My Integrated Marketing Communications graduate program encouraged us to take a number of classes outside of the School of Communication that would supplement what we were learning. I choose to take classes in the Arts Administration graduate program. These courses included grant writing, event marketing and sponsorships, arts fundraising, and non-profit management. One topic that interested me, but was never really covered was crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding 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. Although there are a number of crowdfunding platforms such as Seedrs and SellaBand, I wanted to focus on Kickstarter. Kickstarter was founded in 2009 and – as crazy as this sounds – in 2012 funded more arts related projects than the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Don’t believe it? In 2012, the NEA had a total federal appropriation of $146 million, of which 80 percent went toward grants. Kickstarter funded roughly $323.6 million of art-related projects( if you include all design and video-related projects), which make up $200 million of the total. Some of my really great (and talented) friends, The Dunder Chiefs, launched a KickStarter project last month, to raise money to record their first full length album.
So how does it work?
A proposal’s success is based on meeting or exceeding a predetermined funding level. Kickstarter backers vote with their wallets, pledging funds in exchange for rewards based on their level of investment once the project meets its funding goal. Take The Dunder Chiefs as an example -their goal is to raise $6500. Below you can find a table of the pledge rewards:
Those backers that pledge $1 or more will receive the best high 5 of your life. ( I’ve had their high fives, dolls and gents, and you’re getting a bargain.)
| Pledge $1 or more | Best High five of your life |
| Pledge $5 or more | Bracelet & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $10 or more | Sticker & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $15 or more | Poster & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $20 or more | Digital Download 1 week earlier than cd release & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $30 or more | Hard copy of cd & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $50 or more | Shirt & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $75 or more | Digital Sketch Book (includes every sketch from the beginning of the band) & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $100 or more | Get your name put in the special thanks column on the cd & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $200 or more | Song written personally for you by The Dunder Chiefs & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $300 or more | Personal, 1 hour long Dunder Chiefs show & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $500 or more*Limited* | Authentic Dunder Chiefs Banner (8ft x 3ft) & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $700 or more | Hand painted guitar & all preceding rewards. |
| Pledge $1,000 or more | Nog’s first ever banjo, Lou III & all preceding rewards. |
All rewards are customized by the project creator. While crowdfunding isn’t a completely new method– keep in my patrons of great artists from the past — it does represent a revival of supporting the arts.
I’d love to hear your your thoughts about crowdfunding and how you’re seeing people utilize social media to gain support for their crowdfunding efforts. Also make sure you check out my friends The Dunder Chiefs who have 5 more days to raise the $3000 they need for their project.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tdcmusic/the-dunder-chiefs-new-album?ref=search