Classic Crowd Funding
Why Halal and Muslim friendly?
With over 1.6 billion Muslims, the "halal" market alone is worth an estimated US$2.1 trillion a year and is growing at US$500 billion annually due to an ever-increasing Muslim population. Muslims are predicated to account for 30% of the world’s population by 2025. Yet remarkably the majority of Muslims feel ignored by mainstream brands, according to research carried out, and furthermore there is a shortage of creative projects to meet Muslim needs.
At Halalfunder our goal is to provide a portal that will help entrepreneurs, startups, creative thinkers achieve their aspirations to create, support and access Muslim friendly, projects, products and services. Muslims today are deeply proud of their faith – and its core values are reflected in our "halal" guidelines. For most Muslim consumers, halal is a basic product requirement. Halal is not only confined to foodstuffs but applies to everything. Halal = Muslim Friendly.
Halalfunder welcomes any projects or ideas from anyone that are inclusive and Muslim friendly. It doesn’t have to be ideas and projects that are specifically aimed only at Muslims as long as its Muslim friendly. So whether your idea or project is purely an Islamic proposal or your hoping to make a halal product that appeals to everyone, Halalfunder can get you started.
What is Crowd-funding?
It is a new form of funding ideas and projects, enabling project creators (who could be start ups, entrepreneurs, pioneers, inventors, anyone) to tap into other individuals’ enthusiasms and patronage (in this case for Muslim friendly ideas) by offering various rewards in return for cash, feedback or the chance to publicise an idea, project or business.
Anyone is able to raise finance by accessing a “crowd” of like-minded people (in this case looking for halal projects, products and services) willing to support them with small amounts of cash in exchange for rewards or even just because they want help someone else get started or just because they like the idea. Crowd-funding has been made possible by the internet, online payment systems and social networking.
Wikipedia’s definition is as good as any: “Crowd-funding describes the collective co-operation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organisations. Crowd-funding occurs for any variety of purposes, from disaster relief to citizen journalism to artists seeking support, to funding a startup company, movie or small business or creating free software.”
How do I know if a project creator can deliver a project?
It is the project owners job to earn their backers’ trust and convince their potential backers that they can successfully bring their project to life, this is especially true of backers not personally known to the owner. The project owner should be prepared to talk about their background and link to any personal or project websites. Investors should call upon their own judgment to decide whether the project is worthy of their investment.
Project owners should welcome any questions, be happy to supply more information and make it easy to be contacted in a variety of ways.
Project Creators should also be aware that Halalfunder will release their contact details to backers upon request if a project fails to honor its committments including delivering rewards and/or does not return the money donated.
How do increase my chances of successfully raising my target fund ?
To increase your chances of successfully raising your target fund you should also consider the following in preparation for creating your project page:
1. An interesting, clear story. One major reason that people will want to give you money is because your story touches people, or you explain the need or benefits of your idea. So you need to be able to express very clearly what you are trying to do and why it is significant to them. Remember to emphasis the Muslim friendly aspects. A great way of connecting with people is directly, through a video or photos. So get these ready now. Let them see your passion and think, “Wow, I want to be a part of it.”
2. An existing network. The process of crowdfunding depends on trust and reputation, so if you have or can build a core inner group, they can then vouch for you on your Halalfunder page and and help spread the word. But this doesn't mean you need to have thousands of Facebook friends or twitter followers, you just need at least a small group that is willing to step out on your behalf to get momentum going. People feel better donating their own money when others have already, too.
3. Offer rewards. In exchange for their money, you'll need to offer a reward, whether it's a sample, the ability to vote on how a product is designed, or an opportunity to get early access to a product or service before it hits the regular markets. The more interesting your rewards, the more chance that you'll be successful in raising your target fund. Also, you'll want to offer multiple levels of perks to provide an incentive for a broader range of contributions, eg for a $1 donation the person will get email updates on the progress of your project. All the way up to a once-in-a-lifetime donation e.g $500 from people who are passionate about supporting Halal projects. In which case you need to think about what is the unique "thank you" you would give to somebody who gave this level of donation. Of course you don't need to offer any rewards but then don't be too surprised if your projects not successful.
How do I ensure my ideas are not stolen?
What you choose to make public on the platform is up to you, but remember, you need to tell people enough to allow them to make an educated decision as to whether they should support your project. Being open about your project and sharing ideas is an essential part of Halalfunder. The platform is, by its very nature, collaborative and is a powerful community-building tool for our creators. Just be sure to balance this with the need not to reveal all your secrets!. If you are unwilling to share information about your project with potential backers then this kind of fundraising probably isn’t right for you.
What is the Crowd Knowledge feature?
Look at it as a way of conducting market research, without having to pay a research agency loads of money to ask the questions for you. You can get quick feedback on any aspect of your project. You might or might not choose to act on the feedback but it nonetheless it gives you invaluable insight into what people are thinking.
Why do people support projects?
Primarily because of the chance to get a return, or some kind of non-financial reward e.g. products, benefits, services and experiences. People also like the chance to participate in efforts by real people to do something fun or interesting or worthwhile. Progress stories can be told on Halalfunder through blog posts, photos, and videos as the projects progress. People love to be part of an unfolding story.
Who backs crowd-funding projects?
Backers tend, initially, to be friends and followers, and people in the on- and off-line communities that project creator is part of. Momentum always starts with the people they know. If these contacts find the idea appealing, they’ll help spread it to their friends and so on. A good idea, communicated efficiently, can spread fast and wide. Halalfunder’s various features facilitate this, using all forms of social media, helping the project to gain exposure and momentum far beyond the initial audience. Recent evidence suggests that millions of people every month turn to crowd funding to discover great projects and new ideas.
What is All-or-Nothing?
It’s one of the two crowd-funding methods on Halalfunder. The funding target must be met and/or exceeded by the end of the allotted time or the project receives no backing and those who did choose to fund will have their money returned to their wallets. This minimises the risk to backers by ensuring as much as possible that a project has the required funding to succesfuly complete and deliver its rewards.
What is the benefit of Keep-it-All funding?
For the project creator, they get guaranteed funding, even if it’s not as high as they might have hoped. For the backers, the project will proceed regardless of whether everyone else has jumped on that particular bandwagon. They don’t have the disappointment of a project they were interested in having to be dropped.
What is Milestone Funding?
It’s a feature used for raising money for a product that does not yet fully exist. The project poster gives a samples relating to what will be the final product. The All-or-Nothing method must be used with this option. When and if successful the funds are then held in escrow and only released to the project poster when they have delivered all rewards and the final product.
What is the benefit of All-or-Nothing funding?
It's less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000 and have raised only $2,000, you won’t have people queuing up to ask when you’re going to complete your $5,000 project. This method also allows people to test concepts (or conditionally sell services or items) without risk. If you don't receive the support you want, you don’t have to follow through. If the target isn’t reached, the backers don’t have to pay anything. But this method motivates, encouraging potential backers to spread the word so they can see the project come to fruition.
What is Keep-it-All?
It’s the second of the two crowd-funding methods that can be chosen on Halalfunder. Whether or not the funding target is met and/or exceeded by the end of the allotted time, the project poster keeps (as the name implies) all the money. This method is only recommended for hose projects that can honor the rewards offered.
Would it be simpler and less time-consuming just to get a bank loan?
For several reasons crowd-funding can be the preferred option. For starters, first and foremost bank loans mean repayment with interest. Furthermore many project creators might not be eligible for a bank loan, due to their lack of business experience, their lack of assets or security. Banks are notoriously risk-averse when it comes to applying lending decisions, even for ideas that turn out to be fabulously successful. The other important reason why crowd-funding could be the better choice is a simple matter of economics. Raising funds through crowd-funding can be cheaper for the project creator, while still offering the backers a good return.
Does Halalfunder take a percentage of ownership relating to a project?
No; project creators retain complete ownership of their work. We simply charge project creators a percentage of the total amount raised and released. 5% for the "all or nothing" option and 8% for the "keep it all" option. Please note their is also a PayPal charge (please visit the PayPal website for details). Typically you factor this into your fund total.
Halalfunder will not take a commission for charities or good cause projects. However the project owner will be responsible for the PayPal charge. Typically you should factor this into your fund total.
Who can pitch their project on Halalfunder?
Anybody who follows the Halal guidelines and is 18 years or older.
The project should have a clear beginning and end and have definable expectations that everyone can agree to.
How it works
Why do I need to register?
Anyone can browse the projects on the site. However if you want to create a project and/or back a project then you will need to register. Registration also brings other benefits such as being able to participate in forums, vote on features or participate in private workspaces. Best of all its free!
How do I register?
This is a simple three step process:
1. Click the "Register here" link on the home page.
2 You will then be taken to a sign up page where you will need to complete some quick details. You can also sign up with your Facebook account.
3. After completing this stage you will receive an activation email with an activation link. Once you have activated the account you will be able to login.
From which countries can I make and/or receive event contributions?
A registered user must have a PayPal account in a country supported by PayPal in order to make and receive event contributions. Please visit PayPal for more details:
https://www.paypal.com/worldwide/
What is the maximum amount per contribution, per fundraising campaign, as well as the amount that a single person can contribute?
$500 is the maximum amount per contribution, per fundraising campaign, as well as the amount that a single person can contribute.
How do I start a project?
This is simple three step process. Please note that you need to have registered and be logged in before you can start a project.
1. Click on the "start a pitch" link and you will be taken to the "submit your proposal" page. Here you tell us about your project. Once you have completed the details click the "submit your proposal" button.
2. Your project application will then be reviewed by the Halalfunder admin team.
3. Once your application has been excepted, you will need to log in and under the dashboard section change the status of the project to active, so that it can be viewed by everyone. At this stage you will also be able to change and/or add any additional information to your project.
What is the dashboard?
The dashboard can be accessed by clicking on the "View Your Account" link (which can be found at the top right of the homepage).
From the dashboard you can manage your account settings, the projects that you have created, the projects you are backing and your financial transactions.
How do I contact Halalfunder?
There are two ways you can contact us:
1. by completing the enquiry form on the contact page.
2. emailing info@halalfunder.com
How do I back a project?
Backing a project is easy just follow this 3 step process:
1. Log into your account on Halalfunder (or sign up if your not registered)
2. Add money to your wallet (you will be directed to your PayPal account)
3. Go to the page of the project you wish to back, choose the reward and make the payment.
The money should now show on the project page.
How many fundraising campaigns can I start?
A registered user is limited to starting 4 fundraising campaigns a year.
