The Smooth and Heartfelt Ted Miller
Ted Miller is a talented singer-songwriter and a patriotic American. He has completed 6-CD albums and recorded a hit single (Kiss Me) that has received rave reviews. In 2000, he recorded 5-songs with the London Symphony Orchestra at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios. Ted’s crowdfunding project has glavanized support from around the world. His warm and personal approach has transferred into success. I have been greatly inspired throughout the years as a musician with a very strong, heartfelt desire to create music that can relate to the many different emotions that each of us experience on a daily basis. As any artist might claim, these feelings that we feel and express through song may very well be captured in the same or similar essence by a variety of listeners and thus fulfilling a need in them as well. As a crowdfunding pioneer and Miami native, I have a very strong connection to my hometown and its very latin influence, passionate, warm, beautiful, tropical, cosmopolitan surroundings, portraying a strong desire for love of life, love of family and friends, and love of country. In offering any advice to any current or new and up-and-coming crowdfunding initiatives, a form of funding current with today’s times, I would suggest, like anything else, that your project be meaningful in touching the lives of others. Thank you to Ted for bringing his joy and love to RocketHub. Hear his tunes, here. -Vlad
- January 3, 2012
Guest Post: Good & Evil in Film Crowdfunding
“Evil!” was based on a one-act play written by my friend Justin Rogers and published in Emerson College’s Thread Anthology in May 2011. I really liked the idea and decided to adapt it into a film for my BFA thesis project. Although the story veers in a supernatural direction, it all boils down to some very real and universal themes - the dangers of not being honest about your feelings (even to yourself), the importance of the bonds between family, and the morality of our actions. We’ve had a very strong response so far - even from some older family members who aren’t entirely sure about this whole Internet thing! In my experience, it’s not unusual for student filmmakers to turn to crowdfunding to help them realize their projects; in the last year or two it has become quite common. The choice to use RocketHub rather than Kickstarter or another platform was a more unique aspect of my campaign, and thus far I think it has turned out quite well. I appreciate RocketHub’s All & More fundraising system, as I think it rewards projects that are looking to make their idea the best it can possibly be, rather than places the completion of that idea at risk if certain monetary goals are not met. Plus, they’re a growing company that will really take interest in your project - as this guest post can attest to! Raising money is never an easy thing to do. Your project will only get as much support as you put into it, but if you really believe in the idea then it’s a good bet that others will too. Work every day to spread the word, share your video, and thank your supporters. Crowdfunding has helped some really amazing projects get funded that might never have happened otherwise, so I wish you luck and can’t wait to see what you will bring to the table! - Rob Leshin, Student & Filmmaker
- January 2, 2012
Crowdfunding Archaeology - The Story of SVG
The SVG Public Archaeology Program, also affectionately known as SVG Digs, was created out of the desire to rescue and record a highly unique and significant archaeological site from being destroyed during construction of the new international airport on the island of St. Vincent in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). The results from our pilot season in January 2011 are helping to rewrite the prehistory of this lesser known Caribbean nation… but there is so much more work that needs to be done! Led by the brilliant and charismatic Margarita de Guzman, this project has captured our attention and shines a light on the potential power of the crowdfunding model. The inspiration was simply that a really great site was going to get destroyed unless someone (me) did something about it. There were some things that I knew: (1) This site was awesome - up to 2,000 years old, with burials, (2) there was no money, legislation or archaeologists in St. Vincent to protect it, and (3) there are people out there that pay to go on digging vacations (Earthwatch, etc.). “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” I thought I’d give it a shot and see what would happen. You’re definitely approaching a unique issue. What has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the world of science and discovery in Canada - how are your supporters responding? While we have been overwhelmed by the contributions we have received so far, most of our contributions have come from family and close friends. It has been difficult to convince the general public of the importance of our project and the importance of saving a piece of St. Vincent’s prehistoric past (of which very little is known). There are many people that come up to me and tell me the project is great, but don’t do anything about it. Some people think they have to give a lot, but even $5 will make a difference. It has certainly been a financial struggle; all the work and effort that goes into this project is strictly on a volunteer basis. However, I’m not sure how much reach we’ve had, though we have been shared by some amazing archaeologists, including David Connolly of BAJR Jobs, Past Horizons, and Kristina Kilgrove (of the Roman DNA Project), and perhaps we’re not tapping into the right crowd? Your thoughts on this would be great! On a positive note, we have had a few strangers contribute to our project; this kindness and generosity absolutely amazes me. Combined with the very generous contributions of my family and friends, it’s great to see that people believe in me, my team, and our project. I don’t think this would have happened without being on RocketHub. I believe that crowdfunding is so new when it comes to science, academics, anthropology, acrchaeology, etc. that you are educating and promoting at the same time. Usually this is a bit more tricky and takes more time. But your success and persistence is quite clear. Any advice for others looking to crowdfund a similar project? Having started this project from scratch, I tell anyone and everyone to just go for it. If I can do it, anyone can. Believe in yourself and believe in your project, and make sure your readers can see that. I don’t really know what else to say here. As a “pioneer,” I’m still learning, and would love to get some advice as well! Thank you for going on this journey and for being a part of the RocketHub community. We’re all very happy to have your project and passion. Support this innovative endeavor, here. -Vlad
- December 30, 2011
Bailey Gets Creative with Holiday Fundraiser
Bailey Brand Consulting has been building effective brand strategies for clients across the country and around the world since 1985. The firm is guided by two core principles: that creating an emotional connection with consumers builds brand loyalty and that close collaboration with clients is key to producing those enduring bonds. Bailey is also a founding member of GDS, a global alliance of independent branding firms expertise in branding, packaging and product design. Bailey is a company with a soul that puts real creative effort into making the world a better place. Their team put together an awesome campaign leveraging RocketHub’s platform while building a fun and original presentation. Our firm is attempting to make an impact and bring a little cheer to some less fortune children in our community. The place we have our sites set on is the Northern Home for Children. This organization has been in the community for over 150 years, helping to improve lives and providing a safety net for children and families that face extraordinary challenges. It is truly an inspirational place! I heard something about a wintry swim into icy waters if you reach your $10,000 goal - what’s that all about? In order to show just how much we appreciate everybody’s support in helping us achieve our goal, we wanted to do something different. Initially, we decided that we either had to do something extreme, or do something humiliating. We tossed around a few ideas, from skydiving to karaoke, but in the end, we decided to combine the two and do something extremely humiliating; a polar bear swim. We plan on jumping into the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of January. Don’t worry - it will be on video for the world to see. Now that’s dedication to the cause. Congrats to the Bailey team for their unique approach to making a difference. Get involved, here. -Vlad
- December 27, 2011
Riddle Fence - Canadian Literary Journal Finds a New Way
Riddle Fence is an arts and culture journal from Newfoundland and Labrador, the only one. Shortly after our first year, Prime Minister Harper eliminated sustaining funding to magazines with circulations under 5,000—meaning all literary journals. It was a huge blow. We have all had to find creative ways to support our journals in the last couple of years. We rely more and more on community partnerships and innovative fundraisers. This is a common challenge faced by most grassroots arts and culture institutions in North America and around the world. I connected with Shoshanna Wingate to learn more about how Riddle Fence is going to their community and the RocketHub crowd in order to find a new level of support. Riddle Fence enjoys a healthy reputation nationwide, so we thought we’d reach out to our community and ask them to support us. We need funding for next year. We pay our writers and artists well and put a lot of emphasis on aesthetics and design. We didn’t want to compromise on either of those expenses. It’s important to us that we maintain our standards, our design, our regular publishing schedule. We’re still young—only three years old. We’re finding our footing—and yet the response to our journal so far has been so positive, so supportive, that we’re attracting stellar writers who want to work on our journal. We have momentum and interest because we’re doing things differently. We’re a bit on the edge, as one would expect from this part of the world. What has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the world of new artistic expression in Newfoundland - how are your supporters responding? Great! We raised 155% of our fundraising goal. Our local CBC ran a piece on our project. We’ve had writers and artists offering to donate pieces to support our cause. Amazing donations. One of a kind, really. Original songs. Hand-illustrated first edition books. Wood cuts. Original paintings. Out of print books. We’ve had a considerable response from our community. Wow. How have you sustained this momentum? Any advice for Creatives looking to crowdfund a similar project? We reached out to everyone who has shown interest in our project over the last three years and asked for their support. They are our community, our readers, our audience. But we also decided to offer unique and theme-specific rewards. Not just your standard subscription offer. We do have that, but we also included a gift subscription (because it’s the holiday season) and a hand-silkscreened bookmark by Jacob Rolfe, who appeared in Riddle Fence last year. I think our rewards are really key. As I mentioned, we’re offering original artwork, signed first edition books, audio books, handmade woodcuts, a handmade scarf and hand-illustrated book by award-winning writer, Kathleen Winter. An original song, written for the purchaser, performed and recorded by Bob Hallett of Great Big Sea. An original landscape painting by BookerPrize finalist Lisa Moore. An out of print chapbook by Commonwealth award winner Michael Crummey. Congratulations on your success! Thank you for being a part of RocketHub. Grab cool rewards and support Riddle Fence. -Vlad
- December 23, 2011
Guest Post: Healthy Food, Healthy Communities
A couple of years ago, I was at a Dominican birthday party in the Bronx. Just like the other parties I’d been to, women brought big trays of food to share and hung out in the kitchen talking. The food is delicious, but can be heavy and unhealthy. I was struck by a vision - I clearly saw in my mind a woman strolling into the kitchen and revealing a tray of a delicious typical dish made healthy. She would tell everyone the substitutions she’d made and distribute copies of the recipe. This vision was the catalyst for Healthy Parents Fellowship. Working as a teacher in the Bronx and Harlem since 2007, I witnessed children and families eating poorly. Nutrition and health became my passion. I wanted to develop a program that would lead to lasting lifestyle changes and that would reach busy working families. Healthy Parents Fellowship is the idea that grew out of this desire. In this project, parent leaders will serve as models for their community by improving their health and the health of their families. Then they will help their neighbors and the Washington Heights community by creating a community action project- their personal solutions to the obesity epidemic. Parents will use their own experiences to create projects uniquely suited for their community. Each parent will affect the lives of people around them, and the impact of the program will grow exponentially as whole communities are reached by the parents’ peer education efforts. I’m ready to bring Healthy Parents Fellowship to life! I truly believe parents can fight obesity and make a huge difference. The crowdfunding experience has been interesting and rewarding so far. I learned about crowdfunding a while ago, but many people I speak to are not familiar with it yet. Thus, I have found myself explaining the model often. I think it’s exciting that the project could be someone’s first crowdfunding experience! Everyone has been so enthusiastic: sharing the project on Facebook and Twitter, writing kind words, and urging their friends to support. The positive feedback about the project idea and model has been amazing. It only drives me to work harder, and to believe 110% that Healthy Parents Fellowship will succeed on RocketHub and in changing lives. For success, use all the resources RocketHub offers, including the toolkit. Take the time to carefully decide your goal. We could have been more ambitious, but it seemed more important to set an achievable goal. Talk to anyone and everyone about what you’re doing, you never know who’ll end up supporting you. One of my most surprising supporters was a fellow Duke alum who I met at an event. I sent him the link on Facebook and he fueled the project the next day! You are constantly building your network, so continue reaching out to people as you meet them. - Catarina Rivera, Founder/Director of Healthy Kids in the Heights
- December 21, 2011
The Moonless Age Comes to Life
Drowtales is a successful ten-year-old comic and fantasy series with a passionate following and dedicated team. Led by Yan “Kern” Gagné, this talented studio is looking to transfer online success into the real world. Their crowdfunding campaign - quickly approaching 100% - is looking to publish a graphic novel. So I connected with Kern to learn more about their inspiration and approach. Drowtales have now been going for 10 years. While we are successful with our online comic and interactive services, our result with print media have been far from a success. Hope was rekindled this year when we’ve met other comic creators at conventions, including one who have found success by involving his readership through a crowdfunding effort and offering perks that make the project personal to those who contributes. So to say “inspiration” might not be the right word, but “encouragements” is what led to this project. From fellow comic creators and hundreds of fans. Crowdfunding may be the future for projects run by small studio such as ours. It is my hope that we too will find success with RocketHub as our partner. It seems to be working quite well for you - with 99% of the way there! How do you feel about crowdfunding and what advice can you give? What’s different with crowdfunding is the strenght of the individual responses. Those who contribute wish for the project to succeed, making this a team effort spanning beyond our studio. Ask your readers and fans what perks they desire. A book project is more than just the finished product, it has personal attachement to it’s core followers. Give them a chance to see this attachement materialize itself in the book. A big “thank you” to Kern and the Drowtales team for their campaign and wonderful comics. Grab your copy of the book, here. -Vlad
- December 16, 2011
Helping Kids Make a Difference through Fashion
Sustainable Kids is a children’s clothing brand that embraces growing generations of globally-minded, eco-savvy kids (and their families). Spearheaded by Maia Andersen, this smart organization has been running a successful crowdfunding campaign on RocketHub to raise funds for the resources to make the Spring 2012 season into a success. I spoke with Maia about her inspiration, experience, and plans for expanding the business. Our inspiration to launch Sustainable Kids was tri-fold – first we felt very strongly about manufacturing in USA and creating a brand that kids could say “hey this was made here, not in China!” (or Bangladesh or Taiwan). Secondly, we are passionate about practicing sustainable apparel design, and the importance of responsible business choices. Choosing non-toxic raw materials, packaging and dyes have profound effects on society and our ecosystem. We didn’t want to make clothing that asks future generations to bear the brunt of short cuts in the name of making cheap product. We don’t want to compete with other brands on that level! Lastly, (but truthfully the most gratifying element) of our brand story is EMPOWERMENT. Our goal is to empower kids to feel they can make a positive difference in their world. As a parent I see how powerful and inspired kids feel when they can see that their actions achieve change in their local community and world. One of my favorite quotes from Margaret Thatcher says (roughly) - “Never doubt the ability of a small group of concerned citizens’ ability to affect change, when in fact, they are the only ones that ever do.” I try to live by this quote! If businesses can lead by example, we represent a wonderful role model for our future designers, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. Having a chance to speak about our brand in a direct way has really increased our supporters’ appreciation of what we are doing and WHY we are doing it. I tend to assume (not always correctly) that if people know me, they know the “whys” of my business. We’ve had a lot of validation from parents about the importance of children’s brands that “walk-the-walk” and support some of the key global issues their children are learning in school. How have you translated this added clarity and messaging into crowdfunding success? What advice can you give to others that are trying to do the same? Plan how you are going to reach out to supporters as thoroughly as you plan your video and project. Develop a concise, clear pitch that tells your potentials exactly how the process works, and don’t assume they will read all the way through the (RocketHub) site for the details. Understand that the crowdfunding concept is still a very new term to most people, and they will benefit from a brief 1-2-3 of “how it goes” right when you present them with your project. Try to reach out to like-minded communities and groups of people for additional support. Allow ample time ahead of your launch for possible supporter collaboration and co-projects to help fund your project. Great work Maia. We’re honored to play a small role in helping you change the world. Take a look and join in, here. -Vlad
- December 14, 2011
The Hub Dubai Crowdfunds New Homebase
As part of a 5,000+ strong global network in 30+ cities, our non-profit HUB will combine the best of a coworking space, business incubator, innovation agency, member’s club, and social network to create a very different kind of ecosystem… a home for values-driven innovators at the front lines of our local, regional, and global challenges: social entrepreneurs - thought leaders - unconventional corporate mavericks - freelancing minds - and government leaders. National citizens. Expatriate denizens. Making our world better together. The Hub Dubai team has an inspiring mission and has managed to run an impressive crowdfunding campaign. The team has raised enough funds to begin securing a new entrepreneur and innovation space in Dubai. So I caught up with them to learn more about this international project. Really, it emerged kind of naturally. It was two years ago and we were feeling like there was something wrong with the philosophy that first you need to get the Ivy degree, then the Wall Street gig, the car, find a soulmate, the 20 mil, and only then fix the universe. That sort of wishful, idealist thinking has kept us living in a world with poverty, pollution, you name it. We realized we weren’t alone, many smart people all over the planet felt the same way, but didn’t have the supporting ecosystem to do good while being well… paying the rent. The personal cost of failure was too high. So, we set about changing that. Enter The Hub. That path makes a lot of sense. What has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the world incubators, startups, and innovation in Dubai - how are your supporters responding? Our fuelers may have been hesitant at first, but in our case, as an unconventional social enterprise still under formation, it was a reassurance that we can raise money in a way that is neither an investment, nor a charitable donation, but an exchange that allows your community to be involved in what you’re building. And the concept of crowdfunding itself isn’t new; it’s the innovative use of technology that is now allowing it to happen at a global scale. In our case, for Hub Dubai — in a place that is the world’s hub for so many things — we have New Yorkers, West Coasters, folks from across Europe, Asia, all over the world choosing Dubai as a platform for global solutions to common local challenges. And that’s why we’ve been fortunate to attract so much support, on the merit of our cluster of values-driven creative talent. You’ve built a massive amount of momentum very quickly. Any advice for Creatives looking to crowdfund a similar project? Firstly, I’d say check out the tips on RocketHub.org and follow them to the T. We did, and it worked great for us. Another thing is: invest time building a circle of people who trust us and know what we’re all about. We for example have been having regular community events for a year before turning to it for support when the going got tough. Also, think very hard about the rewards you give for your supporters, and the mix of a particular reward for a particular contribution amount. If you were in your supporter’s shoes, would you contribute that much for this reward? The reward doesn’t itself have to be very costly to you, but it does have to be creative, engaging, and attractive to the complete stranger who just landed on your idea. Last point: RocketHub is a great analogy for getting an idea launched sustainably… look at the stages of an actual rocket launch. Yes you have a lot of fuel that you need to get airborne, but you also need booster rockets and thrust afterwards by doing additional social media outreach to make it to the moon. Awesome use of the rocket lingo. We look forward to coming out to Dubai and visit your space. Join the movement, here. -Vlad
- December 13, 2011
From Love and Pain - The Solo Debut of Shane McMillan
I’ve wanted to do a solo project for a long time, and I had a big back catalogue of songs I was planning on recording but they didn’t mean much to me any more. Then I met and fell in love with the woman of my dreams. We had a brief, but magical time together, but for a variety of very good reasons it’s impossible for us to be together. Ever since meeting her, inspiration comes very easily. For me, it’s not enough to just be in love with someone, it has to be love combined with pain and heartache and a good dose of yearning for me to tap into the flow and pick songs out of the air like that… Music is my therapy so when things are rough it really helps to sit down and pick up the guitar. Those are the poignant words of Shane McMillan as he steps onto the solo stage. Known for his role in the band Wintermitts, Shane is a talented artist who releasing his firsm solo album. His crowdfunding campaign has received international support. It has been incredible so far! I am just blown away by the support I have received, even from friends who themselves don’t have a lot of money to spare. Some friends have been very generous, and others have told me they will contribute for sure - just waiting for their next paycheque! I think people are really excited by the idea of crowdfunding because it involves them in the process, and they get rewards out of it too, so everyone wins. I really just followed the advice on the RocketHub website. First make a list of all your friends. Out of that list, choose the people that you feel believe in you the most, or are most likely to support you. Send them a personal email or Facebook message explaining about your project and about RocketHub, and make an appeal for help. Have a close friend read over the message before you send it out. I think it’s important to not sound too desperate or make people feel obligated to help. Wait until you get some good fuel coming in, then expand the campaign to your larger friend group. Wait a bit longer, and then once you have some good momentum, go public and get the word out as far and wide as possible!! And don’t be afraid to send updates about your progress. Some people might have wanted to contribute and then forgot, so a small reminder helps a lot. Thank you Shane for being a part of the RocketHub community and for bringing your heartfelt work to world. Everyone can grab a copy of the upcoming album or listen to one of the tunes, here. -Vlad
- December 12, 2011
