University of Kansas Endowment Association – Crowdfunding Informational Video
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| Title | Crowdfunding Informational Video |
| Institution | University of Kansas Endowment Association |
| Submitted By | Ashley Landis Mail & Online Gifts Coordinator |
| Category | Special Campaigns/Challenges |
| Institution Type | College / University |
| What fiscal year did this effort occur? | 2021 |
| Description | Social distancing required us to explore new strategies to market our crowdfunding platform, LaunchKU, to campus collaborators. As a result, we created a marketing video to meet this challenge and allow us to keep our message consistent and engaging. |
| What makes this unique | Crowdfunding is still a new fundraising resource at KU Endowment. Prior to the pandemic, our acquisition outreach was done mainly in-person. The shift into the virtual world positioned us to develop this timeless marketing piece. The video has allowed us to deploy an entirely virtual marketing plan that spans multiple applications and can be shared in e-mails, on social media, on websites, in virtual and in-person meetings, and allows us to quickly get our messaging out in a fun and engaging way. We focused our content on educating potential project managers on the variety of projects and best practices of crowdfunding, which are both crucial to ensure project leaders are more likely to submit an application and run a successful campaign. |
| Outcome | Without this video, we believe there would have been a sharp decline in our crowdfunding initiatives. However, because of this video, we continued to keep our campus partners engaged. As a result, our project applications have increased. In fact, we are forecasting a 26% increase in active projects through this fiscal year and our crowdfunding year-to-date contributions are up by 14%.
For the first time ever, we also shared a Facebook post aimed at acquiring new projects. This was a change from previous posts that focused on donors. The post was viewed more than 1,600 times, reached more than 2,100 people and generated more than 160 comments. Traffic to the LaunchKU site has increased by 27% compared to the same time period last year. |
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