How FundWeaver Works

Funds are always a difficult thing to secure, especially when creating opportunity out of nothing as all entrepreneurs do.

A crowdfunding campaign utilizing the platform is live 24/7 for a set period of time. Maximum number of days a campaign will remain live is 88 days. Throughout that time, anybody can hit that ‘contribute button’ and get behind your project financially.

This is where the real work begins! You have to use those social media plugs, word of mouth, F&F (friends and family) and your communities around you to share in and build momentum around the professional goals you're setting for yourself.

Keeping with an altruistic sentiment, project creators must give back as their token of appreciation. Contribution thresholds and their ‘Personalized Thank Yous’ are a big part of the campaign. Get creative, say thank you in your own unique way. Contributors can opt out of the ‘Personalized Thank Yous’ if they so choose.

Once the campaign expires, all funds raised are transferred to the project creator’s account via PayPal using built-in online payment processing capabilities.

A Very Basic Conceptual Example

* We call the offerings given to contributors Personalized Thank-Yous

The FundWeaver Team

Co-Founder | Communications & Community Manager

• Background in Communications and New Media
• Descendant of Nak'azdli First Nation in Northern B.C.

Think Global - Act Local! The best strategies are those that involve everybody as consensus is vital to organize and attack initiatives. My name is Mishon Sutherland and I am a Media and Communications student who looks to the next 50 years of Aboriginal growth and development from which the path for my children will be laid. I see no paradox or contradiction of values in those who think traditionally with technological inclinations. Tradition lies in the footsteps of those taking risks on their paths to self-discovery. ‘Innovative Traditionalism’ is a concept I will study until I am an old woman. The time is now, the tools we hold, and if we align our priorities locally, we can accomplish unimaginable and illimitable things at national levels. Robustness carries me and capacity building enables me to live my life out on the periphery looking in with a moral aptitude I’ve come to trust.

After much silence and observation, I know that limits are illusions that we set for ourselves and breaking barriers is what I look forward to!

Co-Founder | Programmer & Biz Development

• Background in International Business & Entrepreneurship

The past few years have been a journey of discovery for me, and as much self-discovery as anything else. After finishing my master’s in business and travelling to Brazil for 6 months I quickly became in love with all things entrepreneurial. There’s nothing better than doing something you love, and if you don’t create it who will? Since then, my passion has been to help enable entrepreneurs and turn their great ideas into a reality.

I am a true believer that it’s personal projects and start-up companies that shape much of the positive change in our world. From my experiences meeting with entrepreneurs from all over the world, ideas won’t take hold unless many people get behind them. With FundWeaver our goal is to spotlight the amazing talent and great new ideas within the Aborginal community, and for people to become a part of the great projects around them. With FundWeaver, project creators can let everyone peek at their plans while they are still on the drawing board, and get people involved in contributing their minds even more than their money.

For me, FundWeaver is just the beginning in terms of the ideas I want to help make a reality… how about you?

Our team at FundWeaver sees the potential that new technology can offer to promote and preserve culture. We are a young and motivated group that is always open to new ideas and partnering with other organizations to meet our end goal of strengthening Aboriginal society. If you ever have any ideas, suggestions or are interested in working with or alongside FundWeaver feel free to contact us here. And please help spread the word!

The FundWeaver Mission Statement

FundWeaver is an online funding platform dedicated to growing Aboriginal entrepreneurs and supporting its community members.

The FundWeaver Vision Statement

To connect and empower all realms of Aboriginal society across Canada through social media and crowd-driven technology.

Contributing to a Project

Contributing to a project is easy. First find the project you are interested in contributing to, you can do so easily in the explore section.

Once you find the project you are wanting to support, you will see it as it is shown below:

* Click the image portion and you will be taken to the project's page.

Once at the project page, which will look as shown below, simply click the large green button that says "BACK THIS PROJECT", and you will be guided to the chose the amount of your contribution along with your choice of a Personalized Thank-You. From there you will be guided to PayPal to process your payment. On PayPal you can chose to pay by most major credit cards or through your PayPal account if you have one. After your payment is made, you will be redirected to FundWeaver and will receive a confirmation email from FundWeaver that confirms we have received your contribution.

* When the project's timeline has elapsed no more contributions can be received and the "BACK THIS PROJECT" button will turn grey and won't work.

Personalized Thank-Yous

Personalized Thank-Yous are the return offerings chosen by the project's creator as an expression of gratitude for contributions.

Projects will generally offer a few Personalized Thank-Yous each with a minimum contribution requirement.

The Personalized Thank-Yous may vary from gifts offered by the project creators to verbal forms of appreciation for more charitable fundraising.

Note, The Personalized Thank-Yous offered are at the discretion of the project creator that is fundraising, and is their sole responsibility to fulfill.

Preparing Your Project

For a project to go on FundWeaver, 5 things are essential:

Project Description

Video About the Project

Personalized Thank-Yous

Personalized Thank-Yous are return offerings pledged by a project creator in appreciation of donations dependent on the amount.

Personalized Thank-yous are created at the discretion of the project creator, and can range from oral expressions of gratitude to offerings of gifts. For example, donations of $10 or more may warrant a personalized "Thank-You" in the form of a personal expression of gratitude while donations of $50 or more may come with a signed copy of a CD they intend to make with the funds they raise.

It is usually best to offer an array of Personalized Thank-Yous, including more customized Personalized Thank-Yous to entice and show appreciation for larger donors who want to be even more involved in the success of your project.

When considering possible gifts as your Personalized Thank-Yous: Create value. This doesn’t mean they have to be expensive but rather something that will entice donations from people outside of your close network of friends and associations. For large donations, an artist can perhaps offer signed prints of past artwork or a 1-on-1 art lesson. Apply creativity and thought to make a Personalized Thank-You memorable.

The intention of a "Thank-you" is to show your level of appreciation for money donated as well as building connections between project creators and new supporters.

* For causes you may prefer verbal expressions of gratitude, or an area where you can include the names of contributors in credits or engravings.

Fundraising Goal

The fundraising goal should be well thought out and represent the minimum amount needed to fulfil the intention of your project or cause.

FundWeaver has no maximum or limit to the amount of donations you can collect, but the minimum is important to consider. To encourage our project creators to consider minimums as well as reward those that are able to achieve their goals, we have reduced our commission for projects that are fully funded. Take your time determining how much you really need!

Timeline

While you can set your timeline between 1 and 88 days, we recommend a timeline between 25 – 40 days for a successful campaign. This sort of timeline offers a mix between enough time to collect funds, yet creates the sense of urgency for those backers to make the immediate donations.

Obviously, the best timeline will still depend on the nature of the campaign itself and the creator’s ambitions.

Additionally, since FundWeaver is still in its initial stages, it is likely best to add a bit of extra time onto your timeline so that more people can become familiar with the platform and donation process.

If you have any questions, contact us here

Uploading Your Project

When you are ready, check the box below and click the submit button.

Once you click the submit button, you will be taken to a form where you will fill out all of the necessary information to get your project page up and running. After filling out the form, you will still get the chance to do some last minute editing before finally submitting your project to FundWeaver.

After submitting your project we will briefly assess the nature of your project and its suitability on FundWeaver. We will review the project promptly (usually within 24 hrs) and if it's accepted it will go live immediately. We are looking to promote as many projects as we can, but check the tab "The Projects FundWeaver Accepts" on the left if you are worried that your project won't be accepted.

And of course read through the tabs "Preparing a Project" and "Keys to Success", to make sure you are fully prepared and make the most of your campaign!

Collecting Contributions

Once your project is accepted to go on FundWeaver, it will be live right away. Throughout the duration of your campaign, your page will be live 24/7 with the ability to accept donations. Simply guide your potential contributors to your campaign page on FundWeaver and get them to click on the big Green button that says BACK THIS PROJECT to begin the payment process.

FundWeaver is integrated with PayPal payment processing, so any contributor can come on and pay through either a PayPal account or with their credit card.

There is no maximum to the amount of funds you can raise throughout your campaign, but as soon as the timeline you set is up no more contributions can be received.

Receiving the funds: Once the project is completed the funds you raise will be sent to your account via PayPal. PayPal's accounts and payments are all tied to email addresses, so the transfer will be tied to the email address you provide as your user email address. Before the final submit of your project we will remind you to double check the spelling of your user email address (much the same way you would double check your bank account number before a payment transfer), because if you haven't already set up a PayPal account, the money will be held by PayPal and an email will be sent to your user email address asking you to set up a PayPal account to collect your funds. Once your project is accepted and throughout your project's timeline, we will freeze your user account email so it won't be changed by accident, ensuring all of the funds will be safely transferred to you.

If you have any more questions around the transfer, feel free to contact us here

FundWeaver Pricing

Putting up a project or cause on the site costs you nothing. If the fundraising campaign is successful, FundWeaver collects 4% of the funds raised, however, if the project does not reach its goal, the percentage collected is 6%. FundWeaver will work to promote the fundraising campaign, and the lower rate for successful campaigns is to encourage campaign creators to put in their best effort as well to into reaching their goal.

Payment processing fees also apply. FundWeaver passes on the cost of credit card processing with a set 4% charge per transaction. These fees normally vary per transaction from roughly 3-6%, with smaller donations leading to higher rates. FundWeaver absorbs the fluctuations and offers a set rate, ensuring no campaign creator is burdened with higher than expected costs.

The Intellectual Property Rights remain 100% yours!

The Projects FundWeaver Accepts

With the intent to promote all aspects of Aboriginal Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation, FundWeaver is here for almost every type of project. We especially love:

We aren't helping finance companies, only projects. If your project also makes you money, no problem! However, we are just looking for projects that are more finite in nature. If you are an artisan looking to get your tools or space for an upcoming exhibit, okay; subsidizing monthly expenses, no.

We aren't a Marketplace. Although we would love to help all businesses, FundWeaver is not a place for established businesses to list their products. FundWeaver is here to help individuals and businesses finance for creating new products and helping them overcome their current obstacles.

Keys to a Successful Fundraising Campaign

The likelihood of a crowdfunding campaign reaching its goal is ultimately dependent on the project creator.

The main factors that determine the success of your campaign are the personalization of your video, the creativity put into your Personalized Thank-Yous and how well you promote your campaign.

As a project creator, the results will be tied to the amount of energy and engagement you put into your campaign, with the biggest defining factor being how much you promote your campaign.

Crowdfunding works on the idea of the 6 degrees of separation. So you must spread the word through all of your networks of friends, family, fans, community and so forth. Keep actively spreading the word and gaining positive momentum and energy behind your campaign, and remember to get everyone you know to spread the word as well!

Plan ahead on how you intend to promote your campaign. Great ideas include setting up a Facebook event that invites your facebook network to check out your campaign on FundWeaver once it's live or sending out a mass email with the personal ambitions behind your project and the link to your project on FundWeaver. FundWeaver also includes all of the main social media integrations to help you spread the word.

Remember to stay engaged with the supporters that contribute and comment on your campaign page. These are the people that understand your vision the best and if you remain engaged with them, they will be your best helpers in spreading the message even further.

Fulfill your promises! If you are reaching out for contributions, make sure you fulfill your part by sending out all of the Personalized Thank-Yous you list. We know that the project won't be completed right away, so some may take time, but fulfill your promises as soon as you can. We want to see our project creators succeed and come back to FundWeaver to raise funds for their future projects as they become bigger and better!