The conventional wisdom is that incentives are exclusive to entrepreneurs and creative categories for fundraising. However, that belief is outdated. Incentives can be used to enhance almost any crowdfunding category including personal, non-profit, and animals.
The Different Incentive Categories
You can distinguish your incentives by categorizing them as either wishes, products, tickets, or perks. Wishes are wish list items such as a ride to the hospital, or meals for 5 people. Products can be prototypes of your company’s new product. Tickets can be to any event. Perks can be any sort of reward to give donors from branded swag to social media shouthouts.
Incentive Ideas for Non-profit
As a non-profit, it’s essential that you utilize the non-profit brand you have built over the years. That means offering branded merchandise such as hats, t-shirts, mugs, pens, posters, etc as incentives. Furthermore, invites to fundraising events, meeting senior member of the organization, or even a tour of your facilities are also great incentive ideas.
Remember, donors donate because they relate to your cause, so anything you find exciting will probably resonate with them as well.
Look at non-profit organizations that have used incentives to enhance their campaign; just some examples to get you started.
Incentive Ideas for Animals
Animals are cute and cuddly, so it’s easy to create incentives that play off their cute demeanor. Paw prints, photos, or even the opportunity to name the animal after a donor, make great incentives.
Another way to utilize the incentive system is to make incentives the equivalent to a tangible item. That way, the donors have a better idea of what they are donating to and will feel more empowered through the donation. Check out a campaign that uses this method to obtain more donor engagement.
Incentive Ideas for Personal
Often, we get stuck in the thinking that perks must be tangible. However, we fail to recognize the value of a heartfelt thank you. For personal campaigns, social media shout outs, and personal thank you letters are great incentivesto offer your donors. They are personal and carry a substantial intangible value.
Incentive Ideas for Creative and Entrepreneurial Campaigns
First of all, incentive are a great way to pre-sell or sell your services or products. When donors donate a certain amount and claim a perk, they are rewarded with that tier of merchandise or service. The product doesn’t have to be a physical merchandise such as a book, t-shirt, etc; it can be a service such as a live performance.
Reminder: The ideas mentioned above are not exclusive to any category. Feel free to mix and match and be CREATIVE. This is your campaign, you decide how you want to thank you donors.
More Ideas to come! Check out 5 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Perks for Crowdfunding.
