Money is no doubt a touchy subject, even for family, and friends, but more so for strangers. Asking a bunch of strangers to donate their hard-earned money to a cause is in no way an easy feat, but despite all the odds, it is doable. This is proven some successful fundraising campaigns in Malaysia which showed that it is possible to master the art of persuasion.
Of course, by having a cause which is able to impact many, it is easier to raise the intended sum, and these projects—whether it is to raise money for cancer, or for children—were all done in order to make a significant change which is not possible by one person alone.
By engaging an entire community to contribute, these 5 social crowdfunding projects in Malaysia managed to raise an impressive sum of money and crossed their intended monetary goal.
1. Tengku Zafrul (RM203,459)
Tengku Zafrul is the Group Chief Executive Officer at CIMB who also happens to have a passion for running. He aimed to raise some funds for Make a Wish Malaysia while completing the Tokyo Marathon on the 28th of February this year. His initial goal as of the 30th of December 2015 was to raise RM10,000 which he would then match the total amount raised, ringgit for ringgit.
Due to the overwhelming support from pledgers, Zafrul increased his target to RM100,000 which was surpassed at the end of his campaign. Zafrul noted on fundraising platform, SimplyGiving.com, “I would like to personally thank you all for your contributions which have helped raise up to RM200,000 for Make-a-Wish Malaysia (both via Simply Giving as well as through direct payments). In other words, your generosity will make the wishes of many Malaysian children with critical illnesses come true, and I cannot thank you enough for being a part of this.”
2. Davina Goh (RM23,360)
Davina might not strike one as an avid swimmer at first glance as she is an actress and host, known for her work in media. Yet, if one takes a closer look, Davina’s toned, broad shoulders might just give away her interest in swimming. Her passion in the pool was recently used on a much larger scale, in order to successfully raise funds for a cause near and dear to her heart.
The actress managed to raise a total of RM23,360 through SimplyGiving.com, as well as an additional RM3,700 offline for the Raleigh Round Island Challenge which she took part in during May 27-29 this year. She wound up swimming a total distance of 9km around Perhentian Island as well as kayaked an equal distance. All this was done in order to raise funds for both Reef Check Malaysia and Marecet, causes related to preserving the ocean.
3. Zatashah and Aubry (RM23,150)
Races are a simple way to raise funds, as so long as the run is completed, the fundraiser would have been a success. That was exactly how Zatashah and Aubry raised RM23,150 online through SimplyGiving.com, as well as an additional RM4,000 offline. Their mission was to raise donation in support of their Angkor Wat Half Marathon run, for Make-A-Wish Malaysia, to which Zatashah is a royal patron for.
While Zatashah ran a distance of 3km, her campaign partner, Aubry ran a distance of 21km (a half marathon). Their initial target had only been RM10,000, and the pair managed to raise an impressive 231% of their initial goal.
4. Geh Chee Minh (RM21,295)
His 10-year-long ponytail might have been his crown of glory but Chee Minh gave it all up in order to make a difference in society. He entitled his fundraising campaign on SimplyGiving.com as ‘Making The Cut’ and he shared, “It has finally come to this, I will be shaving off my 10-year-old ponytail in the name of Cancer Research.”
The campaign saw supporters help raise a total of RM21,295 in 2012, which Chee Minh did for Cancer Research Malaysia. His efforts did not merely end at the chop of his mane, for the Malaysian shared on his campaign page that he would also extend his efforts to a 3,500km rickshaw adventure across India which he hopes would be able to raise more funds for the organisation.
5. Ruby Chak (RM18,331)
Ruby Chak is a team member of Malaysians for Mongolian and she participated in the Together for Every Child project in order to fundraise for World Vision Malaysia. Her aim was simple: she just wanted water, sanitation and hygiene for the children residing in Baganuur, Mongolia.
This came about when Ruby led a group of child sponsors to Mongolia in May 2015, and noticed how the children had limited access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities. All this could potentially lead to health problems such as diarrhoea, infectious diseases and even Hepatitis A.
As such, Ruby aimed to raise RM7,000 for the kids, but at the end of her campaign, she raised a total of RM18,331 online and RM 11,711 offline. On her fundraising page, Ruby noted, “On behalf of the children of Baganuur, I thank you for your generous support.”