Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project online by receiving many small donations from a number of individuals through the use of social media and the press.
Through emotive storytelling, imagery and video content, campaign creators are able to present their cause to the public to reach their specified fundraising target.
In 2020, BackaBuddy, celebrated R200 Million raised for charitable causes across the country.
Crowdfunding for a person
BackaBuddy has thus far welcomed over 16 600 individual fundraising campaigns for medical expenses, tuition fees, sporting tours, community projects and good deeds.
Over 3 200 charities are also active users of the platform, raising funds for various needs within their organisation through their own projects, and have collectively invited over 21 400 individuals to pledge their birthdays or participate in events to raise funds on their behalf.
The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre is a captive breeding facility for South African cheetahs and other animals that is situated in the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountain range in the North West Province of South Africa.
The centre prides itself on its contribution to the conservation and survival of the cheetah species through meticulous breeding (ensuring genetic diversity) and the ability to release captive born cheetahs as and when suitable space becomes available.
The facility has also played an important role in the academic arena, thus far 80 research publications have been written and undertaken through the organisation.
Veterinary support
The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre currently has over 80 Cheetah’s in their care who constantly need vaccinations and health checks.
As a non-profit organisation that receives no government funding, the centre relies heavily on sponsorship, donations and income generated from tours and the adoption programme, to subsidise their various conservation projects.
With the implementation of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation has been deeply affected financially as they have been unable to fundraise and operate at full capacity.
To secure funds to cover their outstanding vet bills that have accumulated to over R300 000 over the last 3 years, the organisation has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to appeal to animal lovers for support.
With generous support, almost R100 000 has been raised towards their fundraising target with contributions from 45 donors from across the globe, to settle their account at the Old Chapel Veterinary Clinic.
Kya and Roxanne are two of the Cheetahs at the centre that have contributed to the vet bill after suffering health setbacks.
Kya, is an 8-year-old, female Cheetah who at the end of 2017 injured her left hind leg and fractured her Calcaneus which resulted in her Achilles Tendon becoming very loose. At the clinic, X-rays were taken and Kya had to undergo surgery to insert screws and pins in her legs. Unfortunately the skin did not grow over and close her open wound, so a second surgery was needed, as well as vet care for nearly 6 months. Kya is still on the road to recovery.
Roxanne, is a 2-year-old Female Cheetah, who was only 7 months old when she climbed a tree and jumped out, putting all her weight onto her right front leg resulting in a Distel Humerus fracture. She was rushed to the veterinary Clinic, for complicated 3 hour surgery that thankfully repaired her fracture. As her elbow had to be fused, she is unable to bend it, but she has made a full recovery from her ordeal.
Make a donation to support The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre
Established in 1971 by Ann and originally known as the De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre, the name was changed in 2010, to the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre as a tribute to the woman who has devoted her life to the survival of cheetahs and other rare and endangered species.
Two hour guided tours are offered daily, and on certain mornings guests have the option to book a cheetah run and guided tour package. The cheetah run offers an opportunity to witness a breathtaking high speed cheetah chase. Tours are led by a knowledgeable guide and visitors to the Centre will see a variety of animals including cheetah, King Cheetah, African wild dog, caracal and vultures amongst others.
Quote This Woman+, an organisation founded in 2019, which works to amplify the voices of women in the media, is celebrating over R60 000 raised on BackaBuddy to continue bridging gender gaps as they enter 2021.
Currently, less than 20% of sources quoted in the news are women.
Kathy Magrobi, founder and director of the non-profit, said that the public support shows the importance of promoting women’s voices in the media.
The organisation’s key focus this year has been building its database of women+ experts, as a resource for media organisations to diversify whose voices get quoted in the news.
QW+ volunteers have grown the database exponentially since the onset of Covid-19, and it now hosts over 370 women+ experts, including leading public health figures and specialists in fields from agriculture to zoology. The + in the name means that the database encompasses all marginalised voices.
Magrobi said that the funds through their crowdfunding campaign will help the organisation expand its work in 2021, including adding new members to its database of experts, and focusing on further fundraising and sustainability.
“Every donation, large and small, makes a difference. Every donation is a stitch in our safety net for 2021, a year that will need women’s voices more urgently than at any time in our history,” she said.
Quote This Woman+ is a non-profit company based in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, but working throughout South Africa. Their aim is to contribute to gender transformation of the media landscape through the use of woman+ voices and narratives that better correlate to South African demographics.
They are building a body of woman+ experts in traditionally male-dominated fields to appear on panels and in the news, and are collating new narratives from this database with the aim of broadening the news agenda. Contact Quote This Woman+
Create a crowdfunding campaign
BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R200 Million.
As the class of 2020 looks to the future and many prepare for their tertiary studies, individuals across South Africa are faced with the challenge of securing funds for the year ahead to cover registration fees, text books, accommodation and the unexpected costs they’ll face on their new academic journey.
Click here to Raise Funds for your educational needs on BackaBuddy
For this reason, many students reach out to their family, friends and their wider community to avoid student debt by opting to raise funds for their education through crowdfunding.
Empowered to take responsibility for their studies, students pen their stories, film a short video appeal, set their fundraising target and take to social media with their unique campaign link to encourage donors to support their cause.
Take a look at these students and how they secured their university fees with a little help from their friends.
Xolisa
Xolisa Shenxani (18) from Sir Lowry Pass Village in Cape Town, has had his heart set on becoming a commercial pilot from a young age despite coming from a disadvantaged background.
Xolisa Shenxani
“I used to look up into the air and see helicopters fly over my house but I didn’t know what they were. I thought, ‘I would love to fly that thing!’, but I wasn’t sure if people could fly in it. I remember, in grade 1 or 2, a helicopter landed on the soccer field in Sir Lowry’s Pass and I got to see inside of it. That’s when I knew that I wanted to become a pilot!” – says Xolisa
Xolisa’s dreams were set in motion in 2019 after almost R200 000 was raised to fund his grade 11 and matric year at private school. Xolisa was taken by surprise when an anonymous donor contributed R 101 500.00 to his BackaBuddy campaign, leaving only a short message of support “Glo jy kan dit doen”
Xolisa’s mentor, Philip Bellstedt was happy to report that Xolisa passed matric with impressive results and achieved the minimum requirements to apply for the airforce this year!
Forgiveness
Over the last 2 years, Mulanga Forgiveness Kolela, a dedicated, hard working Congolese asylum seeker that has been residing in South Africa for the last 9 years has raised over R115 000 on BackaBuddy towards her Engineering studies at Stellenbosch University for BEng Mechatronics.
“I have set three long term goals for myself. My first goal is to get my Honours in Mechatronics. The second is to get my Master’s in Biomedical Engineering. My final goal is to eventually run a company dedicated to creating and making cost-effective medical devices for financially disadvantaged children with physical disabilities.” – says Forgiveness
Mulanga Forgiveness Kolela
Francis
After completing 2 years of study at the University of Cape Town, Frances Whitehead was awarded Golden Key Honours Society membership and placed on the Dean’s Merit list.
When her family faced financial struggles in her final year, Frances turned to crowdfunding to cover the cost of her tuition. With the support of donors both locally and internationally, over R130 000 was raised and Frances was able to access her second year results and register for her studies in n February 2019.
Randy
Randy Seda (21) always had dreams of becoming a chartered accountant. Showing that hard work pays off, Randy was decorated with the Golden Key Honours Society membership which is awarded to the top 15% of students at the University of Pretoria.
With his loving family unable to support his education, Randy set up a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, that raised over R350 904.98 which was payed directly to the University.
Randy Seda
Nissi
During the lockdown, Nissi Maguwa, a 23 year old fashion student at Fedisa Fashion School set up her crowdfunding campaign to cover her fees as both her parents were unemployed and unable to afford the cost of her education.
Illustrating her passion for fashion, Nissi put together a short video to introduce her campaign to potential donors. Her campaign has thus far raised almost R15 000 from kind donations.
As a student on BackaBuddy, you can raise funds if:
You are a public/private student
You are a foreigner living in South Africa
You are experiencing Financial exclusion
You can provide valid documents to support your fundraising needs.
What you can raise funds for?
Laptops
Registration
Accommodation
Transport
Tuition fees
Graduation ceremony
Sign-up on BackaBuddy to raise funds for your studies
Tell us your story by submitting this form and begin raising funds within 24 hours. If you have any questions, feel free to reach our to our team: [email protected]
Since the beginning of lockdown, Chad Nathan (27), a photographer, videographer and social media influencer from Sea Point, Cape Town, has been documenting the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on the less fortunate in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
In working closely with non-profit organisations in Cape Town, namely Cans With Purpose, Ladles of Love, Breadline Africa, and Courage, Chad felt it was his responsibility to ‘take action’ and use his platform to carry out random acts of kindness.
”With no cars on the road, it pained me to see people digging in trash cans looking for food. I could see how the homeless were going to suffer and I knew I had to do something about it” says Chad.
With a crowdfunding campaign called “Raising Hope”, launched on BackaBuddy, Chad set out to raise R100 000 to lend a helping hand to those in need.
After reaching out to his Instagram followers, he soon exceeded his fundraising target, raising over R620 000 with generous contributions from 1253 donors both locally and internationally.https://www.youtube.com/embed/mFtMlhLNyk8?feature=oembed
The Impact of ‘Raising Hope’
With the success of his campaign, Chad has been able to support over 35 non-profit organisations and communities across the country in dire need.
With funds raised:
Over R100 000 was donated to support over 850 refugees in Kensington with food, tents, clean clothes, toiletries and other essential items.
Over R80 000 was donated to Ladles of Love Soup Kitchen.
Over R80 000 was donated to Courage, a COVID-19 community response initiative.
Over R70 000 was donated to Afrika Tikkun’s Cans With Purpose project to feed families in need.
Over R30 000 was donated to Breadline Africa who build classrooms, toilet facilities, and kitchens in ECD centers as well as primary school libraries across South Africa.
Over R15 000 was donated to The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children as well as Uyinene Mrwetyana Fund to help victims of Gender Based Violence.
Over R15 000 was donated to Tears Animal Rescue, Woodrock Animal Rescue and Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary to support animals in need.
Over R10 000 was donated to One Bag Full to help communities in Langa.
Over R8000 was donated to Living Hope to support the thousands of individuals displaced by the Masiphumelele fires.
With generous donations, Raising Hope, has fed many families in need.
As the number of coronavirus infections rise in South Africa, Chad is hoping to raise a further R400 000 with his campaign to support feeding schemes in Langa, Mannenberg, Hanover Park, Delft, and many more.
“I am so thankful for each and every person who has donated to my campaign and I hope we will get the chance to change the lives of many more people. Everyday thousands of South Africans are losing their lives, jobs and their livelihoods to this virus. Together we can ease the suffering and come out stronger” – says Chad
Make a donation to support the ‘Raising Hope’ project:
