This newsletter is about money. Or, more precisely, about how an organisation finds the resources it needs to turn its ideas into reality. But it is also about what comes before the money: trust, relationships built over time, the ability to see yourself in a story and decide to become part of it. For those of us who regularly work on European projects, fundraising almost automatically means grant applications. Crowdfunding seems to belong to a different world: less institutional, more direct and perhaps more uncertain. But is that really the case?
Grants and crowdfunding are not alternatives. They are different tools, requiring partly different skills. A call for proposals asks us to understand a public priority, develop a credible project, and identify partners, activities and results. A crowdfunding campaign, by contrast, requires us to speak directly to people. And to answer a few questions that are simple, at least on the surface: can we explain what we want to do in just a few words? Is our proposal tangible and easy to grasp? Above all, have we built relationships strong enough for someone to place their trust in us and support it? The ‘We’re All Black Sheep!‘ campaign, developed by Glocal Factory for Cascina Albaterra, gives us a real-life experience from which to explore these questions.
Cascina Albaterra is a place where farming meets the support and inclusion of people experiencing severe psychosocial vulnerability. Goats, sheep, chickens and donkeys are raised here; vegetables are grown; wine and cheese are produced. Above all, it is a place where people can find a role, test their abilities, take on responsibility and participate in the life of a community. It matters that all this takes place on a farm. Agricultural work has a practical reality that leaves little room for shortcuts: animals need to be cared for, the land follows its own rhythms, milk has to be processed, and daily tasks demand presence and continuity. In this setting, people are not defined solely by their vulnerabilities or portrayed as passive recipients of help. They work, learn and care for something and, in doing so, rediscover their own value.
The campaign title also comes from this place and could not simply have been transplanted elsewhere. Cascina Albaterra raises the Brogna sheep, a breed native to Lessinia. Local shepherds say that when a black lamb is born into a white and grey flock, it is a sign that the flock is genuine. This is the origin of ‘We’re All Black Sheep!’, a title that turns an expression usually associated with exclusion into a statement of uniqueness and belonging. A black sheep is someone who does not fit expectations, someone who carries vulnerabilities but also abilities, aspirations and unexpected potential. That is why the campaign did not portray people as passive recipients of help. It showed them working, caring for the animals, learning, collaborating and taking part in the life of the farm.
The appeal to supporters was therefore not about asking them to make up for someone else’s shortcomings. It was an invitation to help create a place where different people could do meaningful work, build independence and give something back to the local area, asking for support without using suffering as the argument. This kind of consistency is what gives a campaign its strength. It is not enough to identify a financial need and post it on a platform. The need must be turned into visible milestones; words and images must be chosen with care; the community from which to begin must be recognised; and the relationship with every supporter must be nurtured. Above all, the campaign needs a story that genuinely belongs to the project and to the people who bring it to life.
From this perspective, crowdfunding reveals a great deal about an organisation before the fundraising even begins. It shows how well the organisation understands its own identity, how clearly it can communicate what it does, and how much care it devotes to people: those who experience the project, those who tell its story and those who choose to support it. Through the story of the campaign and an interview about trust and relationships with donors, this newsletter explores crowdfunding as part of a fundraising strategy that complements grant funding. Funds make projects possible, but care and trust make fundraising possible.