Truthfully, three is not referenced at all in this post. I just wanted to use that subject line. So I hope you like it.
But have you heard the term crowdfunding? If not, don’t worry. I just heard it too. Although, strangely, I knew the definition already. From Wiki:
Crowdfunding (alternately crowd financing, equity crowdfunding, crowd-sourced fundraising) is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations Crowdfunding is used in support of a wide variety of activities, including disaster relief, citizen journalism, support of artists by fans, political campaigns, startup company funding, motion picture promotion, free software development, inventions development, scientific research, and civic projects. According to Wordspy, the earliest use of the word “crowdfunding” was by Michael Sullivan in fundavlog in August 2006.
See? You knew what it was. The nomenclature threw you. Essentially, people fund a project. And more importantly, their reason for funding a particular project revolves around their passions, hobbies, community or art. A group of people come together and independently, but somehow collectively and financially support something they believe in. It’s the power of the people. How poetic is that, y’all?
This process has been around forever. Remember when your neighbors all pitched in to help with Susie’s leg operation? I made that up, but I’m sure you’ve contributed to something similar back in the day. Nowadays, with the interwebs, you fund projects and initiatives all around the globe with a click of the mouse.
Are you interested in raising funds for a cause or organization? Check out these sites for inspiration.
Kickstarter. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site that helps organizations, artists and more with fulfill their creative projects through the direct support of individual financial backers. “People cannot invest in Kickstarter projects to make money. They can only back projects in exchange for a tangible reward or one-of-a-kind experience, like a personal note of thanks, custom T-shirts, dinner with an author, or initial production run of a new product. Project creators choose a deadline and a minimum funding goal. If the goal is not met by the deadline, no funds are collected.” My fiancé Mark is really into this model and just pledged a chunk of change towards a RPG project for Warmachine. Their goal was $550,000. They are currently at $1.3 million dollars. I think there may be a lot of gamers out there. Trade School Indy (my pride & joy) also just launched a campaign on Kickstarter for a community space and we’ve got less than a month to go!
Team in Training – Leukemia Lymphoma Society. You can run your first (or second, third or 20th!) race while doing good! Crowdfunding geniuses Team in Training of Indiana bring people together to train for races around the country, all the while fund raising to fight blood cancers. I’ve run and raised money for different organizations, but TnT Indy has been the most supportive, friendly group ever. Ever.
Concept Catapult. Trade School instructor/friend and Irvington resident Vishant Shah recently told us about Concept Catapult, a crowdfunding site where the backers, in a sense, are the project owners too. Say you’d like to see a Vegan restaurant on X corner in Y neighborhood. You post your idea on Concept Catapult, the community spreads the word and eventually business owners and entrepreneurs take notice. Once linked to a variety of businesses that could make the Vegan restaurant a reality, the community votes for their favorite and the funds raised are released.
Indiegogo. Our pal Melissa is awesome. She is crafty and cool and crafty all over again. She decided to take her skills to the next level and do something for the kiddos. She’s launched a project on Indiegogo called, “100 Quilts for 100 Kids,” a truly heart-warming (get it?) effort to get homemade quilts to children who need it most. Even if Melissa doesn’t meet her goal, she’s still going to make 100 quilts! That’s our good-go-getter. Indiegogo is super similar to Kickstarter, though their project fees differ a bit.
With all of these sites and resources to get your project off the ground, the most inspiring part to me is the people part of it all. It’s not backed by some mega corporation (though, if you want to back Trade School, Mickey D’s, be my guest…we’re lovin’ it) – it’s backed by friends and family and neighbors. The people who you co-exist with on a daily basis that care about the same things you do. OR some dude across two continents that has similar interests as you and wants to see a project through. Shrinking world. Mind blown.
People are inherently good, creative and skilled at getting things done. It’s thrilling to write that.
—
Blaire Huntley is a writer, a runner and a hopeful cook. She works for ExactTarget, and can’t imagine herself anywhere else. Blaire graduated from the University of North Carolina, having studied communication, and currently studies human behavior through Instagram. She’s obsessed with eating and all things downtown Indy, where she lives with her boyfriend Mark. She is also the community organizer for Trade School Indianapolis. Check it out and teach, learn and barter. Contact her at blaire.huntley@gmail.com and on Twitter @rareblaire.
