KickstarterForum.org

Is anyone else working on starting a non-profit? Is anyone else mulling over how much effort to put into a crowdfunding campaign vs. grant-writing vs. developing donors directly (as in an email list for example of prospective donors)? I am project lead on MyAirSample.org and we want to take this site to being a national resource on air quality standards across the country. I've composed a few lines of a pitch, a few lines of a potential video, and a set of rewards. I started a Twitter account and am getting more active on Facebook. But I am not sure whether crowdfunding is what we should do. I will likely be mulling this for a long time to come, but thought I'd share some of my mulling with you all now and see if anyone can relate

LIkewise, are there other existing threads on whether to pursue crowdfunding vs. other funding?

Why not both? Much of the promotional text and graphics can probably be recycled for grant applications, adjusted for audience, and it's good that crowdfunding makes you think about a wide audience.

I'm running a Kickstarter for an open-access publishing project on sustainability.

I would try to do all of them, granted, that takes a lot of energy and discipline. Unless you have a specific project idea in mind, may be better to consider Indiegogo over Kickstarter if you're moreso seeking donations.

If I was starting a nonprofit, I would put developing a mailing list and attracting interested donors as the top priority. You can later then let those people who care about your mission support you in other ways by sharing a specific crowdfunding campaign on their social network. Grant writing in my experience is not a sustainable income stream for most nonprofits. I think it has to be a mult-source income stream if you want to stay afloat in the longrun.