Word Up Bookshop

Today we completed our first interview with a crowdfunding project in New York. We had the pleasure to interview the inspiring founder of the Word Up Bookshop in Washington Heights, Veronica Liu. 

In June 2011, Veronica commenced with a one-month program which had the goal to give access to affordable books in the neighbourhood. When it turned out to be a major success she decided to continue the project on the crossing between the Amsterdam Avenue and 165th Street. In order to finance the new location an intensive crowdfunding on Indiegogo was launched. With the help from the neighbourhood, friends, family and many more, an impressive 60,000 dollar was collected.

Veronica's large network and persistent dedication were key factors to Word Up's success story. The volunteers who were active in the initial one-month program played an important role. They all consulted friends and family to donate some of their time or money. Within no-time a large network supported the project. However, after the first few weeks the anticipated "dead period" was experienced. During this time little to no donations were made. But because Veronica had already learnt this in her prior study to crowdfunding, she was prepared. During this dead period extra promotional events and resources were set into action. Status updates of the fundraising were constantly communicated within her network. According to her these reminders are vital to achieve your funding target. A last important factor was the access of people to different methods of donating. A large number of supporters did not donate electronically through Indiegogo, but rather through mail, checks and by phone. 

Currently the bookshop is a thriving and important part of the neighbourhood. Many volunteers cooperate to keep the shop running, and even plans for expansions are suggested. Also we could not resist buying a couple of books from this amazing place!

If you are interested in this project, we highly recommend you to visit their website here.