In order for a crowdfunding campaign to succeed you need to REACH your crowd.
YOUR crowd is YOUR network - people you know and people your friends know. You may also aim to reach OTHER crowds who you don't know personally.
Crowds can be compared to an onion with many layers.
First you need to start at your closest crowd then like layers of an onion you need to (metaphorically) start peeling each layer off, one by one.
Layer One:
The inner circle - Friends and Family. The first layer of the onion you need to reach out to is your family and closest friends. They may not be able to give much but if they aren't willing to give anything at all to your campaign, then it is going to be hard to ask anyone else to.
Layer Two:
Work colleagues (past and present), industry and association contacts, mother's group, school contacts, team mates, club peers, church group etc. By providing as much information as you can about why you are fundraising and what it will mean to you to raise this money, this 'layer' of the onion can prove very beneficial to your campaign. Read about sharing on social media here.
Layer Three:
Friends of friends. Your Facebook friends may share your campaign to their friends and their networks if they are inspired by your story. Make your campaign look great add images and even video if you can.
Layer Four:
The general public. The only way to have people you don't know donate to your campaign is to generate press, drive social media and ensure your first three layers are sharing your page/story far and wide. It is also important to note that the general public will not be inspired to donate if the people you know haven't already. mycause press team regularly promotes campaigns to our media contacts. mycause monitors all campaigns regularly. Read about approaching the media here.