I had never heard of kickstarter and what I found is worth sharing. I was introduced to their site a couple of weeks ago. You’re probably wondering what is kickstarter so I’ll use their own words to describe them:
“Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.
A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.
All or nothing funding. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.
Each and every project is the independent creation of someone like you. Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse. We hope you agree… Welcome to Kickstarter!
Thanks! All done.”
The projects looking for funding cover a wide subject. As they say themselves: music, movies, art, tech toys, almost anything that someone would be willing to fund. What I found really appealing is how they raise that funding.
Each “project” has it’s own page describing what it is, what they’re hoping to achieve, how much money they’re trying to raise and by what date it needs to be raised.
Maybe you’ve decided to support a musician trying to put out a new album. One of the donation options is that for 10$ you’ll get an authographed cd. With a 20$ donation you’ll get a autographed cd and a tshirt, for 40$ donation etc…You get the picture.
The nice thing is that it’s the project owners that decide what to include as a bonus with each donation. The donation amounts vary anywhere from 1$ to thousands as do the gifts that accompany them.
I find myself revisiting the site to follow projects I found interesting or wanted to support. Knowing that you’re supporting someone to complete one of their projects is a great bonus.
They also only charge your credit card if the project reaches it’s funding goal. So maybe you decided to contribute 10$ to the small independent movie. They’re raising 2000$. Your credit card will only be charged if he reaches the goal of 2000$ raised by a certain date that has been predetermined. I haven’t been visiting the site for a long time so I’m not certain what percentage of projects get funded but from what I’ve seen a fair amount of them do succeed.
Definitely worth visiting the site just for the constantly changing projects. You can check out their website here and you can find their blog here. I have one complaint about the whole thing is that at the moment the only way to pay for a donation is through the amazon website. They are working on alternatives so stay tuned!
mtl_dokkaebi
