KickStarter.comis one of those sites that you may not have heard of but once you do you’ll think, wow, that’s a great idea.
KickStarter combines social networking and fundraising, allowing you to pitch your project to the masses. It’s not easy though, it’s a lot of work, but getting someone to give you money for your great idea never is.
So how does it work? I’ll use filmmaking as an example. Let’s say you want to make a documentary about your home town. Before you even think about going to KickStarter you need to have all your ducks in a row. You need your shot outline, script, shooting schedule, expenses, etc. You then right a proposal to KickStarter as to why you think your project should be on their site. If you get approved your next steps are to setup your KickStarter.com page, think of incentives for people who are going to give you money, make a video telling people what your project is, and then do a lot of social marketing. Like I said, it’s not easy, but it’s pretty powerful.
How does the money part work? You ask for a certain amount, the funds you receive stay in an escrow account until you hit your funding target. If you don’t hit your target in the allotted time, you don’t get any of the funds. Sounds harsh, but think of it, if you don’t have all the funds you ask for, you don’t have enough for the project.
There was a great post on Edudemic about students using KickStarter.com, check it out. And visit Kickstarter to see and maybe fund some amazing projects by passionate people.
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