Stuart McLaughlin, CEO of Fund It. Photo by Crispin Rodwell
Today, Fund It is saying thanks to 18,000 people who together have donated more than €1m to 350 projects on the site over the past 16 months.
Fund It is Ireland’s first crowdfunding platform, running on the same idea as Kickstarter, where users can ask others to fund a project they’re working on, be it a work of art, a book of poetry, a music festival or a video game. Users set a target they need to reach in a certain time frame, and they also offer various rewards depending on how much visiting philanthropists are willing to donate.
Since the site launched in March 2011, pledges coming from all over the world have funded 250 performances, films, events and projects in science, art, fashion, publishing and more.
“At a time when there is much discussion about the strength of Ireland’s creative talent and the potential of harnessing a global audience, we are excited that so many people are championing creativity, and pledging to help projects happen via Fund It,” said Stuart McLaughlin, chief executive of Fund It, earlier today.
A project from Dr Laurence Gill and PhD research student Joanne MacMahon of Trinity College Dublin’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering is the site’s highest-grossing campaign so far, having raised more than €24,000 from 201 donors. This project sought funding to reinstate an innovative low-cost and low-maintenance solar-powered water disinfection system in the remote village of Ndulyani, Kenya.
At the moment, 30 projects are now live on the site, ranging from plays and albums to operas and multimedia performances.
