a type of reward in kind.
“ We supply veggies to a local restaurant. Two of their chefs are also beer brewers. We used our acquaintance to ask them if they could be willing to donate a few beers to the cause. With some reclaimed wood we then put together some beer crates. In return for a donation, some people could receive a crate of local beer”
“ We also reached out to a local floriculturist to ask them if they were willing to sponsor a reward. We knew that their surplus ends up on a pile otherwise. ”
The campaign team also thought of attractive rewards Verdeliet could easily realize without any help: a guided tour through the garden, entrance to a poetry event they were hosting, and in return for a big donation supporters were allowed to put together their own vegetable box to take home from the garden.
“ This way you don’t have to do much, we already had the event, but it turned out to be a very fetching reward. I think fun, attractive rewards, that are easy to do and don’t require a lot of work on your behalf, whether it is through sponsoring or not, are very effective and important in a crowdfunding campaign. I think we did a good job at that! ”
Aside from the sponsors, the campaign team got a lot more help! A neighbour came with a drone visisted to take aerial photos of the greenhouse; children crafted a counter to write up the progress; and 60 more Verdeliet volunteers shared the campaign with their families, friends and acquaintances. For every milestone, or just because, Gertie wrote her supporters an update or a thank you message, because the supporters are honourary members of the campaign team!
The experiences of this campaign team show the importance of teaming up and good rewards! Can’t wait to start your own campaign? Do so with our personal guidance! Sign up your initiative to one of our platforms
