Should do this for Edgeryders itself!
IMHO SC4SV is not the best thing to try to crowdfund. The best thing is Edgeryders itself. Here’s why:
- the Edgeryders community has already generated benefits. Examples: several partnerships between various Edgeryders, like my involvement into finding a launchpad for the first unMonastery prototype; small paid gigs for community members in the Mission: Baltic recently launched; mutual support among participants in the European Social Innovation Competition (and one of our projects, Economy App, actually made the semifinals and is still in the race). There is a very serious case we can make for this thing to be useful.
- However, keeping the community going has costs. After the spinoff from the Council of Europe they were borne by some of the more committed Edgeryders. We will presumably continue to do our part, but we need to go up a couple of notches. This means arise against activities that are well-loved and appreciated by the community, such as community management and the Living On The Edge events.
- Edgeryders is already a community, whereas SC4SV is not. The first has a name, an online presence, and more than 1,000 people that, at some point, decided to associate themselves with it. Some of the core members of the community have pretty good social media traction, and might be willing to help. By running a crowdfunding campaign as a community, we'll share a learning experience across all of us, not just the SC4SV group.
- Edgeryders, I would argue, has a potential for sustainability. I mean, look at it: we have a client and a paid gig (Mission: Baltic) and we don't even exist yet!
- Finally, all Edgeryders activities also contribute to SC4SV. There might be some SC4SV-specific costs – some software, a dedicated person – but I would argue those would be easier to fund from more traditional channels. Funding agencies are happy to fund projects, but no one wants to fund the organizations themselves – a couple of core salaries, a place to meet, whatever.
All things considered, I would use crowdfundiing to get the Edgeryders thing off the ground, and take care of SC4SV through a dedicated funding channel. Thoughts?