Recent Donations?

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

What cyberfunded creativity projects have you donated to or participated in lately? What made them special enough to attract your support?

Comments

[stonetalker.livejournal.com]

This may not quite be relevant, but the Great Dane charity which I patron is having a drive to raise a million pennies. Every now and again, I'll throw some in their jar through 'PayPal'.

I've found I tend to give more support to crowdfunding activities if I can get 'something' in return for it. For example, with yours, I get to read a poem. With the Danes, I get to see progress photos of the dogs the charity is restoring back to health. I'm more likely to 'tip' when I can be directly involved.

This goes back nicely to the earlier discussion about the 'donate' button. I might 'donate' money to flood victims or disaster relief, and then feel good about myself because I feel I have 'helped' in some way.

With crowdfunded activities, I really do see it more like a tip jar. Throw dollar bills in the jar to keep the pianist playing. Toss some quarters in the hat in appreciation for the sidewalk artist's chalk drawings.

There's a different energy between 'donating' and 'tipping,' somehow...

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

The charitable definition of "donate" implies giving money without getting anything back (except a good feeling).

On my site, I use these divisions:
Donate = giving random bits of money in appreciation for my blogging so I can do more of it and/or giving small amounts of money less than a whole poem's price.
Sponsor = giving enough to fund publication of a whole poem.
Different levels of support get people different perks, so sponsors get the most.