Artisans Cooperative is fundraising for basic start-up expenses like domain hosting, email programs, and co-op development technical advice. 

Unlike traditional fundraisers, we are using this as an opportunity to promote your business. We are not asking artisans to donate their time and materials. We respect the cost of your time and materials and want to use this as a mutual-aid opportunity to promote your business.

About Our Three Fundraisers: Physical, Digital, and Donations

We are hosting three styles of fundraiser simultaneously: 

• A distributed physical goods fundraiser hosted on artisan’s sites, tracked and marketed on the Artisans Cooperative blog, social media, email, and website. Jump to Physical Goods Fundraiser.
• A subscription fundraiser with digital rewards on Ko-fi. Jump to Digital Fundraiser.
• A cash donations page on Paypal, contribute any amount.

We have transparent progress tracking. We set a modest fundraising goal of $500 to cover the first 6 months of operating expenses: track our progress on our Ko-fi page! 

If we surpass that goal, we will add extension goals. There are a lot more expenses around the corner, like legal and accounting advice that will cost much more, but we do have ideas and options for other funding sources from the supportive co-op development community, and even possibly government grants. 

Physical Goods Fundraiser

This is a mutual-aid fundraiser for Artisans Cooperative! We promote you and you promote us, and together we’ll both cover our costs from the sale of limited edition physical goods to supportive customers. (Don’t worry, this is not one of those “for the exposure” things.) View the fundraiser.

How It Works

We’re asking artisans who make physical goods to self-host a special fundraiser item for the co-op on their own stores and websites. As a self-hosted fundraiser, you determine the donation amount to the co-op based on your time, materials and costs. We promote your fundraiser and you will take care of the customer, including receiving customer order information, fulfillment, and shipping. After the sale, you then donate the fundraised amount to the co-op via our PayPal or Ko-fi. 

What to Sell 

We suggest creating special, limited-edition versions of items that relate to the co-op in some way, such as using our fabulous chicken motif or color palette. Logos and brand kit available here.

Looking for ideas or collaborations with other artisans? Join our Discord and go to the Physical Goods Fundraiser in the #help-the-coop channel. 

How to Join

• Submit your fundraiser using this form: https://forms.gle/AwWwBBZUNGzS1cRi8 
• Optional: Join our Discord and go to the Physical Goods Fundraiser in the #help-the-coop channel. Share what you’re working on, get feedback, and support! 

Mutual Promotion 

We Promote You and Your Fundraiser Item

We will amplify your business, website, and fundraiser item in a series of marketing posts on our website/blog, social media, and more. Tag the co-op by using our social handles @coopartisans.

This isn’t the only way we promote you. More promotion opportunities: 

• Promote your business with Artisans Cooperative: Marketing Photography submission form.
• Promote your products with our gift guides: Products for Gift Guides submission form
• If you haven’t already, first join us by filling out the Interest Survey. 

You Promote Us In Your Fundraiser Item

Now we ask that you do the same! Tell your customers and followers about this special limited edition item, and why you were inspired to create it for this cooperative. 

We wrote an (optional) blurb you can use as a template for your listing and communications: 

This special item is a fundraiser for Artisans Cooperative, who is building us an online handmade marketplace for artisans: a co-op alternative to Etsy. Learn more about Artisans Cooperative on their website, https://artisans.coop. The co-op is currently volunteer-run and operating on small donations. Donations pay for start-up expenses like domain hosting, email programs, and start-up clinics. We’re raising $500 to cover the first 6 months of operating expenses – track our progress on our Ko-fi page!

Deadline

We will start promoting the fundraiser in November, and will promote it for the holidays. 

However, we plan to continue the fundraiser on an ongoing basis as we work to get the co-op off the ground, so don’t be shy about reaching out if it’s past November. 

Digital Fundraiser Items

On our Ko-fi page, we are offering a Patreon-style subscription with digital, downloadable rewards. 

• We prefer items that relate to our co-op in some way, such as making use of our fabulous chicken motif or color palette. Logos and brand kit available here.
• Items must be digital and downloadable, such as: digital wallpaper, knitting patterns, color pages. 
• We respect your time, talent, and material costs as artisans and can manage the fundraiser item as a commission or a donation. 
• Your business will be listed and linked in all our marketing materials, including on our Ko-fi page and website, blog, social media, and email campaigns.
• To submit an item or discuss an idea with the organizers, email us at: hi@artisans.coop 
• Join our Discord and go to the Virtual or Digital Fundraiser in the #help-the-coop channel. Share what you’re working on, get feedback, and support!