Stand out in the crowd

Crowdfunding is a way for people, businesses and charities to raise money. It works through individuals or organisations who invest in or donate to crowdfunding projects in return for a potential profit, product or reward. The first incidence of modern crowdfunding is believed to be 1997, when British rock band Marillion raised money from their fans to fund their US tour. It came to prominence and popularity in the noughties with the refinement of internet technology and emergence of social media. Crowdfunding platforms utilising the reach and immediacy of the internet exploded onto the scene: Indiegogo, Patreon, GoFundMe, Chuffed, ArtistShare, MightyCause, InKind, Crowdfunder and Unbound among many others.

The king of crowdfunding, founded in 2009, is Kickstarter, a for-profit company obliged to consider the impact of their decisions on society. The company’s stated mission is to ‘help bring creative projects to life,’ which has made it popular across the globe with photographers. The total amount pledged to Kickstarter projects is an astronomical five-and-a-half billion dollars from over 19 million backers making 69 million pledges. More than 12 thousand photography projects have been launched, successfully raising over 45 million dollars. Kickstarter’s fee is 5% and payment processing fees between 3% and 5%. If funding isn’t successful,