So you need money. That’s always a good start. However, turning this need into an acceptable, fundable project isn’t always as easy as you might think…
Put it this way:
Which project(s) are you most likely to give your pennies to? Are there any you’re a bit sceptical about? Why might that be?
Whether you’re looking to fund a book, a film or a charity trip, the one common feature that every crowdfunding campaign shares is that it is a project. Projects B and C are projects. What do we mean by a project?
In short, a project is clearly defined. We mean that you have a clear unambiguous goal (what you want to DO, MAKE or PURCHASE), a clear end point (when the project will be finished) and a clear idea of how the money will help you actually achieve something tangible, rather than just keep you alive for a bit.
Crowdfunding platforms tend not to accept projects that just aim to fund your coffee for a few months. Unless of course you need the coffee to write your book or produce your film. If this really is something of fundamental importance to you, you can include it in the break-down of your costs.
Having a focused and well-defined project with a beginning and end is essential. Producing a new film is a finite project. The project finishes when the film is recorded and ready for release. Launching your career as a director, on the other hand, is not. There is no obvious end to this process. Crowdfunding is open only to finite projects.
Note: This is not because we don’t want you to be an awesome director. But because this doesn’t translate particularly well for sponsors. When exactly do you become “awesome”? And how much will it take? More pertinently, what’s the relationship between their money and your awesomeness? You can roughly calculate how much it’ll cost you to produce a single film, for example. Or travel to a festival to showcase it. Can you calculate the cost of launching a career?
Your success will be the result of a series of smaller successes as opposed to one lump sum.
So what does this mean for your project? I certainly don’t mean to put anyone off. We’ve no doubt you could use the money and crowdfunding is a great way to get hold of it. Sometimes your funding needs just need ‘projectising‘. Here are some examples:
What’s wrong with this? There is no goal and hence no way of ascertaining the success of the project (i.e. what has been enabled to happen) and where a sponsor’s money may have been spent.
How could we improve this project? How about…
Or even…
There’s nothing wrong with publishing more than one project on a crowd-funding platform. There’s also nothing wrong with combining the projects AS LONG AS you’ve stated clearly where the money will be going. The vaguer the less credible.
Another example:
Again, this project is poorly defined. What kinds of things could a drama society work towards… PLAYS!
Much better. This is, of course, not the only way of setting out Project Y. What kinds of things might they need to produce the plays… to work their magic on stage… PROPS!
Cool. By now you should’ve somehow realised what you gotta do. I don’t believe that aaanybody feels the way-–yikes, sorry :/
OK, how would you go about ‘projectising’ Project Z?
…?
Leave us your thoughts below. I’ll be sure to get back to you! 
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