Update #3: Not Everyone Understands Kickstarter…???

RE: What to do when your numbers aren’t racking up as fast as you’d like…

I just got off the phone with someone I’ve been ‘courting’ for backing our documentary film project. He had pitched our project to a potential investor (A person with a history in the film industry) and they didn’t understand how Kickstarter worked. As I answered his slew of questions, I wondered how many others were confused about the system.

Were we losing potential backers because our information wasn’t clear?

First off, we only get funded if we reach our goal of $50,000. And, we must reach that goal before our end date of March 31, 2012. We only gave ourselves 30 days to raise the funds, based on our shoot schedule and advice from Kickstarter which reports most projects fund in the first couple of weeks. (Those that are successful that is)

We’ve finally reached 1%… and have less than 3 weeks to raise the 99%. Funny, I’m reminded of the occupy movement with those percentages.

We won’t argue the fact we’ve given ourselves a near impossible job, but remain confident this film is meant to be, so we stand firm with the conviction we’ll find a way to make it happen. (One way or another, determination wins)

I ‘m reminded of those curved graphs that start gently, rise to a peak, then taper off again and hope our funds follow that model.  (Gaussian Function or Bell Curve)

On the admin panel of the Kickstarter site there is a graph much like this… Our progress looks pretty much like the blue line.  We haven’t yet reached the stage where it swoops up to a nice peak… (That would be our $50K level) before tapering off.

Be sure to visit Kickstarter and check out the rewards for backing the African Kung Fu Kids. Rewards are what you get in exchange for chipping in. For example if you back us for $10 you get a priority download of the documentary. For $25 you get the film plus a postcard from the African Kung Fu Kids in Malawi. The more you give, the better the rewards.

If you don’t understand crowd-sourcing (outsourcing problems or tasks) or crowd funding (pooling resources or money), you can read more by clicking the links. The trends have shown that they are fast becoming popular for production of films, music, books, games and gadgets.

Cute video on crowd-sourcing…

There are lots of crowd funding sites like Indiegogo, Sponsume, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, Early Shares, Fund a Geek…

We selected Kickstarter for our film since they have higher standards and stricter rules. They don’t accept all projects.

If you still don’t understand… here’s a video which explains crowd funding for projects.

So, be sure to check out our rewards and visit our regular website too:

africankungfukids.com

Thanks to everyone who has backed our film. We can’t wait to share it with you!