This week I was pleasantly surprised by two initiatives in korfball to make use of new crowdfunding opportunities. In crowdfunding, an internet platform (usually a website) is used to raise funding from many people, each contributing in relatively small amounts. It received wide attention for the first time as it was used to raise funding for the first election campaign of Barack Obama to become President of the United States.

The first initiative the I cam across was set up by the Dutch Korfball League club Nic Groningen who is trying to raise funds be able to paythe expenses to have Taiwanese Korfball star Chun Hsien “Ricky” Wu rejoin their first team. Wu played for Nic in the last two seasons, but the club is now in dire need of him joining the club to avoid them being relegated. According to Facebook, the scheme is proceeding well, but still more donations are needed. If successful, I think this would be the very first time that a top athlete in any sport is attracted to a club using crowdfunding.

In a wider initiative, the English Korfball Association has teamed up with EasyFundraising to raise funding for its international youth squads. In the Easy Fundraising model, consumers buy at well known online retailers such as Amazon, who subsequently donate part of the value of their purchases to the cause indicated by the buyer. A different model, but again an interesting one to follow and explore.

Compliments to Nic. and the EKA for these innovative initiatives to raise funding. I hope to see more of this around the world, again clearly showing that korfballers are not only innovative on the pitch, but also when raising their funding.

Jan Fransoo

President, IKF