crowdfunding is a collective effort of individuals who pool their resources, usually online, to support projects initiated by other people or organizations.
it’s not news, but the economic crisis of recent years lead to an increasing number of crowdfunded projects and i believe they will soon become common place.
kickstarter is one of the biggest online platforms facilitating crowdfunding. since their inception in 2009, they managed to get funded over 28,000 projects with an amount of over $275 million. for their mediation, they get 5% of the money raised, whether the project is successful or not. their initial model changed and by that i mean it grew: instead of thousands, people are trying to raise even millions nowadays for their projects.
here you have an ongoing kickstarter project: due to recent budget cuts, the romanian film festival at lincoln center had to resort to crowdfunding to supplement its finances. this is an effort to support the world-wide promotion of the new wave of the romanian cinema. click here for the details! a usd 5,000 contribution will get you a package including your own personal original perjovski drawing and, for usd 10,000, beside all the offerings, you automatically become the team’s favourite person in the whole world! fortunately, for the rest of us romanian film buffs, there are more affordable options.
iamx is a berlin-based chris corner-centric project trying to finance its future album so that they can keep their creative independence and get to the next level by employing better producers. support the new business model in independent music by taking your pick between the available contribution sizes. for instance, for a 3,000 contribution, chris will remix a track by your band. somebody already made the 5,000 contribution which secures chris as video director for their band. the project gathered 260% of the initial request in less than one day! and today, 117 short of its deadline, they reached 476%. people can’t help but love chris’ passion and dedication and it shows. for all those of you out there wondering about the future of music: this is it! – less fake and more heart-felt.
oitzarisme is a romanian photography blog whose father has been also publishing a biannual online independent photohraphy magazine. he decided to try and get the 7th issue published in print. he only needs 500 people willing to pay in advance for their copy. read the archive and whole story here!
and one moving success story: you have probably already heard of kabang, the dog who, almost a year ago, lost half its snout while saving the lives of two children in the philippines. even if seriously mutilated, she didn’t show signs of suffering so she was not put down. she has learned how to eat with her paws ever since.
people all over the world contributed and raised the usd 20,000 necessary for reconstructive surgery. waiting for her impending medical procedure, kabang is living a normal life and she even gave birth to a litter of puppies. a little hero with a big heart!
i wish all the projects good luck and i thank the potential contributors for making a more independent world possible!
photo and video credits: google search
