Say you have a good idea--maybe even a really good idea, something like a new web-based show or a new way of social networking, or maybe your band just needs to master your first CD. You have the time, the ambition, and everything is in place. Everything, that is, except the money.
That's where Kickstarter steps in. A site dedicated to making sure creative projects get the funding they need, you're able to search through the many different pitches and see how much funding each asks for, and you can donate if you feel they're worthy. It's also unique because if the project doesn't get the full amount of funding they ask for by a set date, they don't get any funding at all. This part might seem a little harsh, but it actually works to everyone's benefit: funders don't waste money on a project that's underfunded, and the project managers don't have to struggle to complete something without the money they need to do it.
If you think this sounds a little like micro loaning, you'd be right on--that's exactly what it is. Most who are familiar with microfinance probably think of institutions like Grameen Bank, which was established by Muhammad Yunus in 1976 as a way to get funding to the poor in Bangladesh so that they could start their own businesses, sustain themselves, and eventually pay off the loans. Today, 90% of Grameen Bank's shares are owned by the borrowers, and it boasts a 98% payback rate.
There are other companies, such as the for-profit Compartamos out of Mexico, Accion based out of Venezuela, and the online Kiva. If you're interested, click on any of these sites, and know that your money will be going to a good cause, be it helping a women's group in Uganda purchase food for their store, or funding the social networking project Diaspora which will decentralize your information and keep it under your own control. Now break out your wallet and start making things happen!
--Brandon
Photo from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
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