1. GIVE ME SOME MONEY…
(PLEASE)
How to crowd fund your scientific
research or at least part of it.
EEB Meeting
November 9th, 2012
2. What is crowd funding you
ask?
The solicitation of small
donations from a
large number of people
for specific targeted
projects.
3. What else?
An old concept revitalized in
the late nineties by the British
band Marillion
Similar to micro-financing
initiatives but with more
flexibility
Revolutionized in 2009 by
Kickstarter.com
4. How does it work?
Platform.
Dollar target for the campaign.
Campaign length.
Compelling story.
Video.
Rewards.
Plan to get people to your campaign.
6. Kickstarter
Supports creative projects of all sorts
Over $350 million has been pledged by more
than 2.5 million people, funding more than
30,000 creative projects
All-or-nothing funding
Rewards for funders
http://www.kickstarter.com/
7. Indiegogo
Flexible funding
“All about allowing anybody to raise money
for any idea”
Offers “perks” for funders
http://www.indigogo.com
8. Famous Campaigns
Let’s Build a God Damn Tesla Museum
Robo Cop Statute in Detroit
9. Wait. What does this have to do
with Science?
The current rate of funding for
science proposals in the U.S. is
~20%. The current rate for
funding statues of RoboCop in
Detroit is 135% – to the tune of
$67,436.
11. Why Crowd Fund Science?
Micro-donations will make hundreds of
research projects possible, projects that
otherwise would have to wait for funding or
not be funded at all.
Research projects that are limited in scope
and time and for which small dollars are
required, can be made possible
12. Need more reasons?
Researchers will gain more visibility,
connect with a wider audience of donors
and enhance public knowledge of their
work
Funds from donors can speed the process
of investigation and lead to faster scientific
breakthroughs
13. How about two more?
The general public has an easy and cost-
effective way to advance scientific research
that personally appeals to them.
People can be more engaged with ground-
breaking research, by learning about and
funding a scientist and his/her work.
14. Crowd Funding Platforms
Dedicated to Science
Some success with Kickstarter
http://www.petridish.org
http://www.sciflies.com
SciFund Challenge
15. Petridish
Sample Project
5% fee
All or Nothing Funding
http://www.petridish.org
16. Sciflies
Sponsored by the University of South Florida
No fees
Famous user
Proposals are reviewed by an anonymous
panel of scientific experts, adding prestige to
the process
17. SciFund Challenge
Sponsered by yet another
platform, Rockethub.
Spearheaded by two ecologists in 2011
Uses a critical mass approach to crowd
funding
Cohorts are given support and collective
media coverage
Round three starts November 11th
18. Some Past Examples
Watching Clouds in the Cloud Forest
Healthy Trees, Diverse Forests
19. Success Rate
The basics:
Round Days Projects Projects funded Percent funded
Total raised
1 45 49 10 20.4% $76,230
2 31 75 33 44.0% $100,345
20. Keys to Success
Contact everyone you know!
Take the time to make an engaging video
Make your project sound relatable and lay
off the esoteric language!
Be realistic with your fundraising goals
$100,000? Not so much…
23. Potential Pitfalls
Some worry that only projects with splashy
campaigns will be funded
Easier to generate interest in cute and cuddly
animals than in the “Isoline Retrieval of Ozone
in the Stratosphere”
Lack of Peer Review
“Dumbing down of science” to appeal to the
general public
24. Something to Think About
“It is absolutely true that a few
thousand dollars is not a lot of
money for a senior scientist. But if
you are a graduate student, money
is much tighter and a few extra
thousand dollars for your research
can make all the difference.”
-Dr. Jai Ranganathan, Co-Funder Sci-Fund
Challenge
25. The Future of Science?
http://scifundchallenge.org/blog/2012/05/09/crowdfunding-is-
the-future-of-science/
26. Hack E-Science Librarianship
Blog
For more information and lots of links!
http://hackescilibship.wordpress.com/2012/
10/03/crowdfund-this/
For access to this presentation, please e-
mail me at amelia.m.vaughan@gmail.com