Crowdfunding provides solution to staffing needs for Abortion Support Network
Melanie May | 14 December 2016 | News
The Abortion Support Network (ASN) is using Crowdfunder to help it address its staffing needs with a campaign to part fund a new fundraiser.
Through The Funding Frontier campaign, the charity is seeking to raise £7,000 towards the fundraiser position, which it says has become necessary to help it meet rising demand for the charity’s services and to enable the charity to grow, with £10,500 already donated by supporters. It is offering a number of rewards in return for donations including a personal thank you email from the charity’s director and board for a pledge of £14, and a limited edition ASN badge for £35.
So far the campaign has raised pledges of just over £4,500 with the target deadline set as 4th January.
This is the second time the charity has used crowdfunding in such a way. In 2014, ASN ran its The Next Level crowdfunding campaign, choosing crowdfunding because of a need to help finance the part-time role of director Mara Clarke and as a result of supporter insight, which told it that supporters engaged with it online. This campaign raised just over £14,000 in 42 days from 259 backers.
The campaign is being promoted through a mixture of emails to supporters, direct mail to a small proportion of supporters, and social media activity, including links with influential supporters of ASN and allied organisations.
Caoileann Appleby, trustee, Abortion Support Network said:
“As a very small organisation, crowdfunding enabled us to turn what could be perceived as weaknesses – little staff resource, very little budget for offline communications – into strengths (an engaged online community of supporters, and a genuine personal touch in our communications with them). When, during this year, we realised that we needed a fundraiser to help fuel the growth of ASN and keep up with further increases in client demand, it was a natural fit to turn to crowdfunding again.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.