Ohjeet rahoituskampanjan tekemiseen
CONTACT
WHAT IS MESENAATTI.ME
HOW TO DO A CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
RULES, TERMS OF USE, GDPR
You can start building your own crodfunding campaign just by a) registering, b) clicking Start a campaign, in the upper right corner of Mesenaatti.me. First you will be asked to fill in some information, and next you are already on your campaign page! Underneath you can find more instructions. We also highly recommend you to browse through earlier campaigns, and learn from the best!
Instructions
1. Asking for donations, or a "reward based" campaign?
2. Presale campaign
3. Finding sponsors
4. Creating campaign page
5. Marketing
6. Publishing campaign, during the campaign, and after the campaign
7. Required information and documents for transferring money
1. Asking for donations, or a "reward based" campaign?
Crowdfunding can be reward based, meaning selling various support products, or it can be donation based, in which case you need either a "small-scale money collection permit" or a fundraising permit. The quickest way to get going is to make either a reward based campaign, or register for a small-scale money collection permit.
Reward based campaign
- most Mesenaatti campaigns
- no permits needed
- you must not ask for donations - you need to ask for support (by purchasing) or funding
- rewards are important: rewards of different prices must be somehow worth the money you are asking for them. It cannot look like you are actually asking people to donate.
- reward can be many things: artist meeting, a code to a digital content, ticket to an event, a physical good, or for brands and companies, a sponsorship visibility package.
- Mesenaatti will check all the campaigns, and if needed, advices on how to create rewards that are in accordance with the Finnish law
- taxable income (in general, sales over 15 000 euros per year are subject to VAT; also, if salaries are paid with the campaign income, income taxes need to be paid; if all the income is used to pay expenses, then there will be no taxable income). Finnish Tax office will help you with all the questions about taxes!
- in Mesenaatti, anyone and all kind of parties can create and fund campaigns: private people, working groups, companies, associations, municipalities etc.
Small-Scale Money Collection
- possibility to ask for donations without a fundraising permit
- suitable for art projects, helping people in need etc. but not for business or generating income
- max 10 000 euros
- needs at least 3 private people, or an association to register
- companies are not allowed to ask for donations
- You can't sell rewards on a donations campaign
- in Mesenaatti campaign, one needs to state the small-scale money collection number given by the police
- register for a small money collection number at the police board
Fundraising permit
- In Finland only available to associations
- allows to ask for donations
- permit process takes several months
- the fundraising permit's number is stated in the crowdfunding campaign
2. Pre-Sales Campaign
Crowdfunding platform can be used for a pre-sale campaign of a new product. Often the purpose is to find risk-free and efficient funding for the production, or leverage crowdfunding as a way of marketing a new product and engaging customers. Also the funders win in pre-sale campaigns: the will get the product cheaper or before others; or they get something extra that will not be available later.
3. Finding Sponsors
Along with finding a crowd of private individuals to fund the campaign, it is always a good idea to offer something for bigger funders, too. On the campaign page can be sponsor rewards, typically visibility/logo packages and/or private company events. One special way of cooperating with brands is to have the sponsor donate interesting rewards for the campaign, for the campaign maker to sell. This way the sponsor gets visibility for their products within the campaign itself.
4. Creating and Publishing a Campaign Page
In Mesenaatti, you can create the campaign page yourself. Just register, and press Create new campaign. After filling in some information you are taken straight to your campaign page. Start building it! You can add text, links and images, and embed videos and other embeddable items from elsewhere in the internet. You can save and preview as long as you need. The most important audience are the potential funders: speak straight to them on your campaign page.
- it is possible to create a campaign page in even one hour, but some like to use several days
- think of your potential funder groups in everything on your page: what kind of people might want to fund the campaign? What kind of text, images/videos they would appreciate?
- remember potential company sponsors!
- show trustworthiness, move and inspire!
- authentic way of presenting your project will usually work the best rather than a very ad-like approach
Registering
You can start creating your campaign after you have registered and signed in. Click Create a new campaign.
Information form
Before getting into your campaign page we will ask some basic information.
Campaign page
- you can edit, save and preview as long as you like
Heading
There are many kinds of good headings for a crowdfunding campaign.
- funny heading
- interesting heading
- touching heading
- heading that sums up the campaign idea
- heading that asks for support
Head image and project card image and/or video
There is either an image or a video underneath the heading, on your campaign page
- if you are using a video, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo, and copy the URL from the browser to you campaign page
- ALSO add an image by clicking the image space and uploading from your computer, or drag it from your computer
- even if you are using a video here, also upload an image: the same image works in Mesenaatti listing pages as the image of your campaign preview card
Lead
- short and inspiring description on what this campaign is about
Dates
- campaigns start and end dates
Goal Sums
If the minimum is reached, your campaign is successful and your money will be transferred to your bank account, after the campaign ends.
- ATTN! The lowest minimum for a Mesenaatti campaign is 1000 euros.
Info Card
The campaign makers info in a brief form. Whether a private individual, working group, project or a company.
- Remember to include an image (a photo, logo or such)!
Body Text
This is where you present your project and campaign at more length. It is good to tell something about the background of the campaign and its makers, why the project is so great, and why crowdfunding campaign is made.
- use text, add heading fonts, add images and links, and if you like, embed videos or audio
- text editor is in the top edge of the body text area; use paint to highlight which part of the text you are editing
- start with the most important things to tell, and place additional information towards the end of the text
- it is good to introduce the people and/or organizations behind the campaign
- sometimes, as in pre-sale campaigns or art campaigns, rewards are very important; you can take space in the body text for introducing your rewards at more length than is possible in the reward section of the campaign
Rewards
Think of the potential funder groups, and determine the sums they might be able to use
- funding works pretty much like in an online shop: sums and what the funder gets are fixed, and funders fill in an order form, and pay
- in the order form, funders are requested to state their name, address and email. If you need additional info, such as their shirt size or phone number, you can add questions when creating and editing your rewards. Remember to save the questions!
- if you are asking for donations, you cannot offer actual rewards. You only need to give the sums. In the reward description field, you can, if you like, thank the donors, or tell them what can be done with the sum that they donate.
- if you are not doing a donation based campaign, rewards must be real content/goods, and it must not look like you are actually asking for donations.
How to make sure you campaign will be found in search engines?
- Make sure that the most important key words, such as your brands name, is included in the campaign heading.
- Use heading fonts (H1, H2 etc) in the editor for your headings in the body text.
- Use important keywords also in these headings.
- If you have other websites, include links to them from your campaign page, and vice versa. Use the link feature in the campaign editor.
5. Marketing
The single most important factor in a successful crowdfunding campaign is marketing. Funding is based on the campaign makers networks. There needs to be a knowledge of and access to a specific crowd of people who are potential funders; and these people need to be reached, and encouraged to participate.
You can buy Mesenaatti extra campaign design and marketing services. Contact us!
- friends, fans, communities, subcultures and social media connections are the best funders
- sometimes different channels are needed for reaching different audiences
- it is easier to find funders if many people are involved in marketing the campaign
- campaign success is best forecasted by counting together all of the social media contacts of everyone in the campaign team
- use all channels where you can reach many contacts: email, online forums, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok...
- send press releases
- communicate about your campaign every day
- tell a story of what you are doing, do not just repeat the funding request
- write thank you posts and spurt posts
- send polite private support requests for your contacts via personal messaging and emails
- ask help for spreading the message
- you can also organize a funding event for your campaign
- be social: this is not the time to be shy!
- be authentic and present
6. Campaign publishing, during the campaign, and after the campaign
Publishing the campaign
When your campaign is ready, send it for a check (you find a link to this on the campaign page)
- you can add questions or information to us in connection to the check request
- it is good to give campaign check a view days
- if you are in a hurry, or if there is a momentum, we can get your campaign running even in the same day - contact us!
During the campaign
You can keep editing your campaign throughout its duration. You will get an immediate confirmation email of each funding.
- you can and should fine tune your campaign page during the campaign as you notice what works and what doesn't
- if you want to change the minimum sum, it is good to inform those who already funded
- you can add and hide rewards during the campaign
- you get an email confirmation of each new funder, including their name and email
- you get a full list of orders once a week
- if a big funder needs to get a bill, contact us!
- you should thank the funders already during the campaign by personal emails, as well as publicly (not including their full names, unless agreed with them)
- it is a good idea to ask those who already funded to help in spreading the message
- sometimes you can create new special rewards for those who already funded, and they will fund more
After the campaign
After the campaign ends, it is important to take care of the funders.
- if the campaign fails, money is refunded to the funders - they can see the refund in their credit card or bank statement; this usually takes only a few days, but when there is a mass refund, this can take even several weeks.
- if the campaign succeeds, the purchase/donation is valid between campaign maker and the funder
- you will have a full order list
- remember to send a thank you email to the funders
- it is important to keep the funders updated on your project
- you are legally responsible for delivering the rewards
- make sure that your funders are the first to get the products
- if there are delays or changes in the project, inform your funders about it immediately and transparently
- you will receive from Mesenaatti a receipt on the sum total, and Mesenaatti's provision
7.Required information and documents for transferring money
After a successful campaign, the money, minus Mesenaatti's commission, is transferred to a bank account of the campaign makers. This can be an organization's, or private persons, bank account.
- Mesenaatti crowdfunding campaign's transaction services are offered by Lemon Way.
- EU regulations of money transfers are tight. This is why we need quite a few pieces of information, as well as documents.
- send the information and documents via email (or, if you wish, by snail male to Mesenaatti.me C/O Seppälä, Pursimiehenkatu 24 b 24, 00150 Helsinki) before you start your campaign. If your goal is more than 15 000 euros, start by sending info for below 15 000 campaigns. Once you reach over 15 000 euros, send the additional documents.
Campaigns of private individuals
- date of birth
- nationality
- birth country
- country of residence
- phone number
- email
- photo of a valid passport or ID (for passport, whole spread, for ID; both sides; drivers license is not sufficient)
- photo of another valid ID OR proof of address, such as a subscription based bill, such as electricity, rent or water bill, or civil registry extract
Campaigns of Companies
- personal information from one person representing the organization: name, date of birth, nationality, birth country, country of residence, phone number, email
- ID (ID both sides or a passport whole spread; not a drivers license)
- ID (ID both sides or a passport whole spread; not a drivers license) from each shareholder owning 25 % or more of the shares
- company registration extract taken during previous 3 months
- articles of association taken during previous 3 months
- signed document on shareholders ownings, unless included in the articles of association
- bank account of the company: IBAN
- proof of account; account statement or some other document, such as bank account contract, that proofs that the account belongs to the company whose information is given. In this document must show: account number, account holders name, bank logo.
Campaigns of Associations
- personal information from one person representing the organization: name, date of birth, nationality, birth country, country of residence, phone number, email
- identity card of the executive director, secretary or treasurer
- the minutes of the last meeting of the association, signed
- association register extract
- articles of association aka rules of the association, signed
- bank account of the association: IBAN
- proof of account; account statement or some other document, such as bank account contract, that proofs that the account belongs to the association whose information is given. In this document must show: account number, account holders name, bank logo.
If the party is not resident in Finland, or in ETA or EFTA country, a double identification is needed. [email protected]
