KickstarterForum.org

I launched a nonprofit campaign at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/operation-raindrop. This org was formed to give rain gear to those in need in the Portland area - the homeless, displaced and abused families, the disabled, and seniors.

The idea for Operation Raindrop happened in 2011 when I was walking in downtown Portland on my lunch hour. Suddenly, the skies opened up and the rain began to downpour. My attention was drawn to a poor family standing under a shallow building overhang. The family was made up of a father, a one-year-old baby in a stroller, and underneath the stroller was a four-year old little girl crammed on a wire rack, squirming to find shelter from the drops. Everyone was coatless and without umbrellas. This experience tugged at my heartstrings and is now blossoming into a nonprofit organization.

I would like to improve donations, so I've been working on promoting. I wrote a press release and have sent to some publications. I also checked into many free promotion websites but you have to register for each, sign off privacy rights, and decipher their websites -- so this leaves me with the feeling of it being too complicated and I'm too inexperienced to do it properly. At the same time, I've researched promotional offers that came to me in the comment area of Indiegogo and looked on line for reputable distribution businesses.

One offer that came to me from Fiverr wasn't honest. They talked about promoting for $5 then that converted into $45, and on their link they show pictures of campaigns saying "New this week" implying they worked on them, but I emailed those campaigns and they were all long closed and the Fiverr person never worked on them.

What are your best suggestions for RELIABLY promoting my campaign?

To be honest I know exactly what you are saying. I just recently started my campaign, now I have affiliate marketing experience so I know my way around but it is like night and day and totally different. I have spent the last week & 1/2
scouring the internet, placing pr ads, guest blogging, setting up social media campaigns etc. The Social Media Campaign I set up was with Hoot Suite and that might help you save a lot of time, but even with that it is still a lot of work.

I have found the 3 platforms I like the best is Indiegogo and kickstarter & crowdfunding forum for many different reasons. But the main reasons that I like all of these sites is that they have quality content, everywhere I looked I would find something on them, the ratings are excellent, Inkybee gives them beyond fabulous scores kickstarter rcvd a 99% in visability and a 95% in engagement. So I finally decided to stick with what seems to work with everyone else and focus on these sites. Know to be fair it was not just Inkybee that gave these sites excellent ratings but I was seeing it all over the place.

So I hope I helped you out. There are so many things you can do and what I am finding out is read this forum, it is packed with a lot of great advise, and if you are not sure of something ask. Someone will point you in the right direction.

Good luck with your campaign and I hope I was able to help you!

Sharon Spencer

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/quen ... mory-fund/

PS I decided to do there post that they have up that if you do 50 posts then you become a VIP You must hit the 50 posts made mark (non-spammy and not just one-word posts). You can do this by creating threads sharing helpful articles or cool projects or responding to existing threads.

Free promotion
- 18,199 Followers: Tweeted out on @kickstartforum, @crowdcrux, and @crowdfundingpr_
- 2,000+ newsletter subscribers: Included as a feature campaign in CrowdCrux newsletter.
- Project pinned to the top of this forum section for the duration of your campaign.
- We will back your campaign, tweet it out, and leave a positive comment ($1-$5).
- Banner advertisement on the side of KickstarterForum.org for duration of your campaign. If three projects are already on the sidebar, then we will offer a second newsletter inclusion or being posted on Kforum facebook (your choice).
- Free ebook (CrowdCrux: Learn how to Succeed on Kickstarter).

Sharon,
Thanks for all your great advice Sharon. I just checked out your campaign and sadly realized it's a memorial fund for your 22 year old son who died recently, leaving behind a young daughter. You are asking for money to: 1) Help pay for Quentin's final expenses, and 2) Set up a scholarship fund for his daughter Allie Mariah Spencer. I'm soooo sorry for your loss and I really admire your reaching out for help at a difficult time like this. I'm going to donate to you, AND I HOPE THAT EVERYONE PERSON WHO READS THIS POST GOES TO YOUR CAMPAIGN (link follows) TO DONATE!!! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/quen ... mory-fund/

Bless you,
Suzan
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/operation-raindrop

Look up Portland humanitarian groups, other non-profits, etc. and engage them directly. You don't necessarily need press, but those are likely the types of people that will back your campaign.

I gained some excellent tips even though my campaign is for profit. Thank you.

Cheryl
http://igg.me/at/GulfCoastWaves

I have to tell you all that I tried several different promotion methods for my nonprofit campaign and none worked out. I paid for Facebook to promote my page and it did get me some LIKES but only one small donation. I also paid for a premier package with Ayudos to promote my site and they were a BIG WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. They did not follow through on all promises, took about 10 days to even start promoting after much prodding, and they mostly just listed my site on their own Facebook and Website. No donations as a result of Ayodos. Their communication was TERRIBLE. I highly do not recommend them AT ALL! I also tried Backerscamp, which was useless. Posted on many websites. Sent a press release to many places. But it didn't do much good. Conclusion, it's very hard to promote a nonprofit.