![]() Programs ranging from meditation exercises to dance routines and plate portions have all generated revenue on the site that, unlike the hyper-popular Kickstarter, still allows creators to collect funds in the face of their failed attempt. “Even if 4,000 people want to buy a weight-loss pill, no matter how much interest it gets, I feel like that does terrible things to a brand.”Įnter Indiegogo, whose dubious campaigns have earned it ire from creators and backers alike. “You don’t want 1,000 people to get duped,” Conte says. Conte recently had to remove a page called “Jesus is creating nipples,” an explicit level of trolling that, in part, helped make him even more aware of those who may be scamming the site. Though there are few who abuse the site, some of the errors are glaring. Still, even Patreon is not without problems. Artists are in constant contact with contributors, and keep them abreast of all that they’re doing-be it pre-production, new content, or events. Patreon was founded in San Francisco as a means of making arts philanthropy more accessible. Patreon co-founder Jack Conte says that all it takes is the right person to notice your cause. “Hannah’s Fight” points to the difficulty of donating to worthy causes without going broke yourself. Presumably, those who share the campaign are doing so with empathy in mind, though they may lack the funds to contribute more. Hannah, a 1-year-old with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, continues to receive treatment at a hefty cost: medication alone runs about $800 a month. A recent GoFundMe page entitled “Hannah's Fight” has over 74,000 Facebook shares, but has raised less than half of the “Potato Salad” Kickstarter. Indeed, it is troubling to see highly shared medical campaigns whose shares far exceed donations. “Also considering how many I see that are simply ‘Help me pay for necessary medical items I can’t afford myself,’ they can help demonstrate where our society is falling short with regards to services,” she says. So if you don’t have money in the first place, you have to be super lucky to do well,” Sweet explains. “I think they’re still replicating a lot of power dynamics: to get the word out you and those you know have to have a lot of resources already. Master of Social Work student Theresa Sweet, who grew up in the Bay Area and lives amongst the “disruptors” of Silicon Valley, takes a sociological approach to the advent of such programs. Through such funding, contributors can feel closer to the person they’re helping. But crowdfunding has also helped pay for medical treatments and necessary procedures. In that regard, many view crowdfunding as, primarily, a creative endeavor. The idea of pitching to the public dates back to 1713 in which poet Alexander Pope enlisted the help of subscribers to fund perhaps his most substantial work: a full translation of Homer’s Iliad from Greek to English.
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