Mallory and I conducted a video conference call workshop with some of the Griot’s key fans.  We asked them to review the photos, text, and layout we had drafted for the GoFundMe page and I am so grateful for their critical feedback!  I was worried that people would be shy about feedback.  People in our workshop definitely still prefaced any negative feedback with lots of positive caveats and support, but I loved that they did not hold back on giving us meaningful suggestions and insights for improvement.

Here’s a link to our Workshop Agenda.  We followed it for the most part, but definitely made some changes on the fly and didn’t send out the website ahead of time.

We learned that our workshop attendees wanted the GoFundMe to have a more narrative flow, include more about the wonderful founder (Lois) who they all love, and wanted to think about how to shape the language of the GoFundMe to be urgent yet positive.  We also got feedback about the feel of the museum.  Our attendees talked about the immersive experience being in the museum, how the museum generates empathy, how the museum has taught them so much.  This was really amazing for me as someone who’s never been to the museum.  I feel like I got to understand what makes this museum so special to so many people, and what makes it unique.  Which is perfect for building out content for a crowdfunding campaign!  It was reinvigorating to be with a group of people who believe in the museum, believe in Lois, and believe in our project so much.

In addition to getting this critical feedback, I was inspired by how the workshop accomplished other goals that I wasn’t completely expecting.  Our workshop participants didn’t know each other, despite both being loyal fans of the museum and Lois — so the workshop gave us an opportunity to connect two people who share a passion and build relationship between them.  We asked our workshop participants to suggest names of people they would forward the campaign to — so the workshop gave us an opportunity to drum up excitement and support, getting key fans excited about the forthcoming opportunity to share our campaign.  Moving forward, I am eager to work to make sure that our co-designers know that they are co-designers.  I want all these people who have built this campaign with us to feel like they own it and its their success when (hopefully) the Griot reaches its fundraising goals.