Linda Hansen, Ph.D., is the CEO and Co-founder of Fund Duel Inc. The innovation of Fund Duel, a gamified online fundraising platform derived from her Ph.D studies on the neurochemical and psychological motivational system of humans in both positive and negative directions.
She also found that there was a lack of innovation in the online fundraising sector and developed Fund Duel to address this need and also to capitalize on the motivational reward system in humans to get involved in raising money and awareness for good causes. The platform motivates engagement through fun competition, winning prizes, challenges, social media, sharing selfies and videos, etc…
FWM: Your studies in neurochemical and psychological motivational system of humans in both positive and negative directions are impressive. Tell us about your background.
I have long been fascinated by what motivates us, but in ways that depart from theoreticians such as Abraham Maslow. Having reared a family of five children and observed their behaviors and those of their peers as they matured, there was real life credentials gained, but the desire to dive into deeper levels of explanation took me to graduate school. I have a Ph.D. in Religious and Theological Studies from the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology. For my dissertation, I focused on the neurochemical and psychological motivation system of humans related to addictions to violence. From the reclined position on the couch, gaming device in hand, to arenas filled with tens of thousands of spectators watching physically violent sports, what drives humans to expend so much time in that space? Conversely, what is it about getting likes and friend requests in our social media posts that seem so appealing? It became clear that there is likewise an addictive element to that dynamic as well. In the process of this research, I recognized that humans are equally rewarded on multiple levels for positive actions and positive connections. This research profoundly impacted my thinking about how to harness for the good of others the more positive aspects of my findings.
Our gamified fundraising site www.fundduel.com utilizes a powerful amalgamation of these rewards to motivate involvement in doing good. These motivators are: (1) fun and friendly competition, (2) winning prizes, (3) the added strength of teamwork and community, (4) user-created content (creativity), (5) surprising elements , (6) humor, (7) social connections, (8) social media sharing and (9) an innate need for a sense of purpose and a legacy of doing good. We learned that combining these factors along with the formal structure and capacity of philanthropic outreach of for-profit sponsors and their social media produces significantly higher engagement, donor participation and internal rewards.
“My daughter and I both agreed that we could create a site that rewarded sharing media sharing when selfies were used altruistically bringing attention to doing good for others and raising awareness of important causes.”
FWM; What are some of the determining factors for positive outcomes?
We are rewarded psychologically, neurochemically, and spiritually when we feel like we are making a difference, are connecting with others (oxytocin), and are having fun with others in the process. We noticed a despairing lack of creativity in competitor’s fundraising CRMs, downloadable software and static and uninspiring campaigns. The rising generation of donors, for reasons gleaned in my doctoral research, want greater involvement, engagement, sharing and community when they participate in fundraising. This is the future of fundraising and Fund Duel is postured in front of the inevitable.
Successful campaigns on Fund Duel use fun challenges, have numerous and committed team captains that deeply and personally involved and share the campaign with their community. Furthermore, when a campaign leads up to a live or live-streamed event at the culmination of a 30-60 day duel, with a celebration of the content uploaded on their custom- built campaign page, there is the opportunity for donors to view themselves as they shared and gave. This is akin to the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. This is amplified with the support of engaged corporate and media partners. Challenges such as the ice-bucket challenge (raised 115 million in 2.5 months) were successful because they engaged a wide community in a fun challenge that was humorous (funny content on social media is shared 25 times more than other content) and was shared through the vehicle of tagging to get others involved (what I call chain reaction marketing). Team captains can be a diverse group of committed supporters for any organization. They galvanize their community of supporters through the common purpose of supporting the cause and winning prizes as Corporations love to have employees get involved in Fund Duels because they create unity and an ethos of working together for a greater good.
FWM: Tell us about what led you to launch, Fund Duel?
I have several motivating factors in starting Fund Duel alongside my daughter and Co-founder, Jasmine Toomalatai. We both saw a lack of innovation in online fundraising for utilizing the protocols that successful for-profit organizations capitalize on such as gamification and advertising via social media platforms. We saw the difficulties for non-profits in arduous planning, intensive labor, expense, and diminishing results in traditional fundraising (we both had experience with fundraising efforts with our own non-profits). I believed there was a better way to utilize a selfie shared on social media platforms. I was aware that Selfies when used and shared in the wrong way could enhance narcissism and has the potential to present a false self to others. My daughter and I both agreed that we could create a site that rewarded sharing media sharing when selfies were used altruistically bringing attention to doing good for others and raising awareness of important causes. We believed that we could democratize fundraising and solve major world problems by combining the power of celebrity, corporate, media, and fan-bases or the masses to raise more money and awareness for good causes. In the past, there was a ;privilege of giving reserved for high-net-worth individuals and the C-Suite of corporations.
FWM: How does it work?
Fund Duel is revolutionizing and gamifying virtual and live fundraising events . It uses proprietary, interactive split screen technology, instant messaging auction, and multiple other disruptive elements combined with team-based competitions involving photo and video challenges shared on social media. Campaigns are customized for each organization with their unique brand, vanity-URL and message. Other captivating elements unique to Fund Duel include an active leaderboard, embedded live-stream feed integration with multiple screens, and live and silent auction (complete with IM technology). Not only does the campaign have its own vanity URL, each team, individual and uploaded photo/video each has its own unique URL link that is instantly shareable on social media platforms, emails and text messaging. Fund Duel is the most exciting and proven fundraising tool that exponentially expands donor base, drives awareness of causes, and is favored by corporate sponsors (incredible ROI). Media, social media, celebrities, and all types of organizations thrive on Fund duel because of its potential to access hundreds of thousands of new donors and supporters.
FWM: You are heavily engaged in community building and networking. Tell us how this translates into the mission of Fund Duel?
Fund Duel uses a network of coordinators to connect with all types of organizations to raise money and awareness of all causes and to solve major world problems. We are using events to engage attendees in a fun competition to raise money for a good cause while having fun and winning prizes.
FWM: Who has used Fund Duel? What is the success rate versus other fundraising platforms?
We have raised money for all types of organizations and at live and virtual events with great success. We have raised money at an all-day sporting event (east stands vs west stands) Epilepsy Foundation, and many other major non-profits. The advantages are the level of engagement (multiple visits to the site per user) and the expansive nature of social media sharing and an increased audience and donor base for every campaign. Multiple campaigns have experienced exponential viewership and participation as compared to 300-400 people in a ballroom, with some campaigns experiencing participation from points all over the globe! The ROI for corporate sponsors is stunning and they favor Fund Duel for this reason.
FWM: This platform is great for charities to fundraise and to have fun. Who else would benefit greatly from this kind of fundraising?
Corporations can engage their divisions and employee basis in fun challenges and competitions to raise money for their favorite charities. This is the next major horizon we intend to develop on a global basis. For example, we are doing a major global campaign with a former producer of American Idol that will be televised by a major network and championed by celebrity team captains aligned with major corporate sponsors. The beauty of this campaign is that it will engage millions of fans in a fun challenge that is created by the National Organization of High School Student Councils. Fund Duel is great for grassroots organizations such as schools, arts organizations, sports teams, churches, and sororities and fraternities or other departments of universities. Fund Duel’s gamified approach is also a perfect way to kick-start a project such as a film. Any entity can engage in a Fund Duel, countries of the world, mayors of cities, characters in a movie or game, anything is possible with Fund Duel.
FWM: You are involved with many charities. Are the charities using this platform to fundraise?
Charities of all types are using Fund Duel. They love the ease of use, branded pages, no-charge upfront, great customer service, and amazing fundraising results with increased audience and donor base. Our virtual live-streamed events have increased interactivity, social media sharing, prizes, and live and silent auction features.
FWM: What is your vision for Fund Fuel in 2021?
We will expand our marketplace by expanding to Brazil, Australia, and Europe. We plan to add new features to our site such as monthly giving and further gamification.
FWM: Please share your social media links.
facebook.com/fundduel
instagram.com/fundduel
twitter.com/fundduel
linkedin.com/fundduel
linkedin.com/in/linda-hansen-phd-35016
