Project: Save Indigemoji! (2024)
Why did you apply for MATCH Lab and why were matched funds so important for your project?
Indigemoji is a collective of First Nations young people, senior Arrernte linguists, artists and supporting creative technologists based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the central desert of Australia. We undertake projects that experiment with the intersection of language and technology, weaving together ancient and new data and knowledge systems.
We first came together in 2018 to create Australia’s first set of Indigenous emoji made on Arrernte-kenhe ampere (Arrernte Country), releasing 90 Arrernte emojis and audio pronunciations recorded and designed with over 900 young people, available for use via a free app. The project combines one of the newest languages in the world with one of the oldest – Eastern and Central Arrernte, the traditional language of Mparntwe, a language increasingly threatened by the ongoing forces of colonisation. We worry about our language. Our young people are surrounded by English, a dust which has blown in. Through our projects we are working to wipe it back to show what was always there, what belongs there.
As connectivity grows in remote areas, the Indigemoji collective undertakes experimental projects that address gaps in the representation, opportunity and access. We enable young people to develop new means of communicating on digital platforms using signs and signifiers from their own culture and language – a small but significant step towards encouraging everyday usage of our language and improving the representation and inclusion of diverse cultures and languages in digital technologies.
Downloaded over 120,000 times since its launch, Indigemoji is one of the most popular First Nations language learning apps in Australia. It also has been recognised in international award programs The Webby's and Prix Ars Electronica.
But our app is in trouble.
Programmed in 2018, the app is old and no longer working on many devices. It requires a significant upgrade as programming tools, language and app store requirements have evolved. We were getting many emails each week from users reporting that the app is no longer working on their devices and how much they love and miss it. It required redevelopment in line with current App Store/Google Play requirements – years of band-aids and sticky tape had run thin. Few to no grants support maintenance of digital work, so MATCH Lab enabled Indigemoji to fundraise redevelopment costs.
MatchLab enabled us to develop a matched funding campaign, drawing on our loyal user base, to support our Luritja developer Matthew Heffernan to re-program, upgrade and essentially save our app.
Tell us about your fundraising strategy?
Indigemoji aimed to raise $10,000 matched by $10,000 from Creative Australia to cover the app’s redevelopment. We also identified a stretch goal of $5,000 for additional app features depending on the progress of the campaign. We used two platforms, Kickstarter and the Australian Cultural Fund, for those requiring a tax-deductible receipt, over four weeks.
Indigemoji is delivered to devices via a sticker set, so to complement the campaign, we produced a set of physical printed laptop stickers that were offered as rewards to donors on Kickstarter. This aligned with our values of reciprocity, sharing and generosity. The stickers were wildly popular and further marketing for our project and campaign.
Our campaign was launched with an initial video from our lead artist Graham Wilfred Junior and followed up with a secondary video from Matthew Heffernan. Not overly produced, these were raw and authentic and honest and just spoke to the heart of what we’re trying to do and the context in which we work.
What were your most significant achievements?
Indigemoji reached our funding goal in the first two weeks of the four-week campaign, which was a huge achievement and saved our app. A newspaper story in the NT News drew a local company, Radical Systems, which we had previously had no contact with, to fund the full remaining amount, around half the original target in one go! With the remaining time, we set an additional stretch goal of $5,000 to develop some new features (audio phrases and GIFs), which was almost met. Getting the look, feel and vibe of the initial launch video was also critical to the campaign's success.
How did you contact your donors and form relationships during the campaign and post-fundraising?
We used many channels to communicate with our donors during the campaign and beyond. We individually thanked each donor as they donated through the platform. We fulfilled all sticker rewards on Kickstarter. Having recently completed our next project, we shared our future work using the contact list we built through this campaign to keep them within our community and broader Indigemoji family.
Were there any unexpected results?
While social media is a primary focus of any campaign, traditional media proved particularly powerful for our campaign. It was a story in the local paper that delivered our biggest donation and enabled us to reach our target with time to spare.
We also underestimated the depth of racism within comments online. In terms of wellbeing for First Nations fundraisers, this should be considered as a potential risk. Individualising or personalising asks in email was the most effective.
We also didn’t expect the confidence boost from the overall program. We are just far more confident in the community support that we have and in talking about money in general.
Is there anything you would do differently?
When setting a stretch goal, we underestimated the full costs of the campaign (the laptop stickers, postage and time etc). Our initial target was probably slightly too low, but we certainly raised enough to redevelop the app’s code base as initially planned and our app is working well and future-proofed again!
Also matched funding is mwerre because it is more flexible than grant funding. It offers you the freedom to undertake the work you need to do with accountability to your audience as opposed to your funder.
What is your top tip for someone applying for this program in the future?
Apply and give it a go! Whatever the outcome, undertaking a fundraising campaign with the supporting workshops, a cohort of peers to draw upon and the matched funding is an incredible development opportunity and gives your project backing and legitimacy. It gives you practice talking about your work and money, honing your pitch and the confidence to ask.
