Kickstarter

url = http://Kickstarter.com

Description

One good idea deserves another, and Kickstarter is one of those great ideas that deserves all the great ideas it's getting. Launched in April of this year, Kickstarter's premise is simple: people pledge money for projects to happen. If the money is raised, the project happens, and the people who pledge get what they've been promised.

This 'micropatronage' model is familiar enough: civic theaters, symphonies and dance companies, and schools have been using it for decades to put on events or fund projects. What Kickstarter does is make it easy, and take away the risk: if a project doesn't reach its funding goal, no one is charged a dime.