Top 12 Community Campaigns of 2012

December 21, 2012 · Behind The Scenes

Crowdfunding hinges on the word “crowd,” and one of the best ways to witness its power is when that crowd comes together to make a selfless impact on a community — whether or not it’s their own. These were some of the top and most moving Community campaigns on Indiegogo in 2012:

Hurricane Sandy Comfort Campaign

Location: New York City, New York

Tory Johnson led her Spark & Hustle team to raise money quickly for the hardest hit communities in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Their original goal was $1,000. They raised over $100,000.

Help Dr. Bronner’s Fight Malaria in Eastern Ghana

Location: Escondido, United States

You may be familiar with Dr. Bronner’s iconic soaps from your local grocery aisle. With great perks and a wonderful cause, their team has raised nearly double their goal to help buy mosquito nets in areas deeply affected by malaria in Ghana.

Mosireen: Independent Media Collective in Cairo.

Location: Cairo, Egypt

The wake of the Arab Spring has been marked with the rise of citizen journalists and greater press freedoms — but not without risk. Mosireen is an independent media collective and workspace in Cairo, and they ran a successful Indiegogo campaign to cover operating and equipment costs.

A Future and a Hope

Location: Nakuru, Kenya

Family to 9 Kenyan orphans, this couple ran a campaign to purchase land for a farm. With the crowd’s help, they can now grow food for the impoverished community and provide a home for more orphans.

Support the Milwaukee Shooting Victims

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

In the matter of hours after another tragic shooting in the US this year, a group of American Sikhs had already set up a campaign on Indiegogo to raise support for the victims and their families. The campaign raised nearly seven-times its goal of $25,000.

Help build Notman House, la maison du web.

Location: Montreal, Canada

Notman House was created for Montreal’s tech entrepreneurs to meet and create, and they were able to cover a $100,000 funding gap for a new property on Indiegogo.

Lets Given Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!

Lets Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!

Location: Greece, New York

This viral campaign, started by a stranger, did a lot more than provide Karen — the bullied bus monitor — with a vacation. After $703,123 was raised, it’s safe to say that she’ll be enjoying retirement.

Staten Island Marathon for Sandy Relief

Location: Staten Island, New York

Another inspiring campaign with a modest goal that quickly passed its mark and grew well beyond — garnering thousands of dollars to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Art’s Cafe Springville

Location: Springville, New York

This campaign is a great example of a small community joining together to help build something it needs or wants. In this case, it was a coffeeshop-meets-artist’s-residency.

The Brony Thank You Project

Location: Derry, New Hampshire

There is also a lighter side to community projects. This campaign organized enthusiastic “Bronies” — men who are fans of “My Little Pony” — to raise money for an advertisement that thanked creators of the show, “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.”

Jaclyn Santos Sacramento Memorial Fund

Location: Highland Park, Illinois

After a tragic crash took the life of a young girl, this campaign rallied an astonishing outpouring from her community in Illinois.

NYC Food Truck Association – Sandy Outreach

Location: New York, New York

It’s rare to see a campaign that runs for less than a week. In fact, Indiegogo usually recommends campaigns run for around 40 days. But sometimes, there is far less time than that, and action needs to be taken quickly. The beauty of crowdfunding is how quickly it can mobilize and empower a community. The New York City Food Truck Association ran back-to-back campaigns in less than a week to provide meals to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Each of those campaigns raised over $20,000.