The Erasmus+ Crowdfunding Digital Academy directly supported the platform's objectives by empowering Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) professionals. It enabled them to showcase their unique talents and creative expressions through the development and launch of crowdfunding campaigns. By focusing on crowdfunding, the project acknowledged and celebrated the diversity within the CCIs, offering a funding avenue that was more accessible to niche and innovative projects. A core element was equipping participants with increased digital skills in areas like online marketing, social media, and video production – vital for promoting their projects effectively through new digital channels. Furthermore, the academy explicitly opened new channels for crowdfunding, providing the knowledge and tools necessary to access this alternative funding source.
We applied for this project because we identified a critical need to empower and support the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) across Europe, especially in less urbanized regions and among organizations with limited access to traditional funding and training resources. The COVID-19 crisis underscored the importance of different funding sources, particularly the potential of crowdfunding as an innovative tool for financial self-sustainability, community engagement, and social innovation. The needs which were addressed was to build a digital competencies among CCIs and cultural professionals, increasing their visibility, access to alternative financing methods, and fostering sustainable business models. We also recognized the importance of creating accessible, high-quality training resources and platforms that can be used beyond the project duration to ensure long-term capacity building. This project addresses these gaps by developing a comprehensive digital Crowdfunding Academy, training trainers and professionals, and promoting community-driven initiatives.