In a break from posting about blogs, I'm going to post about spending your money. That's right, you can spend your money on nifty things. These are alternatives to donating to charities, which I highly encourage you to do as well.
First there are sites like Kiva, which is a microfinance site. You lend small amounts of money to other people around the world for different projects, businesses and such. When those people pay the loan back, you don't get the money, but you get to reinvest it in another project. Nifty. They also give a $25 free loan away to new people who sign up.
Then comes Kickstarter and Indiegogo. These are not loan sites, but crowd funding sites. They aren't tax deductible, but they have a different bonus: neat stuff! The people on these sites pitch their ideas, whether it's a school field trip to the LHC or a bookmark that holds your place automatically. Then you get to choose if you want to donate to them and how much. Typically the more you donate the more you get. A small donation may get a mention on their website or a postcard and a large donation may get you a t-shirt or a ticket to the premier of the movie they just made.
The following sites are also either microfinance or crowd funding sites. I have not looked into them and have not used them myself (unlike those mentioned above) so you're on your own.
http://www.petridish.org/
http://www.fundageek.com/
http://www.rockethub.com/
http://ready.33needs.com/
http://www.appbackr.com/
http://www.chipin.com/
http://cofundos.com/
http://en.fansnextdoor.com/
http://www.microventures.com/
http://peerbackers.com/about-us/
http://www.pozible.com.au/
http://www.quirky.com/
http://www.artistshare.net/v4/
http://www.pledgemusic.com/
https://www.sellaband.com/
https://www.zidisha.org/index.php
http://www.babyloan.org/fr/
http://www.veecus.com/
http://www.myelen.com/myelen/
http://www.vittana.org/
http://www.unitedprosperity.org/
http://www.myc4.com/
http://www.globalgiving.org/
Has anyone else used Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Kiva or a similar site? What did you think?
I can't give you my experience with any of the above, but you might want to put Donors Choose (http://www.donorschoose.org/) into the list (funding school classrooms). I have used it, and without troubles.
ReplyDeleteNate Dappen is using kickstarter!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1263330123/the-symbol-wall-lizards-of-the-pityusic-archipelag