It was an overcast Friday morning in Gauteng as two brave crowdfunding enthusiasts were gearing up to present a crowdfunding talk to the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC). As the audience of DAC employees gathered, Patrick Schofield led the charge for the morning by setting the tone of the presentation with an overview of what crowdfunding is, Thundafund’s history and briefly touched on the success of the Creative Crowdfunding Economy Development Project (CCEDP).

Then it was Thundafund’s Marketing Manager’s (or Artist-in-Residence) turn to dive deeper in the state of crowdfunding in the developing world and to further map out Thundafund’s place in the crowdfunding sector. Winslow Schalkwyk spoke from his experience as a freelance artist in South Africa and how this exciting funding model allows artists and creatives to grow their businesses and brands.

Interspersed with fervent questions and answers, the Thundafund team worked their way through the presentation, highlighting all the areas of success and spoke to how, with the support of DAC, they were able to have a success rate of over 80% on the CCEDP.

But, more than just reporting on the CCEDP, the team set out to educate the attendees on what crowdfunding is and how this exciting new funding model can change the landscape of funding in South Africa’s creative sector.

Through the CCEDP, Thundafund has been able to produce Crowdfunding Education Tools. These tools, ranging from videos to workshops, will assist the budding crowdfunder in their quest to have a successful campaign with Thundafund. Another advantage of these education tools is that ThundaFund is now able to reach areas and people in South Africa, wherever there is internet available.

To the future:

Thundafund is currently in the development stage of a new website which is mobile-responsive as well. The team have been making notes from all the feedback received from Project Creators and Backers, and there are many changes being implemented to take the crowdfunding platform to the next level.

Thundafund has produced new crowdfunding education videos with Zootee Studios