If you're looking to fund a creative project, whether it's a play, an album or a film, Kickstarter is a great way to raise money. Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative endeavors, and serves as a foundation for crowd sourcing donations. The website seeks to treat financial backers as patrons rather than shareholders, and encourages rewarding donors for their pledges. Kickstarter manages the money donated through Amazon Payments.
1. Set a goal.
Kickstarter revolves around funding goals. Each project creator sets a monetary goal, and will receive the money raised if the goal is met. However, Kickstarter works as an all-or-nothing venture, so you won't receive your funds if you do not meet your goal. If this happens, your donors will not be charged. Because of this all-or-nothing factor, it's important to pick a reachable goal. Use Kickstarter to raise prop and costume costs rather than fund the entire play.
2. Make a pitch.
You'll also want to create a pitch video, where you can lay out why you're raising money. But more importantly, your pitch is a space to show what sets your project apart from the others. Get creative. Show potential donors why your project is special, and why their patronage is going towards something special.
3. Create rewards.
Providing your backers with rewards will further enhance the donation experience. Like your pitch video, create unique and personal rewards. Offer a home cooked meal made by the cast. Write personalized songs or offer small acting roles for donors. But as Kickstarter themselves point out, projects that offer rewards for small donations are far more effective than those that incentivize larger donations, so offering a small reward for $20 donations will help more than offering a large one for a $200 donation.
4. Share.
Finally, spread the word. Share your pitch on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. Create an endearing pitch that can go viral. Obviously, your project will be more successful if more people see, and subsequently donate to it.