Australia Council for the Arts media release
The Australia Council for the Arts with its philanthropic arm, Artsupport Australia, today sets out on a national crowdfunding roadshow as part of a strategy to explore the opportunities in crowdfunding for cultural and creative projects.
The roadshow is the culmination of a multi-stage strategy which included a pilot mentoring phase by Artsupport Australia for a group of crowdfunding projects, and the Australia Council commissioning the first piece of research in Australia into barriers and motivations of donors to crowdfunding projects in the cultural and creative sectors.
“With crowdfunding reaching a tipping point in Australia, there’s huge potential to increase individual giving to arts and culture,” says Caroline Vu, NSW Manager of Artsupport Australia. “But the key to this is improving the understanding and skills of the sector; leading to better and more successful campaigns.”
“As the success rate for crowdfunding projects increases, people will become more confident that crowdfunding truly enables creative ideas to become reality,” says Caroline.
While crowdfunding has existed for many years in various forms, the rise in online crowdfunding platforms, combined with the reach of social media, has provided the perfect storm for this form of fundraising. In 2011, 'the crowd' pledged almost $1.5 billion to projects on crowdfunding platforms across the world, three times the total pledge amount in 2009.
“The results are certainly impressive, but there are still so many crowdfunding campaigns that don’t succeed and this really highlights the need for artists and arts organisations to understand the vehicle before launching a campaign,” says Caroline.
“People who already have strong online networks certainly have an advantage when it comes to crowdfunding. But you can’t simply put up your project, tweet about it once and expect it to fund itself – it takes a steady, sustained campaign to be successful.”
“Video is an invaluable tool for creating a link to potential supporters, bringing your project idea to life and sharing your passion,” says Caroline. “But whether it’s a video or a Facebook post, authenticity is crucial in every bit of communication.”
The research undertaken by Queensland University of Technology’s Creative Industries Faculty also indicates that the lack of tax deductibility limits pledgers, with $50 being the point at which it may become an incentive to contribute
Caroline Vu and Elliott Bledsoe, Digital Content Officer of the Australia Council will be visiting nine cities during the roadshow, which has attracted over 1,000 registrations so far and reached capacity in some locations. The sessions will outline:
· Practical tips on how to run successful campaigns, including setting targets; planning campaigns; developing compelling pitches; and spreading the word.
· What to do when it all looks like it's going wrong and ultimately, how to turn one-time backers into lifetime supporters.
· Case studies from people who have been successful with crowdfunding.
· Findings of the commissioned research undertaken by Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries.
Full roadshow details and a summary of the research findings are available at www.australiacouncil.gov.au/
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