ServiceYear.org is committed to making a year of service a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. To make this a reality, we will need to unlock more funding from public and private sources.
We are exploring creative strategies, such as crowdfunding, to complement the existing fundraising efforts of service year programs across the country. Crowdfunding isn’t intended to be the major source of funding for any positions, and it cannot replace current funding streams. However, there is value in engaging more Americans in supporting service year positions, and crowdfunding offers a new fundraising tool to augment existing resources.
Our three-step model
ServiceYear.org has broken crowdfunding into a three-step model in order to secure the best odds for a successful outcome. The three steps are planning, managing, and finishing your campaign. A lot of effort goes into a successful campaign, and the majority of it happens during the first step, which makes up about 60% of the work. This is when you will create your goals, find donor pledges, film and edit your video, and figure out who your target audience is.
The second stage is launching and managing the actual campaign. This should total 35% of the work you commit to the campaign. During this time, you will be busy sending out emails, posting on social media accounts, and even making personal phone calls to possible donors to persuade them to contribute.
The final stage is finishing your campaign. This part of the process is sending out your final email to donors to reflect upon your experience and giving feedback to Service Year.