Tips from groups that successfully rallied their communities and networks to support their ideas.
After speaking with previous winners, we found common themes in the experiences of these individuals and organizations. They successfully rallied their communities and networks to support their ideas. Here are their tips:
Tell a compelling story. Instead of spending time on repetitive or identical “Support My Project!” messages, use the competition as an opportunity to spread your idea and message in a meaningful way. Think about ways to communicate with potential supporters more creatively. Include photos, a video, and inspirational anecdotes and/or compelling rationale in your emails, tweets and posts. Project Goodness sent emails to supporters with pictures and quotes from students in the program, and they won $2,500 in our GOOD L.A. Challenge.
Promote your project offline, too. The competition may be online, but that doesn’t need to stop you from mobilizing people in the real word. For recent grant winners Mercy to Mankind Foundation, face-time with like-minded individuals was critical. The group canvassed on local college campuses and engaged students in conversation about their organization’s mission, a strategy that helped win $5,000 to raise local awareness for the famine and drought in East Africa.
Phone calls and text messages may reach your existing networks more effectively than just email. Your friends and family like hearing from you, and you may find it easier to tell an authentic and inspiring story outside of email. And because people are inundated by emails, a text message reminder can make the difference. It worked for Moneythink, a recent GOOD Maker grantee who won $500 to help equip high school students with personal finance management skills.
Interested in more crowdsourcing opportunities? Drop us a line at maker[at]goodinc[dot]com, sign up for our email list, or check out the current opportunities on GOOD Maker.
Share on Facebook
