Introduction
The proposed crowdfunding project is to help homeless people around Perth by providing them with free haircuts, beard shaves, and showers on an adequately equipped bus. Besides the fact that hair care and showering are significant sanitation requirements, they also have a positive psychological effect on a person who is deprived of an opportunity to take a shower regularly. Long-term homelessness may cause a feeling of inferiority, but something as simple as taking a shower can help overcome it (Walther, 2014).
Also, providing services like the proposed project activities to homeless people was confirmed to positively affect their behavior and lifestyle (Lancione, 2010). To attract donations to the project, a crowdfunding campaign will be conducted online by explaining what the project is about and how it is beneficial. Also, the project participants will distribute flyers and posters to reach a wider audience.
Marketability
The marketability of a product or service is measured by its attractiveness to potential customers or clients. In the case of a crowdfunding project, marketable means capable of getting people to donate enough for achieving the project’s goals. To assess the marketability of the proposed project, it is important to answer the question, “Why is the project important?”
Providing free haircuts and showers to homeless people proved to be a beneficial activity. According to the results of a survey of homeless people, the inability to take a shower is “the biggest thing” (Hudson et al., 2010, p. 216), i.e. the main
the concern of many homeless people. In Turin, Italy, a system of distributing cards that allowed taking a free shower in a public bath showed that homeless people were willing to adopt more socially acceptable behaviors to receive such cards (Lancione, 2013). Walther (2014), a formerly homeless person, wrote small things like a mere shower or a haircut could remind him that he was “a capable person, given half the chance, and with a shave and a shower and possibly a haircut, even a fairly good-looking person” (p. 55). Walther claims that such things kept him going.
Therefore, giving free showers, haircuts, and shaves to homeless people can help them feel better. These activities can also motivate homeless people to improve their living conditions.
However, to ensure the project’s marketability, it is important to communicate convincingly to donors the goals, relevance, and potential benefits described above. The donors should see how the activities under this project help make a difference for homeless people. In this communication, employed tools should be cost-effective. It is important because the donated funds should be spent entirely on the project activities, not on more expensive marketing campaigns. For this project, the only operating cost will be one dollar taken from the donations to pay for the crowdfunding service.
The communication with donors should not be restricted to the period of raising funds only. The project will also include updating the donors on the results of their donations. The project’s positive impact will be shown on social networking services.
References
Hudson, A. L., Nyamathi, A., Greengold, B., Slagle, A., Koniak-Griffin, D., Khalilifard, F., & Getzoff, D. (2010). Health-seeking challenges among homeless youth. Nursing Research, 59(3), 212-218.
Lancione, M. (2013). Homeless people and the city of abstract machines: Assemblage thinking and the performative approach to homelessness. Area, 45(3), 358-364.
Walther, T. (2014). Homeless in the City. The American Scholar, 1(1), 48-55.