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Donate $1 to finishing this post: Navigating the realm of indie fundraisers.

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In this day and age, receiving extra funding for your project is easier than ever. And it’s not coming from big movie studios. Campaign websites like Indiegogo.com and Kickstarter.com are gaining in popularity and becoming a valuable way to secure a couple extra bucks to put towards production. With these websites, interested parties donate a certain amount of money with a credit card, debit card, or through PayPal in exchange for a perk or prize that costs slightly less than the pledge amount. A million different reasons exist as to why fundraising sites are a good idea – receiving extra budget, getting an update page set up, and circulating copies of the movie upon completion – but there are actually a million and one different reasons why creating your own campaign page and donating to online fundraisers are a risky business. In my Donate $1 to Finishing This Post article, I’ll give some pointers on how I think a successful campaign should be run and I’ll discuss some of the risks involved should you choose to donate.

Research the Filmmaker – The first thing you should do before donating to a Indiegogo or Kickstarter campaign is do a little research. I highly suggest searching for the director on blogs, Facebook, IMDB, and even the fundraising sites themselves to see the director’s track record. Are they a first time film maker with no experience at all? Do you think they are deserving of a $100 donation when you have no idea what their quality of work will be? What is their goal amount? Did they set a goal that can’t possibly be reached unless you’re Veronica Mars? Why donate if the movie will probably never be made? Most importantly, what is the general mood of the entertainment industry in regards to the director? What is their track record? If the director has done about twenty campaigns, collected on all of them, and not released a single feature length film… Run, simply run away and don’t look back at their page ever again. Unfortunately there are a lot of overzealous and shady directors on funding sites that either have no idea what they’re doing or are literally trying to rob you to pay rent. Be conscious of who you’re donating to. Do some research!

Unreachable Budget Goals – Before donating to a fundraising project, you really need to take into consideration how attainable the budget goal is. Is an independent filmmaker with no films currently in distribution looking for a $500,000? Save your time and continue browsing. The odds of this filmmaker reaching their goal is slim to none, one in a million. The naivety of the filmmaker, believing that they can reach a half a million dollar budget, is going to drag the whole campaign into the ground. Why would a hard working fellow donate $2,000 to the production budget in exchange for a single Skype session with a cast member? Why donate $10,000 and only get an associate producer credit? More than likely, they can donate to another campaign and get 5x the amount of perks in comparison to what you’re looking for. I know I’ve bounced back and forth, aiming this topic at both the campaign manager and donator, but any film looking for a $500,000 donated budget with no return of investment is not going to happen. It’s just not.

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What Film Really Speaks to You? – When a filmmaker is in pre-production, there are a number of unforeseen circumstances that can drastically alter the film. For instance, let’s say that your  favorite scream queen actress is attached to the film. She’s going to play an important, supporting role. The campaign reaches its end date and the goal was not reached. Suddenly, your favorite actress is cut from the movie to make room for an actress with a smaller pay rate and you’re stuck with a perk or two that you care nothing about. This is why you have to find a campaign or film that really speaks to you. Make sure you believe in the theme, believe in the premise, or believe in a unique aspect before donating your hard earned money. I know that we want our favorite actors/actresses/directors/writers to succeed, but in instances like donating your money and expecting it to pay off…often times it’s better to separate your social life from work.

Receiving Credit Card Payments – This part of the game was explained to be by a film maker in West Virginia a few years ago. Who knew scammers existed even in the world of horror film fundraising? Let’s say you start a campaign for a project on Kickstarter and set your goal at $1,500. The day before the campaign ends, your donation totals out at $2,500. You’re excited. Not only did you reach your projected goal, but you also have about a couple hundred dollars left over once Kickstarter.com takes out their processing fees. The day comes when the money gets deposited in your account and you’re shocked – only $1,340 is sitting in personal savings. Well, that’s because people who want to try to steal free shit from you used maxed out credit cards to try and weasel perks into their greedy little hands. Fundraising sites generally don’t charge donators until the end date of your campaign has been reached. When it’s over, the site will process everything, and obviously the bounced credit card payments will be denied. Filmmakers should always have a backup plan in place for this occurrence and that backup plan is budgeting wiser with what you received. See if the special effects artist will work for a lower payment if you give them a reel of their work on your movie after completion.

Lack of Initiative – Before you get your underwear in a bunch, let me state that this is one big blanket statement and my personal opinion on those working in the industry. Because using Indiegogo and Kickstarter is so popular these days, some filmmakers are getting lazy. Every time they have a new idea, they immediately head to online campaigning. Hell, I’ve even seen Indiegogo campaigns for a teaser trailer! Believe it or not, there is a lot to learn in the filmmaking business and a lot of it is learnt best from experience. If every time you go into pre-production you set up a fundraising site, then you’re not truly learning anything. Why not look for friends and family members who will donate large sums in exchange for producer credit, return of investment, or a profit of DVD sales? Why not seek out potential, studio-owned investors who can professionally help you towards your budget? And above all else, why don’t you, as the filmmaker, find new and inventive ways to conserve on a budget. There’s ways to cut costs without jeopardizing the quality of your production. You only need initiative and the will to succeed to find out what they are.

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Delivery of Perks – When do you expect to receive the perks that you donated for? I donated to an Indiegogo fundraiser once where the perks didn’t come in the mail until over a year after they were promised. As someone who believed in the project, it did leave a sour taste in my mouth, especially because the “exclusive first look” was voided by the filmmakers premiering the movie in a theater and at several conventions before mailing me my copy. Patience is a virtue, but the campaign managers need to deliver their promised perks in a timely fashion. Relating this back to the first topic I mentioned, if the filmmaker collected your money after not reaching the goal – there is a way to disable your account so funds cannot be dispersed, which I did for my failed comic book – and has not delivered your perks, then I think it’s time for you to get in touch with Indiegogo or a lawyer and get your money back. Again, donators be cautious when donating, and filmmakers – get the perks out on time!

Charity vs. Production – This topic has only sprouted up recently. More fundraising sites such as GoFundMe have popped up on the internet and are gaining notoriety like Indie and Kickstart. People are starting to fundraise anything, literally anything. Think: $110,000 bowl of potato salad. Think: A man wanting people to donate so he can get a plane ticket to a horror con. These are obviously selfish compaigns. Then, there are people who genuinely need help. Think: A very famous scream queen trying to raise money to save her family home. This woman needs help and is looking specifically to her fans for help. I think where you need to draw the line as a donator is – where is your hard earned money better spent? Can you really spare that $100 on a potato salad or helping out a stranger whose work you admire? Is that money better spent on a bill that pops up expectantly? Remember, as much as you want to help someone or as much as you want to be a part of a production in some aspect, you always come first. Donate wisely!

The point of this post is not to dissuade you from donating to a film fundraiser campaign. More-so, I want it to be an eye opener and an educational tool to all those of you who donate to budget raising pages. And to those who manage the pages, I want this to be an eye opener as well, these are basically pointers on how to make your campaigns even better! It’s no secret that we here at HorrorSociety.com promote Indie and Kickstart campaigns. We promote them just about every other day. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad information, naivety, and crooks out there who make the whole experience a lot less fun. Take some of these tips into consideration before getting involved. Although, I will speak for myself in saying I will no longer promote any campaign that wants $500,000 in donations…and I don’t like potato salad, either.

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Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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