Posted May 18th, 2010
Crowdfunding: a Simple Way to Make Dreams Come True
Crowdfunding is a word that confuses many folks. What is it? What’s it about? How does it work? Believe it or not, you already know. Crowdfunding works exactly the same way as donating to charity. Each contribution you make assures that some project will happen.
A fundamental departure between general crowdfunding and charity donations is first, crowdfunding contributions are not tax deductible, unless the project involves a charity. And second, you don’t have to be a non-profit organization to put a crowdfunding project up online.
Crowdfunding, in whatever form it takes, means nothing more than getting a lot of people to donate funds to see something completed. Since about 2004, this has been applied to artists, musicians, and everyday people who want to see their projects complete. Crowdfunding can be applied to finish an album, a body of artwork, to complete a film, or in the example of one crowdfunding user, to sell a piece of property for $1 a square inch. Today, there are many reasons that people want to use crowdfunding to get their projects kickstarted.
Today, there are several different crowdfunding sites online. Some of them are named appropriately enough: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Amazee, CreateaFund, and Helpalot. All of the sites have one or more people working toward a goal, and getting perfect strangers to give them the money to complete their projects in exchange for some type of perk.
A $1 crowdfunding donation will normally get a minimal perk. For example, if the project has a website, you may be mentioned as a supporter there. More money might get you a film or album credit. And the higher the contribution, the larger the perk
Several crowdfunding sites will only allow projects from people in the United States, but there are international crowdfunding sites, as well. Amazee is one, as an example. However, there is a universal thread. Most of the projects that are successful have a real value to some community.
So, if a community enjoys an artist’s music, and they want to see the album produced so that they can buy it, that works better than saying you have no money and need to pay your bills. Crowdfunding is about the crowd, and charitable projects are often over-funded by generous contributors. People love helping other people, so the more people your project helps, the more likely it is that your project will be successful.
To learn more about the different crowdfunding sites, there are many places online that have lists of them. One great source for crowdfunding information is Wikipedia. You’ll get the entire history of crowdfunding there, along with more resources and more information.
Learning how to set up your own crowdfunding project isn’t complicated, but if you want to learn fast-track strategies that will boost your chances of success, visit Overcome Everything’s 90-Minute Cash Advance at http://90MinuteCashAdvance.com/crowdfunding
