Radio Skid Row is a small community radio station that serves the community and fights for media justice by giving a voice to marginalized groups. After 36 years in operation, they struggled to make ends meet. It was crucial to fix aging equipment and meet the rising costs of broadcasting on air, yet they had never fundraised before and doubted their ability to meet their funding goal.

Not only did they meet that first urgent goal of $36,000, they came back a year later and, with StartSomeGood once again providing co-design support, raised over $100,000!

In an interview with Nicola, a founding member and current treasurer, she recalls, “I had no idea how to do it, but I thought we should look for someone who could help us... I looked for individuals and consultants, and in the end, I came to StartSomeGood.”

Nicola chose StartSomeGood because it aligned with their long-term goal of helping the team gain new skills and endurance as content creators. It was not only a way to earn crucial funds, but an invaluable investment in the skills of the Radio Skid Row team. They set a tipping point goal of $20,000 to make urgent repairs and $36,000 to break even on the financial year, ultimately ending the campaign with $40,397. 

“It’s nerve wracking for someone who has never done it before - you’re terrified that it’s not going to work. There was a lot of pressure on the team because all of us were uncertain if we were doing enough. What StartSomeGood brought to the campaign was reassurance; it helped us keep our cool so we could keep moving and shifting and being agile. Every weekly meeting was like a therapy session. They would tell us where we were tracking and gave us insight into what would happen next. On days when nothing was coming in and we were terrified, they helped us refocus and shift the campaign. The kind of knowledge they were able to share with us about why and how people donate was astonishing. It really opened our eyes.”

Nicola’s advice to potential crowdfunders: “Being involved in radio and telephone, the key to getting people to donate is to make it easy - they just have to click a link to go through to it. It is really important that people think about the content and the story. For us, we aimed our campaign at people who had been with Skid Row for 36 years.”

Check out their 2019 campaign.

Radio Skid Row wasn't out of danger yet though.

Their future was again under threat following the announcement by the Community Broadcasting Foundation that 100% of their operational funding had been cut in 2020. After being granted a record $150,000 for operations in the previous year's funding round, in 2020 they were given $0.This put everyone on the line. They needed funds to stay on air and take the next step towards sustainability and independence.

StartSomeGood once again helped them craft their story to connect with their community and launch another campaign, raising $107,000 this time, far exceeding their goal of $70,000.

Now Skid Row have build a community of supporters and gained the fundraising and storytelling skills they need to remain independent and on-air into the future!

Check out their 2020 campaign.