Ellington

The moment any person or group forms a new idea, the next question is, "How will we pay for it?" Whether it is a charity marathon, a city proposal for a bike trail, an idea for a comic book or the inspiration for a new work of art, few ideas come without a price tag.

The bad news is that finding money is often more difficult than completing the project. Many grants exist, but the competition is fierce, and the grant-writing process is often too complicated for most would-be applicants. Investors are also hard to come by, especially if the project is non-profit or art-based, and investors see no concrete return on their funds.

The good news is that while some traditional fund-raising approaches have become more difficult, new approaches and new technology have combined to create easier, more aaccessible means of paying the project bills. Here are a few ideas on how to raise money using the Web.

Using Social Media
While Facebook, Twitter and MySpace can't fulfill all fundraising needs, they can accomplish the most difficult part of the process—letting folks know you need their money. Once you have raised awareness, it's a matter of linking the reader to the charity's website, PayPal account or other means of fund collection. Of course, the drawback is one that has already been mentioned—your audience is limited to your friends and family, and there are only so many times they'll send a check for your "Macaroons for Melanoma" charity drives. The best fundraising source is a continuous source available to the general public, and this is the arena where things are starting to get really exciting.

Set Up A PayPal account
Setting up a PayPal account allows donors to fund your cause directly with a few simple clicks. To set up a Paypal account, visit paypal.com and select "personal account." Once you go through the proper steps to make an account, you can set preferences for auctions, register your site as a PayPal shop and set up invoice templates.

Creative Solutions
The Kickstarter website (http://www.kickstarter.com) is "a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors" and its philosophy is "a good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide." The site appears to have unleashed an effective and potentially game-changing concept into the world of independently funded projects.

The rules of Kickstarter are simple: You have a project that you need a certain amount of money to complete—let's say a short film about out-of-work actors living in New Orleans that will cost $2,000 to film, edit and distribute. You open a free account on Kickstarter, create your project, tell the site how much money you need, then sit back and wait for a donor.

A donor is someone who wants to fund a project that impresses him or her in some way—whether it's an artistic element, a humanitarian element or just plain curiosity. The donor pledges an amount to the project, and if the full project cost is reached, the project creator gets the money. It's important to note that the site uses the word "donor" and not "investor." These aren't projects that promise any sort of return (though project creators can promise "rewards" to their donors—a T-shirt or copy of the film, for instance), so there is no profit on the table and no need for the project creator to worry about how they will pay back the funds.

Naturally, there are rules and regulations to protect all involved (funds aren't transferred if the total budget isn't raised, funding is organized through Amazon.com, etc), but overall the site is just like the concept—simple, straightforward and surprisingly effective.

MicroFinancing
Along similar lines is the site Kiva (http://www.kiva.com), a site that pairs entrepreneurs from around the world with potential investors. Unlike Kickstarter, Kiva is a loan site—any money a person donates will be paid back in full. But the loans are interest free—no one is making money off the deals—and the repayment percentages are encouraging to anyone considering a project. Business proposals range from an American mother wanting to start her own day care, to a woman in Cambodia who needs $1,000 to buy a truck for her broom-making business. Kiva has facilitated more than $100 million in loans since November 2009.

Sites such as these and concepts such as the ones behind them are not only encouraging to those with "the next great idea," but they are a testament to the generosity of strangers. With every transaction, these technologies prove that one person's inspiration can move another to action. And as these technologies continue to evolve, the next world-changing idea could come from anyone, anywhere, and may be only a few keystrokes from becoming a reality.

Examples of Successful Kickstarter Fundraising:
• Academy Award-winning filmmaker Zana Briski raised $50,000 to build a traveling migratory museum with photographs, film and music that explores the connection between humans and insects. The exhibit opens Dec. 21, 2012, in New York City.

• Technology consultant Stephen McGloughlin raised $19,000 to build a desktop computer numerical control machine to put computer-automated machining and fabrication in the hands of creators.

• Virginia artist McLean Fahnestock raised $2,000 to produce "Grand Finale," a large-scale video installation that shows 134 NASA space shuttle launches.

More Online Fundraising Ideas
Pepsi Refresh Project (http://www.refreshingeverything.com)
Any business, nonprofit or person can submit and idea to the project, and Pepsi awards funding for the project with the highest number of votes. Grant categories include: arts and culture, health, the planet, education, neighborhoods, and food and shelter.

American Express Members Project (http://www.takepart.com/membersproject)
Vote for charities to receive $100,000,000 from American Express, find local volunteer opportunities and find a charity to donate to.

Donors Choose (http://www.DonorsChoose.org)
Teachers post a project that they would like to do with their classrooms, and individuals can donate to the project they like best. You can search for projects based on criteria or school districts. The Jackson Public Schools district currently has 15 projects on the site.