Crowdfunding: Connecting Creators and Patrons

I forgot an important one!
I like the artist & the product they provide and I want to support them.

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Yeah, that's one of the important bits.

And you've reminded me of another one, donating for someone else, as a gift. You've donated for me a couple of times when I couldn't, and I'm hoping to return the favor. It's fun to support things your friends like (especially if you both like the same project).

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I rarely have the money to contribute, but when I do, my leading reasons include:

* I get something, or something more, directly for donating
* The project directly involves a cause I wish to support (like

quennessa raising money to buy a new computer for her small press)
* The project is new and I want it to continue.
* Something particularly awesome has just happened in the project and/or I hope that a donation along with a suggestion will make something awesome happen.
* I like the creator and want to support their work.

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kellan_the_tabby

I make a living in the best way -- what I'm doing is my passion, it's what I live for. So when I see someone doing a crowdfunded project and it's what they love, it's their passion, I've got to honor that passion and support them.

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becka sutton (from livejournal.com)

1. I enjoy their stuff and want to make sure they continue to produce it.

or

2. I know people who enjoy their stuff but can't afford to contribute. (I've contributed to some people whose stuff isn't for me for this reason especially if they're having crisis appeals).

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#2 is an awesome reason. You rock. :)

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Now that you mention it, I've seen people in my audience buy stuff for each other. A fair number of the poems that get sponsored in the Poetry Fishbowl are not the ones written from the sponsor's prompt, although I think most people do sponsor their own. But someone who says, "I love this but I'm broke this month" has a good chance of getting that poem covered by someone else, especially if the topic is one that several people liked.

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I give money to artists (writers/etc) that I like when I feel:

* the artist is hard-working/productive.
* the artist needs encouragement to start working online.
* the artist needs encouragement to keep a project I like going.
* the artist has significantly improved my quality of life by adding beautiful or thoughtful things to the world.

I don't give money:

* to get things. I don't like physical things, and I hate having to come up with the mental energy to come up with a non-physical thing.
* to artists who are doing it for some cause. Both charitable (if I want to give to a charity, I will directly) or to fund something (I don't like the sensation of the artist in question suddenly having an expensive toy a month after they're asking for money to fund a medical cause. If you need money, work. But don't twist my arm asking).
* to artists who are angry or bitter or sound ungrateful.
* to artists who rarely produce frequently and/or consistently.

Attitude is important to me. Getting stuff isn't.

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miintikwa.livejournal.com

This this this!

I enjoy giving to people and projects that I think:

*respect and honor my donation
*are adding beauty to the world
*are feeding their soul and spirit through their work

And

*are creating a community

I like best the feeling that the project is creating a place where we can all contribute to it, with commentary and feedback and money. :)

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Ah, that's a good one. I like community too... sometimes. If I feel welcome in it. There are creators whose attitudes or politics can exclude me even if I like their work.

To be clear: I will donate money to people who don't share my views. But not if they diss me and act as if they believe that people who disagree with them could never like their work.

There's one author whose work I really like who is in the process of doing this to me, and it makes me very unhappy. I want to support their work, but their constant tweets about Those People sucking and how we need to defeat Them because They are idiots, jerks, stupid, etc...

Don't do that, please. :(

(Not talking to you, Deya! I know you aren't like that. :) )

Edited Date: 2011-03-19 04:59 pm (UTC)

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miintikwa.livejournal.com

Oh no! I know you don't mean me. :) But I actually agree with your point. I ran into that feeling myself recently. Where I was really excited about an artist, until I read the rest of their blog, and just...

Yeah. I concur. Political discussions are fine, but don't make it about "us versus them."

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Yes. This, too. 1000x this.

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I usually check the blog of new commenters to see if I want to friend them, but if they're dissing me or people I like, I'm just going to shake hands with Mr. Back Button instead.

Just this week I had a discussion about gun control, in which I explained that it was my liberal friends' turn to be annoyed with me this time. Most of it stayed fairly rational, but there was one post that went off on "Those People" that I had to quash.

Keeping an audience both diverse and welcoming is a lot of work. I really admire other people who can do it, and I'm more likely to sponsor them. You have a diverse audience, and so does

filkertom and some other folks I know. It's worth supporting.

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Hrrm, 1 and 2 are interesting. I can see how
I don't like the sensation of the artist in question suddenly having an expensive toy a month after they're asking for money to fund a medical cause...
that would be really obnoxious.

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Just to clarify: that doesn't make me angry. I just file it as a data point and move on, and that artist rarely gets my money again.

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I get the feeling you're generally harder to make angry than I am (Sometimes the weather makes me angry.)

But yes. I don't think I'd give to a plea-to-help more than once for the same person, unless it was, say, my Sister. And then it's not tipping and it's more family stuff.

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It doesn't make me angry because a person's budget can be arcane and based on very strange rules--I know mine probably makes no sense to people, but that's because there are three or four rulesets governing when I spend money and on what. I don't expect to understand why someone is having trouble with rent money one day and then eating out or buying an iPhone the next. Maybe they live paycheck to paycheck and fall prey to impulse buying convulsively.

That's their business, not mine. What I don't like is: 1) being made to feel an artificial sense of responsibility for something dramatic or life-threatening—as much as I might like an artist, I am not their mother—and 2) being made to feel guilt or upset as a means to part me with my money. That just leads to me associating their art with feeling negative things. Not good. :)

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that makes sense (mine is rather arcane as well, too).

I'm pondering your comment here especially in re. my recent 'thon. I hadn't thought about the guilt/responsibility tone issue there.

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I think the tone in which you ask, and what you're asking for, make a big difference for most people. The same cause, asked for in different ways, will turn people off or suck them in. But I find that everyone has a threshold where they feel like they've had their arm twisted, and they don't like it.

Consider the difference between:

"My mom needs to go into a nursing home since I can't take care of her anymore. Every month I'll be running a new special to help pay for it."

vs.

"My mom needs to go into a nursing home and I totally wasn't expecting this additional bill and I have no idea how I'll pay for it, help me pay for it! I'll be doing this new special!"

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*nods*

That's a good point, thank you.

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zeeth_kyrah

This, and your comment below about having a tip button up are both relevant to me, I feel. My budget was fine, I bought a hundred-dollar item that I knew I could afford, and then I basically walked into a metaphorical wall instead of climbing over it.

And my first response was to ask for resources from the people around me, with a promise to give awesome things back in exchange.

After doing that, I took a look at how things felt, consulted with Friends, and decided that the better way was to surprise folks with my work now and then; and eventually add a donations button to certain kinds of posts, and a regular event or two to my list of things I do online.

That seems to be a much more successful way to do it, from what I've seen: give to one's audience, and then give them the option to decide it was awesome and deserves a response. And have something to look forward to, so people keep coming back.

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eseme

Yes, wording matters a great deal.

Someone who has thought this through, and planned, is more likely to get my money than someone who hastily throws together a plea for donations attached to an equally hastily thought-out project.

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originalpuck.livejournal.com

I know it's been awhile since this comment was posted, but I've been a bit behind in reading things and just got to this. And I was wondering if you could clarify this statement for me.

If you need money, work.

I was wondering what you meant by that. Work at a job? Work at their art in the hopes of getting donations?

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The latter, given the focus of the community.

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originalpuck.livejournal.com

Lols, thanks for clarifying.

I guess I don't see things the same, which is fine, since it's your money and you can definitely spend it how you want.

I suppose, for me, the issue is varied and definitely not as clear cut.

First, I tend to assume that most people are already updating as much as their schedule allows. I know that, in my particular instance, I'm updating as often as my spoons possibly allow, and I know other people who do the same.

On top of that, when a medical or financial emergency arises (in my admittedly limited experience - I definitely haven't seem all of the fundraisers on the net, since that would be almost impossible - those tend to be the two major reasons for fundraisers), I know that people often have less time and energy available for working on their art, not more.

IME, when people run a fundraiser it's because their ordinary tips (if they get any at all - not everyone does get regular, or any, tips for their art) aren't enough to cover this sudden emergency. *shrugs*

I guess, IMO, saying "if you need money, work" sort of feels like it's feeding into the idea of ~bootstraps~ and the stereotype of the lazy poor and/or people with disabilities. It seems to be implying that people who need money just need to work harder and stay quieter, instead of holding a fundraiser and being open and honest about their financial and/or health situations and their need to added help.

Unfortunately, sometimes working hard isn't always enough to pay the bills, and I guess I feel like if people have another tool available to them (fundraisers), I'm not going to almost shame them for utilizing it (which is what the whole "work harder" statement seems like it's doing to me).

Like I said, you can do what you want with your money. I just wanted to explain how and why I think I see things a bit differently. :)

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That's fine. I don't necessarily expect people who want my money Right Now to do something special for it if they're already doing a lot. But someone who wants my money Right Now for Their Cause but who has a spotty history of giving back to the community or doing their art consistently is not going to get my money if there's someone who wants my money but who does do those things.

There are a lot of people in need in the world. We can't give them all our money. So we have to choose. We are forced to discriminate. And when we do, then other factors influence our decisions. That's all.

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stryck.livejournal.com

This is interesting, because I don't really work that way. I have a full time job which pays my bills. So, I don't write to pay my bills - I write because I like producing things for people to enjoy. I ask for prompts because I want ideas to challenge me as well as people to delight when the work is finished. If I don't have prompts to work towards, writing projects tend to languish as my time gets prioritized towards other things I also enjoy doing.

Of course, I produce slowly because my writing time is curtailed by other obligations - work, child.

So, really, what I want are prompts/audience, hopefully folks who are willing to wait while the prompts generate results.

The nice thing about having tips, for me, is that I have a Paypal balance that I know isn't earmarked for rent, bills, or similar, so I can easily justify using it to tip somebody else.

This last round, though, I received a rather large tip and am debating what use to put it to. I might go and get some of the art I have hanging around properly framed, or maybe buy an oil painting from the man who paints in Williamsburg every weekend. It's a new problem for me, though not one I regret.

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flutterbychild.livejournal.com

Honestly, if I am going through an emergency of some kind and that is why I'm doing a new project...I might not want to put that out there. It could be a question of safety. It is nice to see that some potential patrons don't require that.

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The other side of putting it out there is that your emergency might not sound worthy to someone else; different people have different values, and what might be an 'of course, this must be done/solved!' situation for you might make someone else say 'my God, s/he is wasting money on THAT?'

It is much better, in my opinion, to let the art appeal to people on its own merits.

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I should probably add: for me once the money is given, it's gone. I don't give it in expectation that the artist will keep producing something specific. I don't want to get something and have to keep track of whether I receive it or not. To me, it's money thrown on the wind, a karmic investment in the continuing production and release of beautiful things for the world to see.

For that reason, I don't like giving to "walled" stuff, where I give money but I'm the only one who sees the content. I also don't like to have to incur the emotional burden of being upset if someone doesn't use the money I've given them to do what they said to do. I prefer giving money to someone randomly for something they've already done, than to give money to someone in order to get them to do something.

So the best way to get money from me is to do great things, without anger or hating on your audience, and constantly put them out there... and have a tip button available. No tip button, no "wow, they rock, I should give them some cash" moment. :)

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ceciliatan.livejournal.com

I was about to answer this with all the reasons I feel I *should* donate (pretty much all the reasons given above), but I looked back at my paypal history and it's pretty clear I tend to actually DO IT at two different points.

ONE is when I first discover a web serial or comic that blows me away, and I think WOW! I just have to support this person/project. I "buy in" immediately.

TWO comes later when they have either a milestone physical product (i.e. the book compilation is now available, or even ebook) or some other milestone sort of thing.

I don't tend to do the small incremental donation, even though that's what I always wish people would do on my own web serials.

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Now there's an interesting point: Do we, as creators, clearly communicate to our audiences what kind(s) of donations are useful to us? Do we, as patrons, clearly tell our creatives what we would like to see from them?

If I'm sending a donation, especially to someone new, I often tell what inspired me to send it. It's not rare for my poetry patrons to tell me what hooked them, though not everyone does it.

As a creator, I'm pretty flexible. It doesn't matter if someone is giving me a few bucks at a time or big chunks; my k-fans all wind up at a similar level of Awesome. I also appreciate my intermittent donors because they rotate; it's a different handful of them sending money each month. The only place where I'm especially keen on small regular donations is with microfunded epics. There it helps to have at least one or two people who will keep the new verses rolling out, even if they're only sending me $2-3 at a time.

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ellenmillion.livejournal.com

Things that attract me:

*Selflessness - folks that have been posting their work or offering something for free for some time are more likely to get something out of me when they do ask. Folks that actively contribute to other things get my attention - whether that's monetary or energy.

*Politeness - folks that ask nicely, act friendly, and behave in a generally classy fashion will get my money before amazingOMGtalent any day. Actively engaging with the audience matters. Engaging in a positive way matters more.

*Creative goals - I like seeing goals and milestones, and watching someone work towards them with a concrete plan.

*Need - This category is a mixed bag... I have in the past been a sucker for the sob story, but I find that this is far, far more likely to win me if the first bullet point is met. Those artists/authors who seem to bounce directly from one crisis to the next are unlikely to get my funds more than once.

*Total random luck - The frank fact is that when I'm ready to give something, I go poking around with my eyes open, and the first few things that capture my attention are likely to get my funds. This is probably a strong argument for consistent material, obvious ways to donate and strong web presence. (I try to budget a little crowdfunding into every month, but the last few months that money has been funneled into personal expenses I couldn't get around.)

*Bonus points for creative and new funding models. I like innovation.

*Trades. I love it when people are interested in something I offer and are willing to enter into alternate ways of supporting each other. (Art for writing? Old art supplies for art? Trade of originals? Services?)

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minor-architect.livejournal.com

After considering the question, I came to the surprise realization that I don't tip often! In fact, I can count all the times I've tipped the creator of a crowdfunded project on one hand:

1)

haikujaguar for The Admonishments of Kherishdar because after swallowing The Aphorisms in one gulp, I thought, There should be MORE of this in the world!

2)

djinni for the Icon Days because after I got my first two icons for free, I figured it was time to put money where mouth was.

3)

puffbird for Songseeker because I like Jen's art and I like webcomics, especially new ones I can follow easily from their beginnings.

Every other donation I've made has been for something specific in return: a poem written to my prompt, a story for my Kindle, a drawing of a favorite character, or jewelry I had a hand in designing. So I guess you could say I'm more of a "shopper" than a "tipper!" :)

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yendi

Hmm. There are a few different factors (probably more, but it's late at night, and I'm a wee bit tired)

1. Money. I know it's obvious, but we often find that money's tight (day jobs ensure that the family eats, rents, and stays clothed, but it's the freelance money that usually affects discretionary spending). But when money comes in, that's the opportunity to tip folks. Which leads to #2.

2. Staying on my radar. I'm generally more likely to give to someone who I've read recently than someone who wrote that story I loved three years ago. Of course, when I find someone, I try to keep following them, but it's often hard to keep up with all of the great art online.

3. Ease of payment.

haikujaguar already mentioned the tip button. If you don't have one, I might not even realize you want tips (not everyone writing online seems to care). It's so to pay with Paypal or Amazon payments, and I know I can't be the only person who's ever seen that he had a buck or two in his Paypal account and paid it forward, since it barely feels like "real" money when it's there.

Also, having works available through places like Smashwords and Amazon (or CD Baby and iTunes, etc) is nice; much as I love connecting with authors, there can be something awkward about the notion that they become aware of my exact donation to them (and yes, there's the flipside issue, that the creators get less of a piece of the pie this way, but since I occasionally have Amazon gift certificates, it's sometimes the case that they're getting a piece of the only pie I've got available).

(Related to 1 and 3: Any time I go to buy something on Amazon, I try to go through the affiliate link of someone I like. It may not be much, but better they get the cash than no one.)

4. Like

haikujaguar, I prefer to reward something already written, rather than buy a limited item or a potential future item. I don't judge anyone who operates that way, but I prefer to think of tipping as a form of public-good patronage; if someone is creating something wonderful, I want to both encourage them to create more (or to at least be rewarded for their creation), and to encourage others to enjoy that work. Private subscriptions don't work well for me (although I'm guilt of having bought one or two, rationalizing primarily as a form of paying for their other public works).

5. I honestly prefer some sort of connection. I do realize that it's a double-edged sword, as one person's personal and engaging is another's twee, but it definitely affects me. When it comes to art -- all art -- I find that I do want to see how the sausage is made, and knowing what goes on behind the scenes.

An example of combining a few points: Not long ago, I found myself with a small amount of Amazon credit after my last Amazon Associates payment (#1), and had really been enjoying [Bad username or site: haikujaguar' @ livejournal.com]'s "Three Micahs" series looking at the various business, creative, and marketing issues creators face (#4, #5). It was incredibly easy to hop on Amazon and grab one of her ebooks (#3).

Incidentally, I've started to get into the habit of trying to maintain a to-do list (as someone with short-term memory issues who is also generally always at a computer). I've recently started adding creators I want to support to this list, in hopes of making #2 a little less important.

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zianuray.livejournal.com

I might donate if it goes to a specific purpose, like ConneryBeagle, or HaikuJaguar's brush fund, or to get more of Ysabetwordsmith's poetry like the Elements epicness. I do NOT donate if I don't like the person's work -- narrow of me, perhaps, but there it is.

If they're constantly having crises, though, I quietly stop dropping my mite in the box.

I might not be able to donate for a month or six, or might be putting my money to another cause (like a raptor rehabber), but I will get back around when I can!

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perkyrusalka.livejournal.com

Nobody's going to admit to feeling guilty? If I enjoy somebody's work (if I didn't, I'd never see the request) and they've got a tip jar, I feel like I ought to.
There's a feeling of "I've been freeloading, I ought to chip in sooner or later."

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Ha, I've done the guilt thing, too, but not since I started posting my own serial.

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eseme

Occasionally! I think some guilt comes into why I donate after I have been enjoying a project for a while. But if I don't enjoy it, I don't donate. So I am quite sure it is not all guilt.

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Reciprocity?

Duty? Obligation?

Honor?

For me it feels more like the last.

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eseme

Reciprocity is the best word, I think. The artist has given me something that has enriched my life, and I would like to acknowledge that and hopefully enrich theirs in some small way.

I'm also big on honor, and that is part of it too.

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Reciprocity: I like the Native American economic model which includes the principle "the gift must move." Wealth is not measured by how much you have but how much you give away. So, by making at least occasional donations, I help keep the crowdfunding economy cycling.

Honor: I've always enjoyed "honor system" purchases. Here in central Illinois I still see, once every year or two, a table of something for sale with nobody watching it, just a price list and a drop box. I will cross the street and turn out my pockets to patronize one of those, if it contains anything remotely interesting, just because I like encouraging people who believe that others are honorable instead of treating everyone like criminals. I view a tip jar as a related phenomenon. You don't have to pay, but if you know that you're enjoying the material and you have money, it's appropriate to give something.

And I'll add one more: Integrity, putting your money where your mouth is. I consider it important to make practical contributions to things I value. I also prefer to support individuals and businesses whose ideals I admire, rather than be stuck buying from corporations whose behavior often appalls me.

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I regret being terminally broke. (We haven't had a dayjob in this household for over 3 years.) If I could afford it, I'd budget a small amount of money for crowdfunding every month. As it is, I can occasionally scrape up $2-3 dollars for a donation, but that's about it. It's disappointing because I prefer to put concrete support behind things I value.

I rarely feel guilty, though, for two main reasons:

1) As a creator, I know that tiny donations do add up. This is especially true for projects where most of the tips are tiny but many-many people are participating, or where the threshold is low (like the way $.50 is sometimes enough to publish a new verse in one of my epic poems).

2) I have other ways of supporting projects I love. One is to pimp the heck out of them; I have a large mobile audience and they love following my links. I've actually had people tell me that my link made a visible blip in their traffic. A second is comments. I'm an editor, a reviewer, a sharp-eyed art viewer; I can usually think of something insightful to say. (As a creator, I know that both networking boosts and feedback are awesome.)

Yes, it's annoying when a big chunk of audience just sits there and consumes content passively. But there are other ways to contribute besides cash. Donations may pay the water bill, but linklove boosts the audience and feedback can improve the content. It's all good.

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