As evidenced by the hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, there are a lot of Reading Rainbow fans out there.
We watched all week as social media hype grew and surpassed LeVar Burton’s lofty goals for an accessible app to the newest generation to enjoy reading. Crowdfunding can be very successful though many people don’t realize going in just how much work it is to pull it off. Burton’s team played their cards just right. Here are four takeaway lessons for any nonprofit organization considering crowdfunding.
- It has to be a cause people care about with a strong fan base. My Facebook feed was full of shares of this campaign by my peers. I grew up watching Reading Rainbow. I love reading. The option to bring that show to the next generation was something I care about, as do thousands of others.
- It has to communicate frequently with updates.
- It has to have personal, genuine messaging.
- It has to come with sincere thanks from the organizer.