In a heavily saturated crowdfunding market, netizens are growing weary of being asked for hand-outs. Still, businesses have jumped on the fundraising model. And they're grasping for heartstrings.

Such is the case with a Regina business called the Artful Dodger, which is a cafe located on 11th Avenue. Its owners are planning to move the cafe to a new location, which will need to be outfitted with equipment such as a ventilation hood for its kitchen.

Because of this, they've started a Go Fund Me campaign with the goal of raising $70,000.

A group of staff members recently took over the business, and because they are new entrepreneurs, business loans have been difficult to attain. In fact, Kelly Cairns, who is one of the owners, said they've been denied by a number of banks.

Kelly Cairns, part owner of the Artful Dodger, says she and her business partners have tried to secure business loans, but they've been turned down by a number of banks. (Brandon Harder/CBC)

"We haven't been in business long enough to get the kind of funding the former company may have been able to get," Cairns said, between serving customers.

"We didn't want to have to close the doors and then have people feel like, if only they'd have known, they could've helped."

Within 23 days, the campaign had raised $875. The campiagn has no end date, as the group plans to fundraise as long as possible.

Bypassing the bank

For some young entrepreneurs, crowdfunding may not have anything to do with getting turned down by banks.

Some just don't want to be saddled with traditional debt, according to Stephanie Yong, a consultant who has worked with entrepreneurs and used to direct the Wilson Centre at the University of Saskatchewan.

Regarding crowdfunding, she said: "It doesn't attach you to something that's a lot more bureaucratic and has a lot more policy and regulation tied to it."

Stephanie Yong, a business consultant, says crowdfunding is a trend that is already on the decline, due to contributor fatigue from the sheer number of active campaigns nowadays. (CBC)

That being said, most businesses using crowdfunding don't expect people to just hand them money. Many offer perks in return for contributions. For instance, the Artful Dodger is offering dinner and drinks for two in return for $100. For $500, they're offering a card entitling the bearer to $6 pints for life.

Savvy businesses make projections, costing these perks out in advance, Yong said.

Tugging at the heartstrings

In addition to the tangible return for investment, many successful crowdfunding campaigns also have an emotional component.

"Because crowdfunding is such a storytelling platform, it's very personal and people can get connected by reading your story or by watching your video," Yong said.

A local business that seems to have gotten the formula right is Malinche, a Mexican food truck that operates on Regina's 15th Avenue. Its owners managed to exceed its target, raising $23,000 through a Kickstarter campaign in under a month. The funding was used to open up the truck.

A time limit of 30 days was set for the campaign, as owner Madison Sutcliffe said research she'd conducted indicated that if a business doesn't achieve its goal within a month, it's much less likely to achieve it at all.

Madison Sutcliffe, part owner of the Malinche food truck, says a lot of time and effort went into creating a successful crowdfunding campaign. (Brandon Harder/CBC)

"The Kickstarter campaign was a good gauge for if Regina wanted something more full-time from us," she said.

The success, she said, might have been thanks to a few things. First, the food being served at Malinche already had a following thanks to some pop-up restaurant events featuring Malinche's head chef, Mariana Brito.

Second, the Malinche team generated some old-fashioned sweat equity, actualized online.

"People need to believe in the project," Sutcliffe said.

Malinche's 30-day campaign was punctuated by efforts to further connect people with the idea, leaning heavily on Brito as the central character. This included a number of videos and a podcast appearance. One of the videos depicted the chef at home in Tijuana, Mexico, cooking with her mother. Another discussed her commitment to locally grown organic food.

Malinche also offered perks for cash, including tacos, tote bags and a cooking class.

Funding fatigue

Yong feels the online landscape has become so saturated with campaigns over the last few years, netizens are becoming fatigued. As such, only the most sensational campaigns get noticed.

"I think it's already on the way down," she said of the trend. "I think people are just getting tired of being asked for money."