Crowdfunding goal planner: how much to ask for, and the backers it takes

How this is calculated

On CoFunders the goal counts what reaches the campaign after each pledge's fees, and you can claim only once that reaches it. So the planner works in that money, with the fees already allowed for.

For one backer, at your average pledge:

• Reaches the campaign: the pledge, less 1.5% of it, less the flat $0.99.
• VAT in the pledge, only if you charge VAT: the pledge times your rate, divided by one hundred plus your rate. That's the VAT inside a price that includes it.
• Left toward your costs: what reaches the campaign, less the reward, shipping and VAT.

For the campaign:

• What has to be covered: what you need, plus your other fixed costs, plus the $5 fee the free plan charges once to open the campaign.
• The goal: what has to be covered, times what reaches the campaign from one pledge, divided by what one backer leaves toward your costs, rounded up to a whole unit. It's the smallest goal whose backers, at your average pledge, leave you what you need once everything is paid.
• Backers needed: the goal divided by what reaches the campaign from one pledge, rounded up.

The average pledge must be at least $10, the smallest pledge the contract accepts. Each backer must also leave something once the reward, shipping and VAT are paid, or no number of backers is enough. The planner says which. The percentage fee on a pledge follows the plan of the account making it. It's taken when the pledge is made, so it isn't returned if the campaign misses its goal. Paid plans aren't on sale today, so the published fee is the free plan's fee.

The three scenarios are the same campaign with the backers you need, and with fewer and more by the percentage you choose. The rule is all or nothing, as what happens when a campaign misses its goal explains: a campaign that falls short releases nothing, and its opening fee isn't returned. For backers: If the goal isn't met by the deadline, you take your pledge back from escrow with one tap, and nobody has to approve it. What comes back is the amount held for you: your pledge minus the fees taken when you backed (the platform fee, the flat fee, any tip and any share reward the campaign pays).

What it doesn't know

• Real backers aren't all average. Campaigns get a spread of pledges and reward tiers. The fees still work out the same, since they depend on the total and the number of backers. What rewards cost you depends on the tiers people choose.
• Tips and share rewards. A backer can add a tip, and you can pay whoever brings a backer a share reward of up to 18.5% of the pledge. Both come out of the pledge before it reaches the campaign, and neither is counted here.
• Other platforms. It plans with our fees only. The fee calculator shows what Kickstarter, Indiegogo and the others would take from the same campaign, and the comparison sets out how each one works.
• Tax. The VAT figure is an estimate for creators who charge VAT, not tax advice. Income tax on what you keep isn't counted. Running a campaign explains what usually applies, and an accountant can tell you what applies to you.
• Currency. You type and read every amount in your own currency. The planner converts it at today's rate into USDC, the currency campaigns run in, plans as the contract counts, then converts the answer back, rounding the goal up to a whole unit.
• Adding money. You add money by card on our payment partner's own page, with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card. It lands first in a deposit wallet for your account, and we move it to your own wallet within minutes, minus our fee of 0.25% plus a flat $0.99, and the network fee. The partner shows its own fee on its page. None of that changes what reaches the campaign, so it isn't counted here.
• Delivery. Whether each reward costs what you expect, and arrives, is yours to plan. No goal covers a cost nobody foresaw.

Questions

How much should you ask for in a crowdfunding campaign?

Enough to finish the project once everything is paid: making it, every reward and its shipping, and the fees taken from each pledge. Set the goal below that and even a funded campaign can leave you short. Enter your own figures above and the planner works it out.

How do you work out a crowdfunding goal?

Add what you need, your other fixed costs and the fee to open the campaign. Scale that up by how much of each pledge is left once its fees, the reward, shipping and any VAT are paid. The planner does the math and rounds the goal up to a whole unit.

Should you set a lower goal so it's easier to reach?

Only if it still covers what the project costs. It's all or nothing, so a missed goal releases nothing, but a goal below your costs can fund a project you can't deliver. Anything raised above the goal still comes to you, so a realistic goal costs you nothing when a campaign does well.

What happens if a campaign raises less than its goal?

It releases nothing to its creator, and the fee to open it isn't returned. For backers, the rule is this: If the goal isn't met by the deadline, you take your pledge back from escrow with one tap, and nobody has to approve it. What comes back is the amount held for you: your pledge minus the fees taken when you backed (the platform fee, the flat fee, any tip and any share reward the campaign pays).