Is Kickstarter right for you?

I got an email this week with some great questions about Kickstarter, and I’d thought I’d share my insights publicly.

Hey Dusti,

I was wondering how you start a Kickstarter project. I am really hoping to start my own nonprofit organization, and I need financial help and support. What do you do? What info do you need to create this project to get funded? Is this a good and helpful process to use Kickstarter?

Thanks,
M

These are pretty common questions, and crowdfunding can be confusing at first. Here’s what I’ve learned from my successfully-backed project, as well as consulting on many others.

First of all, Kickstarter is only for creative projects. If you have a less specific goal in mind, another site like IndieGoGo, GoFundMe, or one of the many copycat sites may be a better choice.

What makes Kickstarter so desirable in comparison to other sites is twofold. One, they have the biggest platform and the most internet cred. Second, because Kickstarter only lets you lists creative projects, it makes you get hyperspecific – in other words, by the end of the process for creating a well-thought out project, you’ve also got a great sales page – the makings of a business.

To answer the rest of M’s questions, nonprofits need a board of directors. Get the people first, funding can come second. I personally avoid the nonprofit structure at all costs because I am a control freak. Okay, not really, but I hate the idea of having to kick the collective ass of the board,

For information to get moving on Kickstarter, it’s easy enough to start a project, but it has to be approved and meet their criteria. On the site, they have lots of great info, and I suggest you go through all of their great data.

The most important thing to understand about crowdfunding is that it is not about getting handouts. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter really only work when you already have an audience. The chances of strangers contributing is pretty minimal. This isn’t easy money – in fact, it’s some of the most painstakingly difficult money to get because of the massive time investment you’ll put into it.

I hope this helps as you seek out funding for your project, M!