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How to Set Your Crowdfunding Goal Amount | Why You Shouldn't Decide Based on How Much You Need Alone
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
When people are about to launch a crowdfunding campaign, I often get asked:
"How much should I set my goal amount to?"
And many people think along these lines:
"This project needs 3 million yen, so I'll set the goal at 3 million yen."
Of course, calculating how much funding you need is important.
But I believe you shouldn't set your crowdfunding goal amount based solely on how much you need.
What really matters is:
Thinking together about "how much you need" and "who you'll raise that amount with and how."
In this article, I'll share the key points I look at when thinking about crowdfunding goal amounts.
The first thing to think about is how much money it will take to make your project happen.
For example:
These are all things to consider.
A common mistake here is:
Setting your goal based only on the amount needed for the project itself.
For instance, even if you raise 1 million yen, that doesn't mean 1 million yen stays in your hands.
As of September 11, 2026, standard CAMPFIRE campaigns charge a 12% usage fee and a 5% payment processing fee, each subject to consumption tax.
At the standard rate, if you receive 1 million yen in pledges, the amount you actually receive from CAMPFIRE is approximately 813,000 yen.
From that, you still need to cover the cost of rewards, shipping, and more.
So:
"I need 1 million yen, so I'll set the goal at 1 million yen"
may simply not be enough.
※ Fees may vary depending on campaigns, contract terms, and other conditions. Please check the official information at the time of your campaign.
This is where I think things get especially important.
Say you've run the numbers and determined:
"I need 3 million yen."
Before you simply go ahead and set:
Goal amount: 3 million yen
There's something I want you to think about first.
Who is going to support this with 3 million yen in pledges?
Crowdfunding is not a system where entering a goal amount automatically summons backers to match it.
Even with a 1 million yen goal:
If the average pledge is 10,000 yen, you need roughly 100 backers by simple calculation.
If the average pledge is 20,000 yen, you need 50.
If the average pledge is 50,000 yen, you need 20.
In reality, pledge amounts vary, so it's never quite this simple.
But calculating:
"Goal amount ÷ Expected average pledge amount"
gives you a sense of roughly how many backers you'll need.
For example, if your goal is 2 million yen and your expected average pledge is 10,000 yen:
You need approximately 200 pledges.
Then ask yourself:
"Is gathering 200 backers realistic?"
Before launch, consider:
If at this point you realize:
"I can only think of about 20 people who might support me right now,"
then there's work to do before setting a 2 million yen goal.
How to organize your list of potential backers and what to prepare before launch is covered in detail in 「Things to Do Before Your Crowdfunding Campaign Goes Live」.
The answer isn't to lower your goal — it's to grow your supporter base before you go live.
That, too, is part of crowdfunding preparation.
When I first tried crowdfunding back in 2017, I set a goal of 1 million yen — and ended up with about 30,000 yen.
At the time, I had members in my community, so I thought:
"Once I go live and announce it, I'll get a decent amount of support."
But I hadn't specifically thought about:
Who I was going to raise that 1 million yen from.
Now, when I'm at the stage of deciding on a goal amount, I go through things like:
"Who is likely to support this?"
"How much are they likely to pledge?"
— one person at a time.
A crowdfunding goal amount isn't just a number you decide on paper in a project plan.
It's a number you arrive at by looking at real, actual people.
In crowdfunding, there's a way of thinking where you:
Separate your initial goal amount from the amount you ultimately want to raise.
For example:
The minimum amount needed to get the project started is 1 million yen.
But ideally, you'd want 3 million yen to realize a more ambitious vision.
In this case, you can set your first goal at 1 million yen, and after achieving it, aim for 2 million yen, then 3 million yen as your next goals.
CAMPFIRE officially introduces the concept of setting a "Next Goal" after reaching your initial target.
However, this does not mean:
Setting an unnecessarily low goal just to make your achievement rate look high.
You need to be able to clearly explain what you can do with 1 million yen, and what becomes possible with 3 million yen.
When I think about a first goal, what I consider most important is:
If that amount is raised, can you actually deliver on what you've promised your backers?
In particular, with the All-or-Nothing model, reaching your goal amount means the project goes through.
If you genuinely can't execute without 3 million yen, but you set the goal at 1 million yen because it's "easier to reach" — you'll be in trouble when it succeeds at 1 million yen.
Conversely, with the All-in model, even if you fall short of your goal, you're obligated to execute the project if any pledges come in.
The differences between campaign types are explained in detail in 「The Difference Between the All-in and All-or-Nothing Models」.
So:
Your goal amount and your campaign type need to be thought through together.
Even if the same 1 million yen has been raised:
If the goal is 10 million yen, that's a 10% achievement rate.
If the goal is 2 million yen, that's 50%.
The impression it makes on potential backers changes significantly.
CAMPFIRE officially notes that the "appearance" — what percentage of the goal has currently been pledged — is one of the key points to consider when setting your goal.
That said, I believe:
Lowering your goal purely to make your achievement rate look better is the wrong approach.
First, work out the amount you can actually execute on.
Then think about who will support you.
After that, consider how it will look.
That's the order that matters.
You've done the math and come up with 3 million yen.
But you can't picture realistically raising 3 million yen at this point.
In that situation, simply saying:
"Okay, let's make it 1 million yen"
and leaving it at that is not something I'd recommend.
There are a number of things to consider:
Thinking about your goal amount means:
Rethinking the project itself.
Points that are easy to overlook before launch — including your goal amount — are also organized in 「7 Common Ways Crowdfunding Campaigns Fail」.
To summarize, when I think about a crowdfunding goal amount, I mainly look at four things:
① What is the minimum amount needed to make it happen?
This includes fees, costs, shipping, and everything else.
② What average pledge amount should I expect?
I work this out from the reward structure.
The thinking behind rewards — which heavily influences average pledge amount — is explained in detail in 「How to Design Crowdfunding Rewards」.
③ How many backers will be needed?
I work backwards from the goal amount.
④ How will I reach that many people before going live?
I review potential backers, reach, corporate support possibilities, and more.
Only when these four are connected does a:
"Realistic goal amount"
come into view.
A crowdfunding goal amount is not:
"This is roughly what I'd like to get."
It means calculating the amount you need, thinking about who will support you, thinking about pledge amounts per person, and thinking through how you'll reach them.
In other words:
Deciding on a goal amount is itself the act of designing your crowdfunding campaign.
If you're about to set your goal amount, don't just ask:
"How much do I need?"
Ask, together with that:
"Who will I raise that amount with, and how?"
・Things to Do Before Your Crowdfunding Campaign Goes Live | Success Begins Before You Launch
・How to Design Crowdfunding Rewards | How to Think About "Returns" That Attract Backers
If you'd like to consult about crowdfunding, please check my profile page.
