Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has been around since the 1800's, but since the arise of the internet, it has become more and more popular over the years that by 2013, over $5.1 billion had been raised through crowdfunding websites worldwide.

The definition of the term is basically the act of raising a lot of money, through small donations made by many people (most likely strangers) usually over the internet. Typical things that can be seen to help raise money for could be film projects, one of the most iconic being 'Kung Fury.'

But there could also be for video games, technology inventions, clothes, or even....potato salad? Yes someone crowd funded 'Potato Salad' and gained over $55,000 in donations.

If you have a project that you want to raise money for, there are many good websites in which to do this. Such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, WeFund, etc. One of the most important things to do when making a campaign, is to make it interesting and make people want to become a part of it.

To make it interesting is all down to you, and your project. But to make people want to become a part of it, there are ways you can offer gifts. For example, if you donate over a certain amount, you can promise to give your donators gift, such as a credit in a film, or a piece of merchandise. One thing that has been advised by a lot of crowdfunders is to stay in contact with your donators and give them updates by not leaving them out of the loop. If you promise them something, but are having a hard time completeing it by the time you said, it is better to explain to them, by posting a comment, that you may be a bit late. Most of the time they will understand, but it is better this way as they can pull their money out at any time before the end of the project.

Overall, I do recommend anyone who has an idea or project they wish to make, but simply don't have the money to try crowdfunding. You never know what people might see it and it's better to try and see what happens than to not try at all.