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Crowdfunding Examples - 2016

    by Douglas Dixon

 


          

Contents

See also:

  

  


Crowdfunding


  • New Possibilites for Charitable Giving and Supporting Your Interests
    • More personal, more fun -- follow your passions

  • Scale
    • GoFundMe - $1 billion raised in past year - $4M raised per day - millions of donors
      • College shooting $814K / 24K donors; Texas deputy $370K / 5K donors
    • DonorsChoose - $376 million raised, 2M donors, 650K projects funded -36K active projects
      • 68% U.S. public schools have at least one teacher who has posted a project
    • Kickstarter - $2 billion pledged, 9M backers, 95K projects - 6K active projects
      • Pebble smartwatch - $10M 2012 + $20M 2015
    • Indiegogo - 275K campaigns, 224 countries - 7K active, 15M visitors per month
      • Flow Hive $12M 2015, Super Troopers 2 $4.7M
      • Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel $5M - Hour of Code $5M 2014
  • Terminology
    • Project / Campaign - Creator / Sponsor
    • Funding - Funding Goal - Funding Period
    • Backers / Donors - Pledge - Rewards - Stretch Goals

    

  


Fundraising Examples


  • Direct donations / fundraising - Individual and organizations

  

  


Donations - Accidents / Personal Crisis    


  • House Fire
  • Raised $5700+ of $5000 goal - from ~100 people
  • 1st  day - $2300 / 35 people
  • 2nd day - $4200 / 70 people
  • 6th  day - $5400 / 90+ people
  • Average donation $60 - range $10 to $500
  • 1/3 left comments -1/3 anonymous
  • 40% town, 60% area, 5% out of state
  • Issues
    • No guarantees - No vetting - Promises by project creator/sponsor - Social trust
    • Not tax deductable - Direct donations to individuals
    • Fees - Typically 5% fee for platform, plus 3-5% for third-party payment partner

  

  


Fundraising - Birdhouse Center For The Arts    

  • Birdhouse Center For The Arts, Lambertville NJ
  • Founded in 2012 - Music Therapy - Education - Performance
  • www.birdhousecenter.org
  • Renovated canal barn building
  • Needed to complete: water, accessible bathroom, supplies
  • 127 backers pledged $15,917 of $15,000 goal
  • Funding May 9 2013 - Jun 8 2013 (30 days)

Top  

  

  


Music Funding Examples


  • Fundaising to record CD - Project - Tangible reward

  

  


Charity / And That Happened - Jack Furlong    

  • And That Happened - Jack Furlong Quartet
  • Jack Furlong (baritone & tenor sax), Sean Gough (piano),
    Pat Kelley (bass), John O'Keefe (drums)
  • Contemporary, cool jazz
  • February 2011
  • 68 funders - $3,050 raised towards $3,000 goal ($10, $20)

Find And That Happened
on Amazon.com

  • Charity
  • Jack Furlong (tenor sax) and Sean Gough (piano)
  • Popular Christian hymns set in a jazz setting
  • All proceeds donated to three different charities
  • November 2013
  • 82 funders - $4,000 raised towards $4,000 goal ($10, $20)
  • $10 - Digital download MP3s
  • $20 - Autographed CD
  • $35 - Live webcam concert
  • ... $500 - Live house concert

Find Charity
on Amazon.com

Jack Furlong Orchestra

  • Jack Furlong Orchestra
  • Jazz, classic standards, hint of pop
  • 3 saxes, 2 trumpets, trombone,
  • guitar, piano, bass, drums, 2 vocalists

  

 


My Cup Runneth Over - The Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett    

  • First complete collection of piano works by R. Nathaniel Dett
  • Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)
  • Composer, pianist, teacher, poet, and writer
  • First American composer to fuse African American folk idioms
    with the European art music tradition in a sophisticated way
  • See Wikipedia

Find My Cup Runneth Over
on Amazon.com

YouTube audio

  • Clipper Erickson, pianist
  • Westminster Conservatory and Temple University
  • Prize winner of international competitions
  • Performed as soloist with orchestras and in recitals
    all over Europe and the United States
  • clippererickson.com
  • 63 backers pledged $6,352 of $6,000 goal
  • Funding Apr 26 2015 - Jun 25 2015 (60 days)
  • Recording sessions completed May 2015

Passion

  • Raising funds vs. advance sales
  • "People don't fund your project, they fund your passion for your project"

Site Differences

  • "All-or-nothing"
    • Fixed Funding - Campaign funded only if reaches goal
  • "Keep what you raise"
    • Flexible Funding - Creator keeps all pledges even if campaign does not reach goal

 

 


Paula Cole - Raven    

  • Sixth studio album, first independently produced
  • Recorded basic tracks; funding for more recording, mixing, mastering, manufacturing
  • "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" top ten 1997
  • Best Producer Grammy nomination for This Fire, first woman sole producer, 1997
    • Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
  • "I Don't Want To Wait" was theme song to TV show Dawson's Creek
  • Best New Artist - Grammy Award, 1998
  • $15 digital download, $25 signed CD, $50 signed vinyl
  • $250 Skype chat (11), $500 record your song video (7)
  • $1000 voice lesson (2), $2500 sing onstage at concert (4)
  • $5000 studio time in MA (1), $10,000 lunch in Boston or private concert (1)
  • 911 backers pledged $75,258 of $50,000 goal
  • Funding Sep 22 2012 - Oct 29 2012 (37 days)
  • Released 4/2013 on her 675 label
  • paulacole.com

Find This Fire
on Amazon.com

Ithaca EPK from Paula Cole on Vimeo

Top

  

  


Patronage Examples


  • Recurring funding - Patron of the arts

  

  


Shayla Maddox - Light Reactive Paintings    

Light Reactive Paintings

  • Light changes the color and effect of each piece
  • Change appearance throughout the day, season, and year
  • Light reactive into UV spectrum - glow in darkness
  • Also fine art metallic photo prints
  • Phosphorescent pigments - w/ acrylic, sand, crushed glass,
    garnet, quartz, sea shells, candle wax, cinnamon, salt
  • Each piece takes many months to complete

Reward levels

  • Creating Paintings . Art . Light
  • 100 patrons - $1500 per month
  • $1 / mo - Access to Patron-only posts [40]
  • $5 / mo - One-hour digital hangouts [30]
  • $25 / mo - Art care-packages [15]
  • $50 / mo - "Made with wonder and magic" [2]
  • $100 / mo - "I vow that I will repay your encouragement
        with hard work and a fighting spirit" [4]

Patreon

  • $2 million funding per month, 10K creators, 250K patrons

  

  


Product Examples


  • Donation-based funding of creative projects - Reward levels

  

  


Brookstone - Axent Wear - Cat Ear Headphones   

  • Premium headphones for private listening
  • External cat ear speakers for sharing music
  • LED accent lights around earcups and on cat ear speakers
  • Detachable boom mic for gaming

Find the Cat Ear Headphones
on Amazon.com

 

  • Independent controls for speakers and lights
  • Over-the-ear cushioned earcups for noise reduction and a secure fit
  • Cable has inline volume control plus forward & back buttons
  • USB rechargeable - up to 5 hours of playing time per charge
  • Improvements
    • Detachable boom mic (stretch goal)
    • Shorter extendable headband, sound quality, brighter colors
  • $2,000 donation packs - 2 headphones - plus custom paint job
    or custom digital painting of you “or your character” wearing them, .
  • $10,000 pack - personalized painting, custom paint job,
    and custom LED light colors (changing or color of your choice)

 

 

Brookstone

  

  


3DMonstr - Large, Industrial-grade 3D Printer    

  • 3DMonstr - West Windsor, NJ
  • Next generation industrial-grade, quad-extruder 3D printer
  • Four independent extruders, independent temperature controls
  • Gantry-style - Prints fine detail, large build volume (1 - 8 cubic feet)
  • Upgradeable, foldable; Modular, for maintenance and upgradability
  • 3dmonstr.com
  • Start at $2,499
  • 102 backers pledged $89,806 of $35,000 goal
  • ~ 19 printers sold - 1/2 U.S.
  • Funding Dec 23 2013 - Jan 27 2014 (35 days)
  • Original estimated delivery May 2014
  • Shipped 3/31/2016

Top

  

  


Tech Projects


  

  


The NoPhone ZERO    

The NoPhone

  • "Plastic rectangle
        for people who are addicted to rectangular devices
    "
  • Thin, light and completely wireless design
  • Technology-free alternative to constant hand-to-phone contact
  • Allows you to stay connected with the real world
  • Selfie upgrade - Reflective mirror sticker
  • The world's least popular phone company
  • www.thenophone.com

The NoPhone (9/2014)

  • Technology free mobile phone - Less-is-more
  • Originally unsuccessful - Staff Pick
    • 549 backers pledged $10,021 of $30K goal ($12)
    • Sep 11 2014 - Oct 11 2014 (30 days)
  • Relaunched - 915 backers pledged $18,316 of $5,000 goal ($12)
    • Funding Oct 14 2014 - Oct 29 2014 (15 days)

NoPhone ZERO (9/2015)

  • "Least advanced NoPhone ever" - Has zero features
  • 130 backers pledged $1,239 of $500 goal ($5)
  • Funding Sep 9 2015 - Oct 9 2015 (30 days) - Funded in 2 days

Find the NoPhone
on Amazon.com

 


TYLT ENERGI Desktop Charging Station   

  • Indiegogo - $104K funding from 1596 people - $30,000 goal - Flexible Funding
    • March 2105 - Design
    • June 2015 - Tooling
    • Aug 2015 - Pilot production
    • Oct 2015 - Funding campaign
    • Nov 2015 - Ship
  • Charges 5 devices at once - Up to 2.4X faster
  • 4 USB ports - rapid charging, 2.4 Amp
  • 1 removable battery pack as 5th USB port, 1 A, 3200 mAh
    • Remove to charge on the go, slide back in to recharge
  • 50 Watt (10 A) total power
  • SmartDetact technology to power devices at max speed
  • Built-in cable management - wrap around top/bottom fins
  • Power cord - Uses 1 outlet
  • Output DC 5V = 4 x 2.4A / 12 W (10 A Max)
  • 3,200mAh Battery
  • 4.25 x 5 x 1.625 in
  • http://www.tylt.com/charging-station
  • Retail $99
  • Indegogo - Early bird $35 (250), $45 (500), $55

Find the STYLT ENERGI Desktop
on Amazon.com

 


SnapPower - Coverplate Nightlight / Charger   

  • Safely transforms outlet coverplate into Nightlight / USB Charger
  • Easy-to-install, sleek, and energy-efficient design - Leaves all electrical outlets free for use
  • Snaps into place - Installs in seconds - no wires or batteries
  • Patented power extraction technology - Power prongs draw power from outlet screws
  • www.snappower.com
Two Kickstarter projects
  • by Jeremy Smith, Provo, UT - Professional electrician in 90's
  • March - April 2014 - SnapPower Guidelight - $12,000 goal - pledged $480,411
  • March - May 2015  - SnapPower Charger    - $35,000 goal - pledged $839,301

SnapPower SnapRays Guidelight

  • Kickstarter - $12,000 goal - 9,086 backers pledged $480,411 (~$50/each)
    • 29 hrs - Raised $101,000 from 2,000 backers
    • Mar 10 - Raised $248,500 from 4,800 backers
  • Funding period - Mar 4 2014 - Apr 3 2014 (30 days), Shipped May 31
    • Spring / Summer 2012 - Engineering Design
    • Winter 2012 - Prototyping run of 200 units
    • Spring 2013 - UL approval
    • Dec 2013 - Selected manufacturer
    • Dec/Jan 2014 - Starting Tooling
    • March 2014 -First Run Manufacturing - prototyping run of several thousand

  • Transforms outlet coverplate into night light
  • 2 LED lights, around 3 lumens, similar to nightlights
  • Sensor turns on/off based on light conditions
  • LED lights cost less than 10 cents per year, last 25+ years
  • Duplex (2 up) or Decor (rectangular) - white, light almond, ivory
  • $15 each, $65/5
  • www.snappower.com/select-guidelight

Find the SnapPower SnapRays Guidelight
on Amazon.com

 


SnapPower USB Charger

  • Kickstarter - $35,000 goal - 18,604 backers pledged $839,301 (~$45/each)
    • Funding period - Mar 31 2015 - May 15 2015 (45 days) - Shipped Sept 11
    • Reached funding goal in less than an hour

  • Transforms outlet coverplate into USB charger
  • 1 Amp USB charger - similar to 1 amp Apple charger for iPhone 6 / 6 Plus
  • Charges smartphones (iPhone 6 in 2 hours)
  • Charges tablets and other 2.1 devices slower (iPad Air 2 in 7.5 hours)
  • Duplex (2 up) or Decor (rectangular) - white, light almond, ivory
  • $20, $85/5
  • www.snappower.com/snappower-chargers

 


FlyShark Keyboard   

 

  • Folding keyboard
  • 4 rows of keys
  • Folds down middle (between H and J)
  • Multiple colors
  • www.flyshark.mobi
  • ~ $55

Find the FlyShark Keyboard
on Amazon.com

  


Dash Robotics - Kamigami Robots   

  • Kickstarter - 635 backers pledged $55,724 of $50,000 goal
    • Funding Oct 20 2015 - Nov 20 2015 (30 days)
    • Co-founders working in a robotics lab at UC Berkeley

  • Lightning-fast, handheld, origami-style robots
    • Build, program, play with, and evolve
  • Six insect­like legs
    • Run at high speed with alternating gait
    • Climb on variety of surfaces
  • Durable - Flexible micro­thin plastic and fabric composite, lightweight
  • Shipped as kit with materials and electronics
    • Fold and snap together into a 3D bug­like shape, origami­style
  • 10 sensors - Rotation, acceleration, gyroscope, light
    • Send / receive IR signals
  • Smartphone control, programmable
  • Battery 30 - 45 minutes of play time
  • www.kamigamirobots.com
  • ~ $70

 

 

Top

  

  


Literature


  

  


Programming Languages ABC++    

  • Alphabet book all about coding
  • Fun for both toddlers and their grown up counterparts
  • From Ada to Zimbu, every letter highlights a code language
    with a “Hello World” program
  • Alex Papadimoulis / Inedo - Software tools
  • 886 backers pledged $21,084 of $5,000 goal ($10)
  • Funding May 6 2015 - Jun 11 2015 (36 days)
  • inedo.com/abc
  • Pages - Each Letter
  • $11.95

Find Programming Languages ABC++
on Amazon.com

  

  


Australia to Zimbabwe - A Rhyming Romp Around the World    

  • Children's A-Z book - Whirlwind romp around the globe
  • Explores 24 countries through rhyming introductions to their culture
  • Fun activities including crafts, recipes and games - 330 pp.

Find Australia to Zimbabwe
on Amazon.com

  

  


Great Adaptations - A children's book about evolution   

  • Science can be more fantastical than fiction!
  • Imagine if Dr. Seuss met Mr. Darwin and wrote a book...
  • Children's book that uses verse and illustration
    to tell amazing stories about evolution
  • Breadpig - Tiffany Taylor, evolutionary biology
  • 1,620 backers pledged $52,026 of $25,000 goal ($15)
  • Funding Feb 12 2014 - Mar 14 2014 (30 days)
  • breadpig.com
  • $15 hardcover

Find Great Adaptations
on Amazon.com

  

  


The Illuminated Edda   

  • The greatest Viking epics - the Poetic and Prose Eddas
  • Icelandic / Norse mythology from 1000 years ago
  • Retold with entertaining storytelling and full-color illustration
  • Stretch goals: Game preview, Tapestries
  • Andrew Valkauskas - Viking games and books
  • 389 backers pledged $21,921 CAD of $2,900 goal ($30)
  • Funding May 7 2015 - May 31 2015 (24 days)

  

  


Let's Add a Million Missing Words to the Dictionary    

  • Every word of English deserves to be lookupable!
  • We want to find a million words that haven't been included in major English dictionaries and give them each a home on the Internet
  • Search for casual definitions that have already been written
  • "Free-range definitions" - self-defining, explanatory sentences
  • 52% of English lexicon is undocumented in standard references
  • Comparing Google Books to major dictionaries
  • Wordnik
  • 726 backers pledged $58,407 of $50,000 goal ($25 adopt a word)
  • Sep 15 2015 - Oct 17 2015 (31 days)
  • https://www.wordnik.com/

Top

  

  


Film & Video


  

  


Magna Carta: Our Shared Legacy of Liberty    

  • The story of Magna Carta, foundation of our rights, sealed 1215
  • Freedom’s unlikely origins, remarkable triumphs, modern challenges
  • Guarantees included in the laws and constitutional order
    of the English-speaking world
  • Follow-up to The Great War Remembered - WW1 (2014)
  • John Robson & Brigitte Pellerin - broadcasters, professor, producer...
  • 1,222 backers pledged $85,870 CAD of $75,000 goal ($25)
  • Funding Jan 30 2015 - Mar 16 2015 (45 days)
  • Digital and DVD
  • www.magnacartadocumentary.com

Top

  

  


Product Design


  

  


The Pint - A Canteen That Converts to a Cup    

  • Camping bottle that converts to a cup
  • Easy to clean insulated stainless steel water bottle
  • Stable Goods - Matty - Industrial Designer
  • 1,328+ backers pledged $70,111+ of $10,000 goal ($26)
  • Funding Oct. - Nov. 2015
  • stablegoods.co

 

  


Mini Museum 2 - Personal collections of rare specimens    

  • Personal collections of rare specimens
  • Limited Edition collectible
  • Portable collection of curiosities from Earth and beyond
  • 26 specimens, artfully arranged, encased in Lucite acrylic
  • Authentic, iconic, and labeled

Mini Museum 2

  • Meteorites
    • Asteroid belt - HED meteorites (c 4.5 B years old)
    • Martian atmosphere - Zagami meteorite (170 M)
    • Libya impact Desert Glass
  • Materials
    • Japanese Star Sand (Foraminifera) - Microfossil - Okinawa
    • Mount Fuji lava (c 864 AD)
    • Petrified Lightning (Fulgurite glass) - Sahara Desert
    • Raw emerald gemstone - Columbia
  • Dinosaurs
    • Dimetrodon - Spine sail (West Texas, c 270 M years old)
    • Stegosaurus - Armored plate (150 M)
    • Ammonite - Spiral shell fossil (Madagascar, 110 M)
    • Edmontosaurus - Dinosaur skin (70 M)
    • Hell Pig (Archaeotherium) - Lower jaw (North America, 25 M)
    • La Brea Tar Pits - Los Angeles (38 K)
    • Woolly Mammoth - Frozen meat (Russia, 19 K)
  • Human
    • Neanderthal stone hand axe (70-140 K years old)
    • Bronze Age dagger (12C BCE)
    • Oasisamerica Native American ceramics (100 BCE - 1500 CE)
    • Medieval Chain Mail link - Hauberk shirt (15C CE)
    • Spanish Pieces of Eight - Concepción (shipwrecked 1641)
    • Hindenburg - Airship skin (1937)
    • Golden Gate Bridge - Original suspender rope (1937)
    • Moon Tree - Grown from seeds carried on Apollo 14 (1971, planted 1976)
    • Skylab - Astronaut Cassette Mix Tape (Paul Weitz, 1973)
    • Star Wars IV - Krayt Dragon prop vertebra (c 1977, Tunisian desert)
    • Cray-1 (First Super Computer) - memory boards (c 1978)
    • Olympic Torch (Athens 2004)

Mini Museum 1

  • OLDEST MATTER EVER COLLECTED (c. 4,568,200,000 years old)
  • EARLIEST LIFE (c. 3,430,000,000 year old fossil)
  • T-REX (Tooth)
  • K-Pg BOUNDARY (Mass extinction event, c 66,000,000 years old)
  • MT. EVEREST (Rock)
  • MUMMY WRAP (c. 350 BCE)
  • DRACULA SOIL (Vlad III's Castle, Transylvanian Alps)
  • ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S HOUSE (Foundation brick)
  • TITANIC (Coal from wreck)
  • TRINITITE (First nuclear bomb test)
  • APOLLO 11 COMMAND MODULE FOIL (First manned lunar landing)
  • LUNAR ROCK (Meteorite from the Moon)
  • BERLIN WALL
  • LONDON BRIDGE
  • RAW GOLD NUGGET, ...

Top

 

 


Fashion


  

  


The Quarter Century Jacket | A 25 Year Guarantee    

  • Premium fabric, highest quality, 25 year guarantee
  • Made in America
  • Follow up to The Quarter Century Pants
  • RPMWEST
  • 1,145+ backers pledged $194,985+ of $20,000 goal ($159)
  • Funding Oct. - Nov. 2015
  • rpmwest.com

  

  


8-in-1 EVOLUTION BRA: The World's Most Advanced Bra    

  • The most comfortable, versatile, and technologically advanced bra
  • Patented wire free construction, odorless, quick dry & reversible
  • Knix Wear - Women's Athletic Seamless Underwear
  • 13,642 backers pledged $1,105,177 of $30,000 goal ($42)
  • Funding Sep 14 2015 - Oct 24 2015 (40 days)
  • www.knixwear.com/pages/evolution-bra

Top

  

  

  

   


See also:

Top