The beauty of using Kickstarter---as opposed to just asking your friends for cash or a transfer on PayPal---is that there is a goal and deadline. If you do not raise enough money by the deadline, you lose all the money you have raised up to that point. It would be a shame if your goal were $1000 and you raised $999 and never saw a penny of it.
Kickstarter is very user-friendly, but there were more steps than I had anticipated. For example, I had to set up a merchant account on Amazon.com and fill out and submit a W9 form so Uncle Sam can tax me.
I created a basic e-mail explaining that I wanted to make a documentary and that I was using Kickstarter as a fundraising site. I also talked about the goal and deadline, and all-or-nothing aspect. Then I personalized the message with the recipient's name, and sometimes a few sentences more.
Many friends thought it was a spam letter.
Several friends didn't want to create a Kickstarter account and an Amazon account.
Several friends wanted to write me a check or give me cash, not understanding the point of Kickstarter. I don't say no to checks or cash!
Several friends thought I was crazy to risk losing everything I had raised. Others thought I was insane for having my campaign in the weeks before Christmas, when every charity is asking for donations and people are low on funds.
But thanks to friends and acquaintances, I made my goal in exactly two weeks, with several days to spare. I contacted colleagues in a local professional women's networking group, most of my Facebook friends, and lots of people from my personal e-mail list. My donations ranged from $1 to $250 with most of them right $25, just like the Kickstarter website says!
At least three people knew before I did that I reached my goal: 1) a friend who was monitoring my progress, 2) the person who made the pledge that put me right at my goal, 3) his wife. I was away on a Christmas caroling job!
We live in marvelous, exciting times with such mind-blowing possibilities!
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