The Nonprofit Hero Factory
: Episode 9The No-Shortcut Formula to Crowdfunding Success with Dr. Amir Give'on
In this Episode:
There are no tricks when it comes to crowdfunding. But there are time-tested, proven strategies that increase your chances of success. With Jewcer, Dr. Amir Give’on has helped nearly 1,000 nonprofits and individuals raise millions of dollars for worthwhile causes. Join us as Boris and Amir discuss what works and what doesn’t, and the pitfalls and benefits of crowdfunding you have to consider.
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Introduction 0:02
Welcome to the nonprofit Hero Factory, a weekly live video broadcast in particular, where we’ll be helping nonprofit leaders and innovators create more Heroes for their cause and a better world for all
Boris Kievsky 0:19
Hi everybody and thank you for joining us for episode nine of the nonprofit Hero Factory. We’re going to be talking about the No-shortcut formula to crowdfunding success with a good friend of mine, Dr. Amir Giveon. Amir is an engineer by training and an entrepreneur by nature. He is the CEO and founder of the Jewcer community funding platform, which is a crowdfunding platform that I’ve been helping out with a part of for, I don’t know, five or six years now maybe. He also served as an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of nonprofit management at American Jewish University, and he describes his superpower as helping people raise more money for worthy causes. So without any ado, let’s further ado Anyway, let’s bring Amir out onto the show.
Amir Giveon 1:06
Thank you, Lord. Good morning.
Boris Kievsky 1:08
Good morning. I know it’s nice and early for you out in California. But thank you so much for joining us today.
Amir Giveon 1:14
Thank you for having me on this show.
Boris Kievsky 1:18
So I mean, I know most everything about you at this point for I think over 10 years. Yeah, definitely over 10 years. But why don’t you introduce yourself beyond what I just said to the folks at home? What’s your story? And how did you acquire your superpower?
Amir Giveon 1:33
Thank you. So first of all, I believe it’s been more than five or six years that you’ve been involved in around what we’ve been doing with Jewcer probably closer to seven or eight years. We started very, very early on, I think in around 2011 thinking when crowdfunding was just Starting, today it’s something that you don’t need to introduce. You definitely need to explain and help with but you don’t need to introduce like we used to at the beginning. We’re talking about the days before even Indiegogo existed. It was just Kickstarter around and we specifically for Jewcer which helps Jewish and Israeli related causes. We identified it is a is a great tool for community engagement, yes for raising money, but around, I would say the lens of community engagement of really building a community around your cause. We very soon after and to answer your question, we, we started thinking we’re building a platform we really were so excited about the technology and the tools and the features and all those kind of things. And again, to Remind you right now there’s like thousands of crowdfunding platforms for any niche you can think of it those days there were very few. And we were really concentrating on the features of the platform. We launched it, we we got about 10 to 12 first causes and immediately realize that the technology is not really what makes it or breaks it when it comes to raising money and connecting with your community and everything around that which we’ll dive probably more into. We realize very soon after, and I mean, like after like 10 or 12 first causes that’s really what they need is help with the strategy around it, how to tell their story, how to reach people what to do first, what to do next. In really Take them in kind of like a through the process. And if to answer how we got these, or how I got these superpowers is I’ve been literally involved with more than 1000 campaigns. I usually throw the number 1000. But the reality is, is that is way more than that because a lot of them get started, start working on it and then realize that maybe they’re not ready for it or they come back later. So it’s probably more than 1000 but really 1000 that literally launched and started raising money. So the superpowers I guess, coming from the fact that most of the questions and most of the things I’ve encountered a few hundred times already. Yeah, so that’s really how we came about. So we started to just do to close that. We started as thinking we’re a platform What we really are is kind of like a hybrid between a Consulting Group. We are a nonprofit. So we’re kind of like a hybrid between those two things in the platform. So yes, we have the platform, and we have all those tools and lots of features that I still have a whole list that I would love to add. But the reality is, is that what really helps people raise money is is the other stuff not that technology.
Boris Kievsky 5:28
Absolutely. So yeah, we’re definitely going to dive into all of that. But before we do just a minor thing for anyone who is watching and knows the history of crowdfunding platforms, Indiegogo was actually first just nobody had heard of them. And Kickstarter came on the scene and made a huge splash. So people think of Kickstarter is the OG but it’s actually Indiegogo.
Amir Giveon 5:49
So just I mean, it’s that’s it Yeah, I didn’t even know that I I do know that a lot of people when they come to us, and rather than saying the word like I want to start a crowdfunding campaign, they Sometimes say I want to start a Kickstarter. Right? Yeah.
Boris Kievsky 6:02
Right. It’s kind of become that eponymous. Yeah. Word. So eponymous No What’s, what’s the term? I’ll think of it later like using Kleenex for xereo for photocopy if anybody photocopies anymore. Let’s dive in a little bit of mirror into what’s going on. And specifically right now the world obviously changed a couple months ago and it’s still continuing to change. I know a lot of nonprofits have to quickly adjust their Gallas and their fundraising efforts. What are you seeing in terms of changes going on at the moment post COVID during COVID, I should say yeah.
Amir Giveon 6:39
So again, just to explain my lens and the way that I see things is that we were heavily involved with every campaign that comes on board or reaches, reaches out to us to to start raising money. So as soon as it hits like around March, I all of a sudden, like Got bombarded with like emails and help, I mean through our ticketing system like questions and the first thing that was going on is like, should we proceed like they were like in the middle and in the process of like doing things and some are in different ways in different places in their process. So the first thing that I saw in it, you didn’t even need to just look at the like the KPIs like the the numbers on the platform is that everybody went into this kind of like a shock kind of like a frozen kind of a thing. Yeah, and yeah, there were like very clearly and not just on our platform it I mean, I see also other platforms and I see other things clearly became like a disaster like event. So there were and starting to be like a lot of people, a lot of organizations, individuals raising money specifically for things related to that. And that was the natural thing. So all the others we’re now in kind of like a uncertainty of like, should I still run my campaign? Should I pause it should I all those kind of things? So the graph if I would say was like, like it was like hitting a wall it was like all of a sudden like a lot of them were like, pausing stopping, less requests to start and like all those and I’m happy to see that we’re getting out of it. Like I’m not saying, it’s like I’m, I’m, it’s like I’m seeing like a I have like a pulse that I can see that life is starting to like, come back to it.
Amir Giveon 8:54
So during it The advice I used kept on giving to people is a first and it’s related again to strategy and implementation and all that is like, figure out if you’re able to run a campaign right now, like, you need the money yes. Got that like we all in many organizations but really try and figure out because a lot of people now used to work at it at work now they’re home maybe with kids like it’s like a lot of things changed. Their need maybe has not changed, but other things have changed. So the first thing I was telling people is like figure a figure out if they’re able to run their campaign around capacity. Yeah, exactly. And and we can probably dive more into it because it really is has to do with like, regardless of the times we’re in right now, just in general this capacity of running a crowdfunding campaign is sometimes not seen well enough from the outside. Yeah, exactly like people see the result, people see a lot of money being raised for something, but they don’t see the amount of work that is being put into it. So that was the first thing that I started talking with a lot of those executive directors and entrepreneurs. And I should mention, we work with anything from individuals to organizations that sometimes it’s staff in the organization that does it. Sometimes it’s volunteers, all sorts of things like that. So it was kind of like a lot of chaos, within personal lives. So I was trying to like first let’s figure out if you’re able to do it, then there was always the question of like, Is it still something that now on the other side of it, the people that now will hear about your cause, do they have the capacity now to process that, and connect with that they might have been very passionate about your cause, or potentially have or have the potential to connect with your cause. But all of a sudden the world is changing around them right now. Yeah. So it was a mixture of all those. So the short answer is that yes, like many things in the economy, it kind of like was like in a chaotic kind of a thing. It like went down. And now it’s like, kind of like, slowly, slowly, like waking up and coming out of it.
Boris Kievsky 11:31
There’s a lot of stuff in there that I definitely want to come back to, if we have some time. Actually, you know what, let’s go to it now. So the timing is, in some ways critical. And you and I have some theories on this that we’ve developed over time. But in some ways, the timing is critical. And in some ways, the timing is not. So what determines a good time to launch a campaign to run a campaign? What’s going to be crease success or decrease the odds?
Amir Giveon 12:02
Yeah, so I’ll answer that in a couple of levels and from a couple of directions. So first, my mind kind of like and again, I again to remind my lens like I get like those questions from people like and they feel like it’s like the first person that is ever asked that. But I get a question, for example, on the timing, like, what day and time of the week is the best to launch my campaign. So that’s like one level of that the other level of that is like, time when it comes to like, just like, what’s going on outside in the world and things like that. So in all around that is something and if there could be a takeaway from that for people, is that people naturally do so. are always looking for that One key that like unlocks everything. That’s one thing that like when they just turn it or just hit it exactly right. The effect is, you might like it Like,
Boris Kievsky 13:01
it goes viral
Amir Giveon 13:02
Exactly. Like I, like, I get so many times when they tell me like, I’m going to do this, this and that, and then it will be viral. Like, those kind of things. So when it comes to timing, my, I’ll answer it in two ways. One is my immediate one is saying is saying to people, it’s when you’re ready. Okay, that’s like the first thing and then I dive into them. They’re like, what do you mean is ready, and then I dive into, like, all the things that you need to do. And the second is to try and remove and it’s usually in layers, to try and get them to not think like, there’s going to be one thing they have to get right for everything to work. And at the same time, it also the other side is true, which is if they don’t get it, right, it’s not the end of their campaign. Like if you didn’t launch it on Tuesday at 10:23 in the morning, it’s it’s gonna be okay like, there’s still Now when it comes to like times and like what’s going on outside that has to do more with I call it kind of like riding waves. So it’s like if there’s a certain wave outside. And it’s kind of funny, like the meaning of outside now has like so many, so much depth into it. But if there are waves outside of things that are more trending right now it’s a trade off because people think like, Oh, I’m just gonna ride the wave, but you sometimes forget that there’s many others that are riding riding the wave with you. So now you’re just with hundreds of others that are raising money now to make face masks. Yeah, like, there goes your uniqueness there goes like you know. So that’s on one hand. On the other hand, you don’t want to start like trying to die. divert people’s attention from like, this is really happening now. But this is also important and people are like, No, no, no, we want it, we’re on this. So my go to answer is always follow the process and don’t look for that again the perfect wave if I’m not a surfer, but I have a feeling that that’s a phrase there. You know, like, it’s not there’s people with timing. They sometimes try to give like that kind of like weight to something that yes, it is important, but it’s not everything.
Boris Kievsky 15:42
So I’m gonna add on to that and and say, so my term for that wave is a site Geist, right. It’s the spirit of the time. It’s what people are going to be talking about at any given time. And you can plan a little bit around, for example, religious holidays, or national holidays or political events, anything that’s on the calendar, you know that’s going to get some. And I hate to use the term viral but some lift based on the fact that it’s a topic of conversation that that’s public right now. But yeah, as you were saying, the counter side of that is, there are going to be other people vying for those same eyeballs pulling on those same heartstrings, if you will, trying to get money at the same time. So there is some trade off. You Are you also touched on, you know, being unique. And absolutely, you need to have your own unique point of view. And you and I talk about this all the time, it needs to be organic, to your cause to your mission, if all of a sudden, you are a nonprofit that’s dealing with education, but now you’re launching a campaign to create masks and that’s an extreme example, I haven’t seen anything like that happening. But just to make it clear, if it’s something so out of your scope, you’re you’re not going to pick up any additional volume, but you’re also not even going to necessarily Engage your core base, which is so significant to your crowdfunding success. But right yeah
Amir Giveon 17:01
Even to completely agree and to add to that I’ve seen attempts and again I was part of those conversations and even like was thrown into email chains of like you know committees in organizations and of them trying to use the word organically but I you know, like you probably meant like in a natural way like there was like there were like people that were like trying to force a connection to something and it doesn’t come out authentic enough people on the other side are and and you’re absolutely correct. It’s like forget about strangers that have never heard of your organization, even your own base and the people that usually support you would be like, Huh, and in that would not get them super excited about it. You want to to stay with your core values your core mission if there is a natural connection to it if you’re a factory This is not a nonprofit but a factory that makes drapes and now turns into making masks. totally get it that totally makes sense. Yeah, so it all again going back to what helps running a good crowd in a crowdfunding campaign. Not just in these special times is really connecting all those dots in a natural way they need to all make sense. Like I always and beyond this I often find myself in conversations with them of making a list and I tell them imagine this is around the circle not as a list. All of them must sit together and be completely make sense to like a stranger that just looking at it like they are have money you want to raise? How much time you know, your campaign is all sorts of other things. They all need to always make a a natural connection. Because anything you force, comes out very, very easily.
Boris Kievsky 19:17
I think the key words, and we talked about this all the time on the show are really authenticity, which you mentioned. And integrity. And integrity can mean multiple things. I mean, it is something that you could speak with, with integrity and speak to with integrity and honesty, but also it’s integral to your mission. It is something that is actually part of what you want to do. It couldn’t be slightly tangential, but it can’t be something completely other. It could be a new way that you are expressing your mission and trying to achieve your mission. But it can’t be something that you just decided, Oh, you know what that looks like there’s a need and suddenly we’re just going to do this even though it has nothing to do with our primary Cause right?
Amir Giveon 20:00
Yeah, yeah
Boris Kievsky 20:01
so we talked before about what to title this episode and we called it the the the no secret or no shortcut success strategy right? What is the no shortcut formula to crowdfunding success? Why? And you’re already talking about this but why is that the best title for this episode?
Amir Giveon 20:24
So again like my I don’t want to call it pain because it’s really not my pain it’s like something like I’m encountering all the time and I in a love helping people that are in that state is that they come in thinking oh, I saw those you know the other ones and other organization or this like raised a million dollars or raised a certain a big amount of money and they only see the tip of it, meaning the result in they in the back of their mind or at least if they don’t have any experience with raising money online. They think, Oh, I just need to like, explain what I need money for. Throw it on, let’s call it Facebook. It will be viral, and I’ll raise the amount of money that I need. The reality is just from my tone. That doesn’t happen. It’s the majority of people that come to us. In organizations, individuals have never run a crowdfunding campaign. They might have donated to one and definitely have seen one, but never seen the behind of it. They don’t see how much how many hours were put into describing and telling the story. They don’t know. They, see the number of iterations of telling that same story, they see just the last version or eight version, because they typically don’t even visit that page more than once. So I would say the no shortcut kind of formula is that I try to put them on this path of first working on what is it that they’re trying to raise money for? And really not the cause and not just saying, well, this is what my organization does, and we need money. Therefore, we have a place here for a crowdfunding campaign. to them If it was a Excel spreadsheet where they handed in within their organization, it makes sense to everybody. That’s what we do. That’s what we need money for great. But when it comes to raising money, you need to tell it as a story that connects to somebody many times to somebody who has never heard of you before, and not just resonate. It’s really to call them to do something. thing about it. There are many levels of it, right? Like sharing, liking it donating, of course, like all those kind of things. So the formula that and I doubt it, we’re going to get into all the details of it. But really to systematically look at crowdfunding is not what the lottery ticket is meaning that one thing that’s going to go so viral and it’s a, you know, a plate of potato salad that raised 40,000, I’ve got that meaning a person says, if that one potato salad raised $40,000 This can definitely, like that kind of logic, I’m afraid doesn’t work.
Boris Kievsky 23:46
We won’t have to get into all of those details. Obviously, I will say a little bit of a shameless plug for your course that you did for us last September, when you’d only helped around 800 nonprofits. So it’s, of course, constantly growing, but it is available. We’re gonna drop it into the show notes. If anybody wants to check it out. It’s pretty affordable. Yeah. Where you do go through a lot more of the process and how to get it all done. But I think the point that there’s no quick lever and lottery ticket that you could just subscribe to.
Amir Giveon 24:18
and as I mentioned the other side is also very important to hold on to it also means that you have a lot of room for mistakes. Like it’s not like you. I’ve had campaign organizers that spent weeks on figuring out what’s the right tagline for. It’s like, that’s not what’s important. It’s not one thing that makes it or breaks it. So it’s a whole process and is a whole I would say the formula is yes. Build I mean create a campaign that just like you said, has Integrity, Authenticity. Transparency is a very important one. I get many that sometimes they just tell us what they need money for. And then the amount they raise goes like, Wait, hold on. So he’s like, Oh, yeah, it’s because we also need money for this, this and that, but I didn’t want to put it there. I’m like, people will figure out that if you want to raise money for a music album, and you’re asking for 50,000 and others next to you are asking for 10 or 12,000. Something here is missing. And that’s totally fine. Be honest and transparent with the people and they will connect with you. So first is like figuring out that part then it’s the actual how to tell the story and that has to do with like, the campaign page in the video pitch and the pictures. A lot that I’ve learned from you over the years of storytelling and in really what I find that I end up giving his advice a lot And I by no means an expert in storytelling specifically, is the story need. It’s like telling the same story in different ways, through the images through the text through the video pitch. And it all has to not just make sense, but they all live together. Like you can’t have a video pitch just because you had some video that you created three years ago, and all of a sudden, you’re raising money for something completely different and you mesh them together. It it doesn’t connect. So then when you create all those, all that content that makes sense and everything, then comes the actual strategy of how, what to do at the beginning. Over the years, we developed something we called the launch list method, which again, just touching on it is we’re looking at everything in a way of circles. So you start with your inner circles of people that are would support you no matter what almost like it doesn’t really matter what’s on your page, they support you because it’s you, whether you’re an entrepreneur,
Boris Kievsky 27:09
and they believe in it already,
Amir Giveon 27:10
exactly. In vendors, the other circles that are a little bit less connected to you in less and less until you get to complete strangers. A big, I would say a big mistake that a lot of causes make is that they kind of like push the trigger a little bit too soon. By hoping that you know, influencers will share them magazines and everything right at the beginning. You need to build it up. So I would say like the formula is about creating the story and really using a strategy that works first.
Boris Kievsky 27:52
building your own way of getting that foundation in of your core most supporters on top of that, you’re You’re less connected supporters, if you will, or might be your board and your biggest donors, and then the next level of supporters, and then the people who are just interested in what you do and may have supported you one way or another. And then finally, it’s the big push out to the rest of the world. So that you look like you have a groundswell.
Amir Giveon 28:17
Exactly. And every circle kind of like comes there and sees that the previous one supported so it’s kind of like it becomes
Boris Kievsky 28:24
And then you are on the winning end of a campaign or a challenge, right? Nobody wants to go in thinking, Oh, this is gonna fail exact already believe it’s gonna win. That’s a big one that I know, we’ve taught over the years a lot. So we’re we’re almost out of time. And I do want to cover a couple of things, the stuff that we’re talking about in terms of campaigns, most of that can be applied to nearly any kind of campaign that you’re thinking about launching out there. Why should someone decide to use a crowdfunding platform and oftentimes platforms have fees, versus just running it on your own website on your own donate page? How is it different
Amir Giveon 29:00
So I get that a lot. And people sometimes also like, really dive into that fees issue. And yes, I we have a platform so we take fees and that’s what supports our organization. They often don’t understand what goes into in this is back to tools and all sorts of things like that a crowdfunding platform gives you like, it gives it more like legitimacy, like the page is on a platform with other causes. The second thing, which platforms often give you is this kind of like what I call this cross pollination. People come to a campaign, they start browsing around, they see others, you’re kind of getting a little bit of traffic of eyeballs for free. That’s why I recommend and of course, our platform is one use a niche platform because then the traffic that people Come to that platform is already targeted for what it is that you’re raising money for. So already prime
Boris Kievsky 30:07
are interested in similar subjects.
Amir Giveon 30:09
Yeah, so I would say it’s a combination and in the fees are so nominal we’re talking about around 5%. Give or take the the end result and I’ve proven it over and over to organizations, the amount of money that you will end up raising from this extra you’re getting by being on a platform far exceeds those 5%.
Boris Kievsky 30:36
Storytelling wise, I also feel like and I talked about this a bunch when you’re on a crowdfunding platform, it seems more newsworthy. It seems more like this is something going on now that we need help with right now. versus when it’s something on your website. Even if you’re driving people with a message of this is something new and different. It’s it doesn’t feel like others should necessarily pay attention to it. doesn’t feel like it’s something that is important in this very moment. Whereas you could people often do get press coverage for a crowdfunding campaign. Because it’s on a crowdfunding site. There’s some sort of newsworthiness or buzz-iness to it hopefully,
Amir Giveon 31:15
right, and if you get featured inside internally in the platform or on their social media, their newsletter, all those kind of things, give it to more than you would get by you talking about yourself about your own website.
Boris Kievsky 31:29
So we are already over time, but I do want to touch on. I always ask everybody if they have a tool or a resource or a book that they recommend that nonprofit leaders check out. What do you what do you recommend to people?
Amir Giveon 31:40
So I mentioned to you the lean startup, and there’s so much there’s so much stuff in there. But the takeaway that I usually apply from there to crowdfunding campaigns and when people come to us is there’s no argument that there’s no discussion even though they can To spend the most amount of time at the beginning talking about their need. I again, as part of that, remember, we have those two hats, like I put on the hat of a consultant, and I try to get them to, and I push them trying to figure out, is there kind of like a smaller version of what it is that you’re one that you want to make that you can start with? yes, your think of it is a is a is a marathon, you’re starting a marathon like, let’s start with like a small campaign, you can start another campaign in six months, for the same or related Cause if you’re building it correctly, but if you’re going to go immediately for that million dollar campaign, and raise only $5,000 nobody would come back to and support it.
Boris Kievsky 32:53
You can lose trust, people are gonna think you don’t know what your doing, Surely you’re not going to succeed.
Amir Giveon 32:58
So I recommend to them let’s try and find The $5,000 that you can and it’s a very important point about crowdfunding, close the loop around meaning raise the money, show them that you’re making the impact that you said, you’re going to do with that $5,000. Go back to them and say, See, this is what $5,000 can do in the world. Let’s raise more. And now you’re going to have instead of donors, you have literally a community around it, that can push you towards your next kind of like, a stage.
Boris Kievsky 33:33
Yeah, I mean, I advise Lean Startup that’s on my recommended reading list for all nonprofits, whether it’s about crowdfunding or anything else. And people often think that a Lean Startup it’s about startups is about for profits. Eric Reese actually devotes a good amount of time to nonprofits and intrapreneurship within nonprofits, of how they can use that same his basic model is build, measure, learn, feedback cycle, yeah, to iterate and to create things that people care about. To find ways to connect with people who care about it. It’s absolutely critical. And I hadn’t really thought about it as much in terms of crowdfunding. But you’re absolutely right in the in the way that you’re phrasing it here.
Amir Giveon 34:10
Yeah yeah. And many come to me like think like, and I try to tell them, let’s break it into like three, four campaigns that we’re going to do together in the next two years. And I wish I had better success at convincing more people because they’re very excited and think they can do it. And I jump in fully into it, and I help them whatever they decide. But really like that my takeaway from that is always like, let’s try to have a success story first.
Boris Kievsky 34:42
Yep. And then those people that are part of your success story The first time you reinforced that success, and they become that groundswell for your next campaign so that you have a bigger base to launch off of and you could grow
Amir Giveon 34:53
And it’s much easier the second time around when you already have this base of people that are not just talking Around, not walking around saying I donated to this, but they’re walking around really feeling this ownership of making a change in the world. . And that’s really stop looking for donors and look for people that would feel like they made the change with you.
Boris Kievsky 35:15
And that Heroes for your cause. Talking about right. Feel like a hero. You want them to feel like they’re on the journey and that you’re going to help them get there. Much like we’re talking about today. Yeah, Amir, thank you. We’re well over time. I appreciate everybody who’s who’s still hanging on and listening and watching because this is all awesome information. For anyone who wants to follow up with you, Amir, what should they do? How should they get in touch?
Amir Giveon 35:39
Get on our website jewcer.org Yeah, and everywhere, Facebook, LinkedIn, all that happy to help even and I tell it to people, even if you have a crowdfunding campaign that has nothing to do with Jewish or you know or Israel causes, we’re always happy to help because our, one of our core values is making a better world to kuno lamb. So really just reach out to me I’d happy to I’m happy to help and even like direct you to the right platform if you’re trying to figure out the right one for you, but we know
Boris Kievsky 36:19
you’ve even partnered with other religious organizational or religious based. Yeah, definitely.
Amir Giveon 36:25
Yeah, we’re in touch with there’s a Christian one, there’s a Muslim one and there’s a Sikh one. All like always like, yeah, and and yeah, always happy to help in any way we can.
Boris Kievsky 36:36
Thanks so much, man. We’re gonna make sure we link to all of these things, the resources, the lean startup, the course that if people want to just take to go on their own and learn a lot of what you’re talking about now for themselves. We’re all going to have that in the show notes. I’m sure I’ll have you back on sometime in the not too distant future to talk about more stuff. But really appreciate your time today and everybody who’s tuning in. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for everything you’re doing to make this world a better place, and we’ll catch you next time on the nonprofit Hero Factory.
Amir Giveon 37:05
Thank you.
Exit 37:09
Thank you all for watching and listening to the nonprofit Hero Factory. We hope this episode has given you some ideas and strategies for creating more heroes for your cause and a better world for all of us. Please be sure to subscribe to this show on Youtube, Facebook, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform and let us know what you think by leaving a review
Concepts and Takeaways:
- Emergent situations (like COVID-19) can be the best or the worst times to launch a campaign.
- The best time to launch a campaign is when you’re ready. I.e., when you and your team have the capacity, and can capture the attention and participation of your strongest supporters.
- No specific time or date will make or break a campaign. That said, when thinking of timing more generally, try to ride the waves (zeitgeist) of social or political events/patterns/movements to launch the most relevant and relatable campaign you can.
- If responding to a crisis, have your own unique campaign to stand out amongst the masses that stays true to your mission and brand. (Don’t force a connection.)
- There’s no one thing that makes or breaks a campaign, it’s the combination of strategy and execution as a whole.
- Things don’t magically go viral—there are no shortcuts. The formula is about creating the story with integrity, authenticity, and transparency, then doing the foundational and ongoing work to make it successful.
- Don’t be overly wary of platform fees. Most of the time, the amount of money that you’ll end up raising from a crowdfunding platform far exceeds a 5% platform fee.
- Whenever possible, use a niche platform for your crowdfunding campaigns, because the traffic coming to that platform is already targeted and primed for your cause.
Action Steps: What Now?
About this week’s guest

Dr. Amir Give'on
CEO, Jewcer Community FundingEngineer by training and entrepreneur by nature, Dr. Amir Give’on connects his eight years of experience at NASA-JPL as a mechanical and aerospace engineer with his passion for Israel advocacy and Jewish innovation.
Amir is the CEO of Jewcer Community Funding, and served as an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Nonprofit Management at American Jewish University.
Amir holds a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University and spent a year at the California Institute of Technology. Happily married, Amir is the proud aba to a son and daughter.