Date of Award

5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Thesis Advisor

Juliette Shelley

Committee Member

Andrew Vorder Bruegge

Committee Member

Padmini Patwardhan

Keywords

online fundraising, crowdfunding, arts council

Committee Member

David Wohl

Abstract

Nonprofit arts organizations, like all nonprofit organizations, are always in search of a fundraising “silver bullet.” Does a program or product exist that raises more money, engages more donors, and minimizes effort and expense? The Arts & Science Council in Charlotte, North Carolina launched a new online crowdfunding platform in 2011 hoping to do just that. Power2give was designed specifically for nonprofit arts organizations to add crowdfunding to their fundraising arsenal. The platform was designed to be an inexpensive and easy to use option for local arts councils to adopt for their communities. Now four years later, power2give has expanded to 24 communities and raised over $6 million for arts organizations. This thesis offers the first in-depth look at how power2give is being used by arts organizations and local arts councils across the nation. Is it a fundraising “silver bullet,” or just another passing trend?

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