Four lessons learned: Employees' perceptions of fundraising via reward‐based crowdfunding

Abstract

An innovative way to support cultural institutions is through reward-based crowdfunding, an online funding mechanism for a specific project, which offers donors a reward for their donation. We explored employees' perceptions of crowdfunding and focused on the question: "How do employees of cultural institutions running a crowdfunding campaign perceive the use of crowdfunding to collect funds?" To answer this question, we focus on interpretive research using semi-structured interviews (n = 15) among Dutch cultural institutions' employees responsible for running the crowdfunding. We used earlier findings on psychological ownership to structure the interviews. Psychological ownership is the feeling that the project has become an employee's extension, and previous research linked it to success on the work floor.Our findings claim four lessons. First, crowdfunding is a full-time job and not an extra activity. Second, crowdfunding differs from traditional fundraising: it contains specific content-related tasks they do not perform as fundraisers. Third, crowdfunding asks for teamwork. While autonomy is valued, one employee should not be responsible for the campaign. Fourth, crowdfunding does not come naturally to all cultural institutions. This research provides a basis for further specification of crowdfunding and its implementation in the cultural sector.

The contribution of crowdfunding for philanthropy: A systematic review and framework of donation and reward crowdfunding

“…Crowdfunding is mostly characterized by network‐based fundraising (Van Teunenbroek & Hasanefendic, 2022; Van Teunenbroek & Smits, 2022), as initiators are often close to donors (Borst et al, 2018; Dalla Chiesa, 2022). Therefore, we argue that people are likelier to donate to a crowdfunding project with a strong tie than a weak one (Tosatto et al, 2022)—the latter representing only casual contacts (Haythornthwaite, 2005).…”

“…Intangible rewards excel in providing a connection with a charity (Bitterl & Schreier, 2016; Hobbs et al, 2016; Van Teunenbroek & Smits, 2022). Running multiple experiments, Bitterl and Schreier (2016) found that donors connect strongly with a project by donating rather than buying a product.…”

“…Running multiple experiments, Bitterl and Schreier (2016) found that donors connect strongly with a project by donating rather than buying a product. By interviewing project creators, it was found that rewards are facilitators of connection (Van Teunenbroek & Smits, 2022). Furthermore, Hobbs et al (2016) found that intangible rewards are more attractive in the presence of celebrities (e.g., a famous filmmaker) (Hobbs et al, 2016).…”

“…Crowdfunding is used to collect funds for individuals (private individuals or professionals like artists, see Dalla Chiesa, 2022), charities (Van Teunenbroek & Hasanefendic, 2022) and institutions (like cultural institutions, see Dalla Chiesa, 2022; Dalla Chiesa & Dekker, 2021; Dalla Chiesa et al, 2022; Van Teunenbroek & Smits, 2022). For instance, collecting funds to cover medical costs, 1 support medical research, 2 work on a new art show, 3 support Ukrainian war victims 4 and earthquake victims in Turkey 5 .…”