Some of the most successful campaigns are the ones that lean into creativity and community participation. Here are five stories — some recent successes, others unfolding now — that might inspire your next campaign:
1. Name that [blank]
The Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor, NY, is currently running a community fundraising campaign to introduce its new, interactive 45-foot long inflatable sperm whale. Folks are invited to submit name ideas for the new whale, which will be unveiled during the Great Whale Takeover event with fun activities included in admission. Here’s how they’ve structured things:
For a donation of $10, that will help fund a much-needed transport vehicle for the whale, you can suggest a name for New York’s only life-size traveling whale — and leave your mark on a whale of a legacy!
Step 1: $10 to submit a name starting August 3rd
Step 2: Museum selects top 5-10 finalists on September 19
Step 3: Public votes, starting September 22 for $1-one vote per dollar
A museum panel will review all submitted names and choose top 5-10 finalists, after which the public will vote for the final name.
Small donations can add up quickly here, especially when paired with the second, public voting phase. And each donor has a vested interest, either as someone who wants their entry to win or someone voting for a desired outcome. The whole campaign is simple and tangible and primed for word-of-mouth sharing.
2. Collab for purchase
The Design Museum of Chicago collaborated with Cards Against Humanity to create The Design Pack, an expansion deck featuring illustrated cards from notable artists riffing on George Carlin’s “Seven Words.” All profits from the sale pack benefitted the museum, and it raised over $130,000 in just a few days.
What’s the takeaway? The DMoC offered something quirky and collectible in return for support. Can you collaborate with brands or creators to produce unique merchandise — think gadgets, apparel, art-driven kits — that tie in with your museum’s themes?
3. A story well told
Over the summer, the Hepworth Wakefield Museum launched a crowdfunding campaign to secure Barbara Hepworth’s wartime sculpture Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red. In just a month, 1,300 donors contributed donations from £3 to six-figure sums.
Richard Morrison wrote about this success in The Times, asking, “So why has the public responded so enthusiastically to buying a work that has never been out of private hands and rarely exhibited? Museum bosses could learn a lot by examining the reasons.” He concluded that crowdfunding “only works if the public is inspired to donate. Sadly, appealing for funds to repair a leaky roof doesn’t quite cut the mustard. You need to tell a compelling story. That, I think, is why the Hepworth campaign has worked.”
This particular campaign delivered a deeply personal, emotional story: the artist’s life, wartime struggle, local roots. A compelling narrative like that can capture the public’s attention. (Something to think about when it comes to story-rich objects in your orbit.)
4. Building on a donation
The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls received a $500,000 challenge grant from a patron’s estate and is inviting community donors to match the pledged amount, which would raise an additional $500,000 on the way to a $4.5M renovation of a historic house into an arts education center. Per the Times Union:
The historic home has not been in use for more than 20 years. This project will convert the house for public use as The Hyde Center for Arts Education, an over-7,000-square-foot flexible-use, ADA-accessible space. The restoration will balance preserving the early 20th-century architecture with modern elements to promote interdisciplinary, hands-on and accessible educational opportunities. This will allow the museum to expand its educational programming, which served more than 6,000 individuals last year, per the challenge grant announcement. The Hyde plans to host schools, public programs and community workshops in the new center.
A “challenge” brings urgency, of course, but the double-impact structure motivates donors to act, knowing their gift goes further. It helps that this campaign is tied to a tangible transformation — a historic building becoming a bustling community space.
5. Adopt-a-piggy bank
The Museum of East Anglian Life celebrated its 50th anniversary with an “Adopt a Piggy Bank” campaign inspired by a local heritage pig breed called the Large Black Pig. During the campaign, visitors borrowed piggy banks (for a refundable deposit), filled them with donations, and returned them to support the creation of a new Heritage Farm at the site.
We ordered 250 black pigs, at a cost of £3 per unit, which people can adopt for a fee of £5 per pig. Visitors to the site are invited to adopt a pig, take it home, fill it up, and return it to support the Heritage Farm. Each pig has its own name and comes with a personalised note.
Read the full case study here.
A project like this combines local charm and interactivity. And it’s an “irl” twist on micro-fundraising, which otherwise tends to be social media driven.
