Crowdfunding practice in Italy

1. framing the issue

1.1. crowdfunding, that is..

1.1.1. ...the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people who each contribute a relatively small amount, typically via the Internet (Oxford dictionary)

1.2. concepts related to crowdfunding

1.3. how does it work?

1.3.1. individuals can contribute with

1.3.1.1. money

1.3.1.1.1. some platforms such as Razoo propose "Giving Days", that is 24-hour, online fundraising events that unite communities and causes through common goals and friendly competition (accessible to Community Foundations, Higher Education Institutions and large nonprofits). Support provided to design and organize a Giving Day

1.3.1.2. pledge

1.3.1.3. petition (lobbying)

1.3.2. individuals can leverage contacts on social media to promote crowdfunding /fundraising initiatives

1.3.3. diverse eligibility criteria for initiatives to be backed

1.3.3.1. promoted by non profit organizations (IoDono, La rete del dono)

1.3.3.2. promoted by various players: associations, testimonials, companies, donors and activists (BuonaCausa, Starteed)

1.4. what can be "crowdfunded"?

1.4.1. targeted initiatives in diverse domains

1.4.1.1. cooperation

1.4.1.2. creativity, art and culture

1.4.1.3. product and process innovation

1.4.1.4. social innovation

2. case studies

2.1. examples of Italian platforms

2.1.1. BuonaCausa http://buonacausa.org/

2.1.2. DeRev https://www.derev.com

2.1.3. epPela https://www.eppela.com/

2.1.4. IoDono http://www.iodono.com/

2.1.5. Kendoo http://kendoo.it/

2.1.6. La rete del dono http://www.retedeldono.it/

2.1.7. Shinynote http://www.shinynote.com

2.1.8. Starteed http://www.starteed.com/ (funding and co-creation)

2.2. examples of US / global platforms

2.2.1. the "great classics": Idiegogo https://www.indiegogo.com/ and Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com

2.2.2. Kapipal http://www.kapipal.com/

2.2.3. Razoo https://www.razoo.com/

3. Italian peculiarities

3.1. local / regional scope of crowdfunding initiatives

3.2. smaller funding aim of initiatives (comparing to US)

3.3. startup and innovation support (also in the publishing sector) e.g. platforms: DeRev https://www.derev.com epPela https://www.eppela.com/ Starteed http://www.starteed.com/

4. reflections

4.1. hints&tips for a successful social crowdfunding campaign

4.1.1. define concept accurately (crowdfunding can be useful also to test concept on target audience)

4.1.2. identify your target audience and define promotion on social media channels accordingly

4.1.2.1. leverage your personal network

4.1.2.2. keep your contacts up to date before, during and after the campaign

4.1.2.3. make donors understand who are the people behind the campaign (e.g. stand publicly behind it)

4.1.3. invest on a short, compelling, high-quality promotional video

4.1.4. raise interest and engage your audience before asking for donations

4.1.5. definire perks / rewards

4.1.5.1. they can attract users (e.g. on Idiegogo platform perks are one of the search criteria)

4.2. peculiarities of a successful social crowdfunding campaign

4.2.1. only a limited quota of funding left to be raised

4.2.2. promoters share motivation and engagement

4.2.3. high investment on compelling communication

4.2.4. care for your existing community / network, donate to other capaigns to promote mutual support

4.3. an emerging job: personal fundraiser http://www.fundraising.it/