Crowdfunding for Culture

Kleitia Zeqo is a consultant in the field of "Competitiveness and Innovation". She is a Master of Science graduate from London School of Economics in European Politics and Governance but also studied in Oxford, Rome, and Brussels. After completing her studies, Kleitia Zeqo worked in the cultural sector in The Netherlands for three years, where she was a researcher, project manager and coordinator for pan-European organisations. She analysed and shaped initiatives on alternative finance for research, innovation and culture during her work as a policy officer trainee at the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation. She also worked as a crowdfunding advisor and conducted research, organised workshops and conferences and managed crowdfunding campaigns for social enterprises. Kleitia Zeqo is a consultant for the study Crowdfunding4Culture, a EU funded pilot initiative whose aim is to make crowdfunding more accessible to creative professional and cultural organisation. She will facilitate the workshop together with Isabelle de Voldere on 17 February 2017.

INTERVIEW

• From your experience in the Crowdfunding4Culture project, what has been the most surprising outcome so far that would spike the curiosity of those already familiar with the crowdfunding concept?
  

The most surprising outcome has to do with the number of campaigns launched (more than 74 thousand) and the amounts raised by the cultural and creatives sectors in Europe in the period of study (more than 200 million euros). The number of backers that have supported cultural projects via this online fundraising tool and their experience with co-creating culture due to participation in crowdfunding campaigns, has created a new level of interaction between cultural centres and communities. At the ENCATC Breakfast participants will find out interesting insights on how crowdfunding is used for community building and outreach, beyond funding.

• Why should cultural professionals and cultural organisations take crowdfunding seriously?
  

Most cultural organisations finance their activities with a mix of financial resources. In recent years, crowdfunding has evolved as a new resource that individuals and organisations can use either as part of their financial mix or not. Crowdfunding is here to stay and it is also closely correlated with structural digitalisation of organisations, offering an innovative fundraising tool, with multiple benefits.

However, crowdfunding is no ‘easy money’ and it requires a sharp view on vision/mission of the project/organisation, strong communication skills and time management. It’s important to know how you or your organisation can benefit from crowdfunding.

• Are some sectors within culture slower to utilize/embrace it? Where is the biggest gap?
  

As part of the Crowdfunding4Culture study we have analysed 9 creative sectors: film & audio-visual, music, design, performing arts, visual arts, literature, books and press, video games, architecture and heritage. While it can be said that film, music and design are amongst the sectors using crowdfunding the most, such is not the case in architecture and heritage. Namely, this is due to the lack of information on what crowdfunding is and how to make use of it. Therefore, the potential of crowdfunding in these sectors remains largely untapped.

• In your opinion, what are some of the hurtles for getting cultural organisations in Europe to embrace a crowdfunding strategy?
  

One of the main reasons why some cultural organisations have not yet embraced crowdfunding has to do with lack of information on how to use the tool and how to get started. It is precisely for this reason that the Crowdfunding4Culture initiative was born, whose aim is to make crowdfunding more accessible for creatives and cultural organisation in Europe. Our website www.crowdfunding4culture.eu includes a map of crowdfunding platforms in Europe focused on cultural and creative projects, where professionals can easily identify and compare platforms close to them and their needs.

Among other things, the website includes practical information on crowdfunding, its different models, VAT and costs and offers a long list of ‘Resources’ useful for launching a campaign.

During the workshop we are looking forward to presenting best practice cases and train the participants on how to best use crowdfunding for their needs.