This article is part of a series on crowdfunding, explaining the steps and what backers should expect along the way. 

The pledge manager, also called a backer survey, is one of the last steps that backers are actively involved in during the crowdfunding process, but it’s also one of the most important. 

After the campaign ends, there’s normally a gap before the pledge manager starts. This allows for things like bank transfers, late pledges, and most importantly, getting all backers’ emails for accurate communication. Normally, within a few weeks of a campaign ending, backers will receive an email with a link to a pledge manager survey. 

Your pledge manager survey will most likely already have some basic information when you open it up, such as your pledge credit (how much you paid on the crowdfunding website) and potentially some personal information like your address and email. 

Even if you already see all of your information at the beginning of the survey, it’s important to go through the entire form to make sure you’ve answered and confirmed all the survey questions. 

These surveys are designed to collect information from backers that’s crucial to creators, such as: 

• A chance to correct any incorrect card information that may have caused an error in the initial campaign
• Entering or confirming a shipping address for physical goods
• Choosing a specific variant of a pledge (i.e. choosing your preferred sticker from three given choices) 
• Choosing add-ons that may not be part of the base pledge 
• Upgrading a pledge
• Note: Many backers who don’t have the funds during the campaign may back at the lowest tier, normally $1, so that they can access the pledge manager and upgrade to a higher tier or purchase add-ons.

Many pledge managers will also collect any applicable shipping and local tax or VAT. It is possible to overpay for your initial pledge to cover shipping, but many backers opt to wait for the pledge manager, since it gives a little extra time between the pledge being withdrawn and the shipping and tax. 

In most cases, once you’ve completed the pledge manager/backer survey, you receive a confirmation. Email confirmations are built into most pledge managers, but for smaller projects, that may be a manual email from the creator or some other form. 

This confirmation is important! It means that you have confirmed your information is correct, paid for any outstanding charges, and that the project creator has everything they need to fulfill your pledge.

After that, you have to do the hardest part: wait for your pledge. While you wait, the project creator will likely keep you apprised via updates through the crowdfunding website. 

If you liked this, then join me for my next article: What are post-project updates about?

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