Ma Earth's Funding Model

How does funding work on Ma Earth?

Collective Funding in Action

Ma Earth combines three funding streams to get maximum funding for community-led regeneration. Our collective funding model is different from both traditional grants and typical crowdfunding.

The three streams

1. Crowdfunding: What your community contributes. Reach out to your network, friends, family, colleagues, and other supporters, and they contribute directly to your project through the platform.

2. Matching funds: Amplifying community support. The more individual supporters you have (as well as how much you raise), the more matching funds you receive from the matching pool. Quadratic funding rewards breadth of community engagement, as well as the total donation size.

3. Bonus funds: One project's success is everyone's success. If all projects in the round collectively reach a funding target, every project receives additional funds. A rising tide lifts all ships.

Ma Earth's funding model may be different from what you're used to.

Traditional grants

• Apply to many funders separately

• Committee decides

• Wait months

• Extensive reporting required

• Maybe you get funded, maybe not

Typical crowdfunding

• Ask your network for support

• Get what you raise, nothing more

• Compete against everyone else on the platform

Ma Earth

• Apply once, hear back within weeks

• Run a crowdfunding campaign; your community's support unlocks matching funds from the pool

• Collaborate with other projects toward a shared funding goal

• Success is shared; funding is community-directed

• Build a track record that carries into the next round

Running a successful campaign

The projects that raise the most aren't always the biggest — they're the most engaged. A few things that make a difference:

• Reach out personally. Direct messages and real conversations outperform social media posts alone.

• Share your story widely across channels, languages and communities.

• Keep supporters engaged throughout the campaign with updates, Lives, direct messages, and on-the-ground conversation.

• Post project updates to maintain momentum.

You know your community better than anyone. Your authentic voice will be the most compelling to your supporters.

See our Crowdfunding Guide for templates, tips, and more support.