I met up with Edward Harran (@edwardharran) before The Hive Brisbane a few weeks ago and he was telling me about how after winning a scholarship to go to the NTEN Conference in San Francisco he needed to raise the funds for flights. I don’t think anything could stop Eddie – here’s how he did it.
Being a self-described Digital and Social Media Strategist with a focus on non profit technology and digital advocacy of course he did this using the web. He raised US$1049.92 in just one week, from 41 donors in seven countries. How awesome is that?! You can see the original post and then the results.
How did all of this come up?
I was awarded a scholarship to attend the NTEN conference in San Fran. The award, however, did not include the airfare. I was going to let it go, but an idea appeared in my head. Inspired by the power of online fundraising through the likes of Beth Kanter and Social Actions, I thought it would be a good opportunity try it out myself. A practical learning experience that I could use as a case study in the future. Plus, online fundraising is a big field in the area of non profit technology. ‘A kill two birds with one stone’ situation: raise funds whilst learning a skill that I could apply in the future.
Why did you decide to crowdsource?
A number of reasons. Since I had to raise the funds rather quickly, from a practical standpoint, traditional methods were out of the question. (corporate sponsorship etc). So, when I initially asked friends and family for suggestions, I received a lot of good ideas. Kate Foy, a lecturer from USQ, who I talk to online, suggested the idea of ‘long-tail fundraising’. I had contemplated the idea previously, however, it seemed like a mammoth task. Upon further introspection, it made practical sense: I could tap in the online communities that I was involved with and gather lots of small donations, rather than going after one big sum from an company or organisation.
How did people find out a out it?
Mainly through Twitter. I posted a message out with the corresponding #nptech hasthag. In the space of six days, I received 52 retweets about my campaign and received some coverage from bloggers detailing my campaign. I also used Facebook, but I don’t think that worked as effectively as Twitter. Twitter generated the buzz. It got communities and people talking – the rest was history.
How long did it take to raise the money? Were you surprised?
Six days! I was surprised. Humbled. I felt privileged that I was received so much support. Donations came from all across the world: Brisbane, Berlin, US, London and even Iceland. The amount of support I got (emails flooding my inbox, personal messages on my Chipin, phone calls) was amazing.
Do you think anyone could do it?
I was lucky in many respects – the inherent nature of the non-profit technology community is to share and support. Also, I had a strong group of Brisbane and Australian Twitters who spread the word. In saying that, though, yes I think anyone could do it if they are smart. Build a community- both offline and online. Connect people. Share you knowledge and ideas. If you give, thy shall receive. More importantly, be authethic and communicate your passion. People will see it and support you.
What’s next?
Well initially, is the NTEN conference of course. I will be staying in San fran for two weeks in which I hope to meet as many people as possible. In May I will be speaking at Connecting Up Conference – Australia’s Non Profit Technology Conference – so I am looking forward to that. In the long term future I have two aims. I want to continue to teach and share my passion for all things digital related. The Internet is the ultimate marketplace for ideas and inspiration. It excites so much. Secondly I am planning to launch the ‘Digital For Good’ World Tour Series, where I hope to travel different locations around the world and document how digital technology continues to be a force for positive social change.
You can read more about Eddie’s adventures at Digital For Good and follow him at @edwardharran.
By Ross Hill - April 25th, 2009 at 12:58pm with 1,139 views - edward harran nten conference the hive
