Entertainment
Why Crowdfunding’s a Good Idea
Folks, lots of people have been doing crowdfunding campaigns lately, myself included, and they’re pretty effective. In 2013 alone, crowdfunding raised about $5.1 billion worldwide – something we showed in the infographic, Cracking the Crowdfunding Code.
Here’s why crowdfunding’s a good idea:
- Lots of people have good ideas, and I believe that the internet should be used to help people out (give real power to the powerless and a real voice to the voiceless). Crowdfunding really allows people to reach their goals, and also lets folks contribute to causes they believe in.
- Public teachers are a great case, doing mission critical work for little recognition and less pay. Once in a while they find students they prize, who show real promise, and that can be rewarding. Otherwise, it can be a tough life, worse when you feel the need to pay out-of-pocket for needed supplies, like pens and paper, with low pay. If you want to help, check out DonorsChoose.org – it’s an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from all over America post classroom project requests on the site, and you can give any amount to the project that most inspires you.
- Not only does crowdfunding impact the person who started the campaign, it generally impacts all the people who are participating. For example, I support the Veterans Charity Campaign and the Holiday Challenge each year, and they really help out vets, milfams, and nonprofits raising money for good causes. Another example is the crowdfunding campaign that Humans of New York started for the kids in Brooklyn – they’ve raised more than $1.1 million, in less than 3 weeks. It’s the real deal.
Have you tried crowdfunding? What’s been your experience? My whole philosophy’s to really create change for the better, and I think this is a good start.