A few examples
Example 1. Liz’s project
Liz needs £4,000 to organise a concert.
Step 1 – Liz posts her pitch and applies for sponsoring on www.Sponsume.com. She puts 400 vouchers worth £10 each for sale on her project page (400 x £10 = £4,000). With the money she plans to pay for the bands and rent the venue.
Step 2 – She makes it clear in her pitch that each £10 voucher will actually be worth a £20 pounds concert ticket when her project is completed. Jonathan likes Liz’s project and finds the 50% discount she offers attractive. He decides to buy 2 vouchers in her project.
Step 3 – Over 3 months, Liz collects the remainder of the £4,000 she needs by selling her project vouchers. She can now book the venue and bands. Liz then sells the remaining concerts ticket at their full price of £20 each to the general public.
As her sponsor, Jonathan not only made an awesome concert happen, he also got himself half price tickets in the process!
Example 2. Vikram’s project
Vikram has a fantastic idea for a new piece of software. He needs funding to develop, test and launch it.
Step 1 – Vikram consults the Sponsume community. From the feedback they provide, he gets a good idea of how much funding he needs to get his project up and running. He uses the advice of other experts on the forum to fine-tune his pitch, to make it as compelling as possible.
Step 2 – Vikram decides that he needs £20,000 funding. He puts 1000 vouchers worth £20 each on his project page.
Step 3 – He makes it clear in his pitch that buying a voucher entitles each Sponsumer to the completed software. He already has a good idea of the levels of interest in his software from his research with the Sponsume community
After 4 months Vikram has the funding he needs. He can now go ahead and develop the software. Three months later his 1000 sponsors get their copies of the software and Vikram launches the product onto the market at a price of £50 a copy.
Example 3. Sami’s project
Sammi runs an after school club for children with special educational needs. She’s teaching them art and she wants to take the children on a trip to the Louvre, in Paris. The trip will cost £1200.
Step 1 – Sammi posts her pitch. She spends time on it and produces a great video.
Step 2 – She uses the social networking tools to promote the project among her own contacts, as well as on www.Sponsume.com.
Step 3 – She makes it clear that each £12 voucher entitles her backers to a signed print of a painting done by one of the children in her class when they return from their trip. She makes sure that she has included the costs of rewarding her Sponsumers in her funding total.
Step 4 – She uses her Sponsume blog to keep everyone updated and involved with her progress.
In two months the money is raised. The children are able to go to Paris and be inspired. The paintings they produce are then printed and sent out to the people who made the trip happen.