Fund the film.
Learn what moves people, lock the 1:1 match.
Open hot with the match live.
Scale on what's working and getting views.
Optional lever — run alongside if the right one fits.
A matching gift — someone pledges to match public gifts dollar-for-dollar once the campaign goes live.
Learn how people are thinking about the project. Their responses tell you what's actually motivating them to engage — awareness, creating impact, self-concern, reassurance, local community insight, a feel-good moment. Whatever comes up most becomes the lead message in the next phase.
A phone call or an email.
| Tier | Who | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Inner circle | Family, crew, people close to the story | 1:1 personal asks. This is where the match comes from. Never a mass email. |
| Warm network | Business contacts, past supporters, community, other close contacts | The soft email (below). |
Pair the ask with something meaningful in return — not just a thank-you.
| Gift level | What they get |
|---|---|
| $1,000+ | Public thank-you in the Kelsey credits, VIP invite to the launch party, early viewing access |
| $500+ | Invite to the launch party, early viewing access |
| $50+ | Early viewing access |
Example below assumes they already understand the project — no need to re-explain who Kelsey is or what the film is about.
Hey, we're working towards the finish line of "Kelsey" and need some extra help getting there. We're reaching out to our community first, before we do a public outreach. We've got a few extra costs to carry for post-production, and wondered if you'd be interested in helping get the message of "Kelsey" out there.
Ways you can create impact:
- Give a donation here: (donation portal)
- Give a matching donation: when our public outreach goes live, you match public gifts from the first week of our campaign
What you'll get:
- Gifts over $1,000 — public thank-you in the Kelsey credits, VIP invite to the launch party, early viewing access
- Gifts over $500 — invite to the launch party, early viewing access
- Gifts over $50 — early viewing access
Give people a reason to act now, not "someday." Ideas to test:
- Early access High ROI — a private link to the finished film ahead of public release
- Launch party ticket — an in-person or virtual premiere for donors
- Named in the credits — at a set giving tier
- Donor-only drop — unreleased footage or a note from the director
Lead with whatever driver won in Phase 1. Rotate these:
| Type | Job |
|---|---|
| Story High ROI | Who Kelsey was: the human center |
| Stakes | Why finishing the film now matters |
| Proof | Footage, behind-the-scenes: show them it's real |
| Direct ask High ROI | Clear number, clear link, clear deadline |
| Social proof | Donor count + the match progress |
| Amplify | "Share this to help finish it" |
Posts get found through search as much as the feed now — TikTok and Instagram both function as search engines. A few habits make every post more discoverable.
Hashtag keywords High ROI — mix broad reach with specific, searchable terms. Aim for around 5 per post: #SayHisName #JusticeForKelsey #DeathInCustody #PrisonReform #MedicalNeglect
Keyword-rich descriptions — write captions the way someone would search, not just react. "Kelsey died in custody after being denied medical care" ranks better than "this broke our hearts."
Spoken words count too — platforms transcribe what's said on camera, not just what's typed. Say the key phrases out loud in narration or dialogue — it gets indexed the same way captions do.
Phase 3 helps you amplify the posts that are working — but that only works if you set up tracking when you post. Set up a Bitly account so you can create trackable links.
| Format | Track this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Feed posts (IG, TikTok, Shorts, FB Reels) High ROI | Likes, comments, shares, saves | Engagement is the only per-post signal the platform gives you. It shows which message is resonating. |
| Facebook posts (regular) | Bitly link + click count | Unlike IG and TikTok, Facebook makes a pasted link clickable right in the caption. Reach can dip on posts with a visible outbound link, so post the Bitly link in the first comment, or let the preview card load and delete the raw URL from the caption. |
| Stories | Bitly link + click count | Stories support an actual clickable link — set up a Bitly account and a donate link. Re-push whatever feed post got the strongest engagement here. |
| Long-form YouTube | Bitly link + click count | Description and pinned-comment links are clickable once "Advanced Features" is turned on in YouTube Studio. Add Bitly links here. |
| Bio link | Bitly link, total clicks, rotated to match the current push | Catches general traffic, but can't tell you which specific post someone came from — treat it as a rough aggregate, not per-post data. |
| Boosted / paid posts High ROI | Meta Pixel | Once a post becomes an ad (Phase 3), it gets a trackable link and Pixel data automatically. You can track this by checking Meta Ads Manager. |
The workflow this gives you: engagement tells you which feed post is resonating → push that same message to a Story with a real link to confirm people actually click → boost it as a paid ad once the Pixel confirms it's converting, not just getting clicks.
If a partner org is a real fit, loop them into the actual posting plan.
- Co-branded posts — a joint post to both audiences carries more trust than either posting alone
- Cross-posting — ask them to share your launch and final-72h posts to their own list; their followers convert better than a stranger's
- Tag and mention — tagging each other puts the campaign in front of their audience organically, at no cost
Campaigns follow a predictable shape. Knowing it in advance keeps you from panicking in the slow middle stretch, and tells you exactly when to push hardest.
- Open — big spike, announce the match, all hands
- Middle — the slow stretch; partners (Page 04) can help carry it if the right one fits
- Final 72h — "we're $X from goal" + match-closing push → second spike
- Step 1 — Gather information about your post on each platform.
- IG, TikTok, and Facebook Reels don't have a clickable link, so there's no way to see donations tied to them directly — use engagement (likes, comments, shares, saves) as the signal instead.
- For anything with a real link (regular Facebook posts, Stories, YouTube, boosted posts), look at actual donations.
- Step 2 — Whichever post has the most engagement for feed posts, the most donations for linked posts, is your candidate for a paid ad.
- Step 3 — Put your ad budget behind that specific post. Boosting turns it into a real ad, which gets its own trackable link and Pixel data, so from there you can confirm it's actually converting.
| Format | What you're seeing | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Feed posts (IG, TikTok, Shorts, FB Reels) | Strong likes, comments, shares, saves | A good sign, but not proof — test it further before spending money |
| Facebook posts (regular) | High Bitly link clicks | Facebook makes captions clickable — treat this like Stories or YouTube, a real click signal you can act on |
| Stories | High Bitly link clicks | People are willing to click through — worth boosting as a next test |
| Long-form YouTube | High Bitly link clicks | Same as Stories — clicks confirm real interest |
| Boosted / paid posts | Meta Pixel shows actual donations | This is the real answer — keep spending here |
The cheapest conversions are people who clicked the link but didn't give. Run paid at them first. Then reallocate budget to the lowest cost-per-dollar creative and channel.
- Justice orgs, Black-led nonprofits, faith communities, film orgs — co-promotion to their lists = borrowed trust + reach
- Approach them as partners in the cause, not as donors
- Only pursue this where there's an existing relationship or a clear values match
| Gift level | What they get |
|---|---|
| $1,000+ | Public thank-you in the Kelsey credits, VIP invite to the launch party, early viewing access |
| $500+ | Invite to the launch party, early viewing access |
| $150+ | Limited-edition Kelsey t-shirt, designed by a local artist from Kelsey's community, early viewing access |
| $50+ | Early viewing access |
Kept simple on purpose — public gifts tend to run smaller, so the ladder is just two tiers.
| Gift level | What they get |
|---|---|
| $25+ | Early viewing access |
| $75+ | Limited-edition Kelsey t-shirt, designed by a local artist from Kelsey's community, early viewing access |
- Confirm target, deadline, use-of-funds are locked
- Start Meta ad authorization
- Identify the match candidate
- Warm email + 1:1 inner-circle asks
- Capture the "why"; lock the winning driver
- Confirm the match
- Go live, announce the match, coordinated push
- Partners activate the same day, if any are involved
- Post daily from the winning driver; partner co-promo if applicable
- Retarget clickers; mid-campaign push
- Scarcity + "$X from goal" + match-closing push
- Second momentum spike
- Publish the use-of-funds and who receives the money — post it directly on the campaign page (most platforms have a dedicated section for this), and on the donation page too if you're running one separately
- Keep it to real categories, not exact dollar amounts: editing, color, sound mix, music licensing/clearances, festival fees, distribution/delivery costs
Crowdfunding platforms have specific policies on cause and social-justice campaigns. Read them before launch so a post or the page isn't pulled mid-campaign.