Crowdfunding is typically used by businesses or individuals from any sector, although it is generally the creative and cultural sectors, software developers, tourism operators, social enterprises, NGOs and local government that tend to be the most active beneficiaries.

The project owner decides what they want to achieve from crowdfunding and what they can provide as rewards. A start-up cannot expect to raise funds if their proposal does not factually show that it is good enough to succeed.

Successful crowdfunding campaigns work through written and visual material, by explaining the story and drive behind the project, and providing potential backers with details of how the funds will propel the project. The project owner is the most important person in any crowdfunding campaign and their promotional efforts can make all the difference as to whether a campaign will succeed or not.

For a crowdfunding campaign to succeed, take note of the following:

– Write an appealing project idea; describe a genuine concept that will be supported by the crowd
– Have a dedicated team who will assist with the different aspects of the campaign
– Have an attainable funding target (research and costings)
– Plan a viable timeline for the campaign
– Plan rewards that are interesting and add value / unique campaign rewards
– Set up an effective Promotion Plan using your community and different relevant channels
– Ensure that you have compelling content, post campaign updates, use call to actions (CTAs), and collect testimonials where possible.

The Goal Amount specified by the Project Owner is the minimum amount that is needed to keep the funds and start working on the project, in accordance with our AON (all-or-nothing) model; however, this does not mean that you can only raise up to that goal. The more backers you attract to fund your campaign, the more money you will be able to raise for your project.

Stretch Goals are supplementary goals related to the project that can be achieved as an extension to the main funding goal.

These goals are only unlocked if the initial crowdfunding goal is met. And they will help the project owner to fund another aspect of the project.

If the crowdfunding campaign does not reach its fundraising goal, all the money donated by the backers will be refunded once the campaign is closed. Note that for philanthropic campaigns, the money is usually given to the cause even if the target isn’t reached.

The Zaar platform will promote your campaign and help you collect donations through its online channels; however, any donation you get outside of the Zaar platform can still be added to the running total of the campaign in order to reach the funding target.

Funds collected outside the platform can be included through the Zaar system by sending the necessary information to one of the Zaar administrators who manage the platform.

Project owners are responsible for verifying the source of the funds that are not received through the payment gateways provided by the Zaar platform. 

Rewards will enhance the value and attractiveness of a campaign – especially if they are available only through the campaign.

Rewards can be in any of the following formats: (note: monetary/financial rewards cannot be offered)

– Goods/Products – e.g.  the actual product that you are crowdfunding for. e.g. merchandise, caps, t-shirts, pens, sunglasses
– Experiences – event tickets, lectures/talks, open days, “a day in the life of…”
– Digital Goods – social media mentions, digital downloads, thank you note/email
– In-kind Perks – teaching of a skill, contributors immortalized on a plaque, wall or insert on a book.

Rewards can be edited or deleted before the campaign is launched. This is normal procedure when planning a crowdfunding project in order to offer the best possible reward structure to potential backers of the campaign.

Once the campaign is live, adding, editing or deleting of rewards will be subject to the platform administrator’s approval. Some factors may prevent the administrator from approving such changes.

The funding goal can be edited before the campaign is launched. Once the campaign is live, editing the funding goal will be subject to the platform administrator’s approval and would need to be requested in writing by the campaign owner.

Rewards should add value to the crowdfunding campaign; however, they should be planned carefully to be economically viable. Remember that there is a financial element that has to be considered to issue rewards as fulfilment of the project targets.

Rewards should preferably be within the categories mentioned above, and limited to eight. Offering too many rewards can cause confusion.

Yes, limits can be set for particular rewards. You can set limits for rewards where only a small number of backers are able to receive that reward, due to the nature of the reward. This is often tied in with the amount pledged as it makes the reward more unique.

The active promotion of your project plays an important role in the success of your crowdfunding campaign. Building a campaign page on its own will not be enough to succeed, you have to shout out to the crowd as well.

Promote Effectively:

– Promote through your own community / network / people you know (they will be more willing to share and create exponential growth)
– Source channels and media that will assist you in directing your crowdfunding campaign to the crowd out there, through their information streams.
– Conduct events to promote your campaign (launch events, information sessions, lectures)
– Compile a list of contacts  to send newsletters, mailshots or project updates.

Zaar charges a 5% commission rate (+18% VAT) on funds raised in successful campaigns. The payment gateway charges are 3.4% + €0.35 per transaction (PayPal) or 1.5% + €0.25 (Stripe*). (These fees are only applicable for donations submitted through the platform’s online payment channels).

The platform will take an “all-or-nothing” (AON) approach for projects, and a “keep what you raise” (KIA) approach for philanthropic causes. Donations to projects that don’t meet the target will be refunded to backers.

* Stripe charges as at 10 April 2023
Standard European cards (most cards including American Express): 1.5% + €0.25.
Premium European cards (commercial Visa/Mastercard): 1.9% + €0.25.

International cards issued outside of Europe and the UK: 3.25% + €0.25.

UK cards: 2.5% + €0.25.

Zaar Crowdfunding Malta cannot provide advice about taxes, including how to provide receipts evidencing any tax deductibility of pledges. Creators should contact a lawyer or financial professional for any tax-related questions.

The funds will be transferred to a local bank account (a Zaar administrator will ask for the bank details), by bank transfer within 7-10 working days after the reconciliation of funds is sent to the campaign owner and the bank details are received.

All donations are public and the backer’s details are included in the backers list that is published on each campaign landing page. 

Backers can choose to use a pseudonym should they wish; however, they need to ensure that their email address (which is not published online) is correct so that they can be contacted by either the platform administrator or the campaign owner during or after the campaign. Public donations are part of the transparent and accountable nature of the crowdfunding platform.

A campaign can be cancelled or deleted before the crowdfunding campaign is launched on the platform without any issues, although a request has to be sent to the Zaar administrator.

Once the campaign is live, if you want to cancel or delete your project, you have to send an email to your Zaar administrator explaining the reasons why. An email notification will then be sent to the individuals who have pledged explaining the situation and informing them that they will not be charged.

Once your campaign is over, whether it reached its goal or not, you need to send a request to the Zaar administrator to have it removed.