Hyperlocal is the new trend in Crowdfunding

HANCOCK, N.H., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Niche Crowdfunding sites like SaveOurCommunityTheaters.org  – a new Crowdfunding site focused solely on helping small town theaters make the conversion from film to digital projectors – are the future of Crowdfunding.

SaveOurCommunityTheaters.org seeks to utilize niche or "neighborhood marketing" to create a community of resources and ideas that are locally driven and specifically targeted. Instead of going to a supermarket in another town these new hyperlocal Crowdfunding sites act like the local general store. They become a place where people can shop within a community they already know.

"Electronic Crowdfunding was born on the Internet, but we believe the future of the platform is to build meaningful bridges between projects and their funders," said Scott Wilson spokesperson for Save Our Community Theaters.

The people who care most about a local theater are the people who live around it. Local theaters provide revenue for local shops and restaurants; they become a hub for the community. This is why Wilson believes hyperlocal Crowdfunding sites like SaveOurCommunityTheaters.org are necessary. "Someone in California isn't necessarily going to care that the small town theater in New Hampshire is on the verge of shutting down," he said.

"In most cases the majority of funding for projects actually comes from friends, family or the local community anyway," Wilson added. "So, it's an advantage for projects to specifically target these sources instead of wasting energy and getting lost on the other larger Crowdfunding sites."

SaveOurCommunityTheaters.org not only offers a platform for raising funds, but, according to Wilson also conducts one-on-one mentoring, gives marketing advice, and develops funding strategies that incorporate local news outlets.

The goal of SaveOurCommunityTheaters.org is to use social media – online, as well as local community based connections to raise funds.

For example, Wilson said, one theater in North Carolina will be promoting their fund drive at local athletic games and hanging informational posters in shops throughout the town. They will have T-shirts printed in town, to build alliances, and generate enthusiasm for their fund drive.

"The true power of the crowd isn't about random people showing up on the web," says Chance Barnett, founder of Crowdfunder.  "Crowdfunding has a higher evolution…one that is all about connecting real people in real communities. It's an idea whose time has come."

SOURCE SaveOurCommunityTheaters.org