April 12, 2012
Let’s get Boosted!
With the support of the Lion Foundation, the Arts Foundation is creating Boosted, a crowdfunding website that will create millions in new funding for the arts.
Check out www.boosted.org.nz for more details.
Crowdfunding is an international phenomenon. The basic premise is that a project (like editing a film, or recording an album) can be funded with the support of many small donations. In the United States, crowdfunding has raised over $80 million for creative projects in just two years.
Some New Zealand artists are already using crowdfunding to great success. Check out Arts Foundation New Generation recipient Taika Waititi’s campaign with US based kickstarter for an example.
When Simon Bowden (Arts Foundation Executive Director) went to the United States on a US state funded trip in 2010, he began developing a plan for the Arts Foundation to set up a crowdfunding site for New Zealand. The Foundation has been researching and developing this idea, combining the strength of crowdfunding with the unique attributes of the Arts Foundation.
Any arts project can go through the simple steps of applying to the Arts Foundation to be listed on Boosted. Donations for projects on Boosted are made to the Arts Foundation and will be tax deductible. If the project attracts enough pledges to meet its target by a deadline, the Arts Foundation will grant funds donated for the project to the project, less an administration amount. The administration amount helps with running the website. Boosted will have other philanthropic mechanisms such as the ability to run a matched funding campaign. Matched funding is where a donor pledges a sum of funds that will only be donated if others match the amount pledged.
Pre-approval of projects by the Arts Foundation will provide confidence to pledgers that they are supporting a bona fide activity. We are opening our doors to all kiwi arts projects, from the grass-roots to the well-established. We are pouring our knowledge of private giving to the arts into Boosted in order to grow a new generation of donors. We expect to create literally thousands of philanthropists for the arts, albeit mostly at modest levels. In the world of crowdfunding every dollar counts. Many donors who initially donate small amounts to projects on Boosted will be able to give more in the future.
Get involved
Building of the website has begun with the site expected to go live in September 2012. Go to www.boosted.org.nz and register your interest. Follow this project on Facebook and tell all your friends. The more people that register their interest, the more momentum we will create; the more momentum we create, the more successful we’ll be; the more successful we are, the more money is raised for the arts.
Artists, administrators and producers should register at www.boosted.org.nz. The Arts Foundation will provide information to projects on how to prepare for participation in Boosted.
We are also keen to hear from people who represent art form and geographic communities who could let us know of projects out there that could use Boosted. Get in touch with us if you can promote Boosted to your community or would like to talk about it in the media.
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