Call out for new creative ideas to be promoted on site
· Over €632,000 was pledged by the public to various creative projects
· 143 projects were successfully funded in the first year
· The success rate for projects on the website in the first year was 78%
· Over €100k of funds came from pledgers outside Ireland
Fund it, Ireland’s first crowdfunding website, has attracted pledges of over €632,000 for creative projects in its first year. The start-up facilitates pre-sales and micro-philanthropy for creative projects in areas such as art, design, fashion, film, technology, music and performance.
Fund It was one of ten projects selected in 2011 for support from the Arthur Guinness Fund and over the course of two years will receive €50,000 along with business mentoring in order to advance the project further.
Since March 2011, there have been over 11,600 pledges made in return for unique rewards such as products and experiences that only the project creator can offer. Fund it is calling out for writers, bands, designers and people with all kinds of creative ideas to consider seeking funding for those ideas on the site from their fans and followers.
A successful project must be 100% funded within its fundraising duration and in the past year, 143 projects were successfully brought to life through financial pledges made on the website. A survey of activity on the website in its first year found:
· 143 projects were successfully funded in the first year
· 78% of projects were successfully funded – a project is not considered successful or unsuccessful until its fundraising duration is complete
· The number of projects going live on the site each month has risen from 10 to 30 and is still growing
· 20% of the pledges made on the website were made from outside Ireland
· The lowest amount raised by a successful project was €410 for ‘Fefu and her Friends’ and the highest was €24,375 for ‘Solar Water Disinfection’
· The average pledge to successful projects is just over €50
· The music category was most successful with over €145,000 pledged in the first year, this is followed by performance with over €136,000 in pledges and Film and TV with over €80,000.
Stuart McLaughlin of Fund it has commented that the high levels of pledges and successful projects funded through the website in the first year is evidence that there is a genuine need for alternative methods of financing creativity and the arts in Ireland.
‘We are delighted with the success which Fund It has experienced in its first year. Fund It is a truly innovative service because many of these projects may not have been able to take place if this method of financing was not available. It is striking to note that 20% of the pledges made through the website come from outside Ireland and this represents a previously untapped source of financing for the creative community in Ireland.
‘The level of activity on the website has been increasing substantially over the past year and the first quarter of 2012 has been our busiest period to date. Despite the various challenges facing the economy, Fund It has proved that there is genuine enthusiasm about bringing creative projects to life through small financial pledges – the crowd decides. We are looking forward to continued success in supporting the creative sector throughout 2012.’
Some of the most recent projects to be funded successfully were a new theatre company’s first production, ‘Monster Clock’, in Smock Alley, a free newspaper about cycling in Dublin and a second album from ‘Master & Dogs’, a band from Co Antrim.
Fund it is an initiative launched by Business to Arts in partnership with Martin McNicholl in March 2011 with the aim of exploring the area of using crowdsourcing to support the creative sector. It is the first initiative of its kind in Ireland.
