Our Latest Selection for Crowdfunding “Project of the Month”

It has been a few months since we updated our crowdfunding project of the month but we are rather selective. We are bringing you our June selection as it is an exciting project and one we believe you should get behind

SUSPENDED WAREHOUSE

Suspended Warehouse is a feature-length documentary currently in post-production.

I built this crowdfunding campaign more than 2 months before putting it online. I researched countless campaigns and checked if it was in line with campaigns with similar budgets, and when I felt it was ready I still had doubts. Even now, almost 30 days away from the end of the campaign and I still have them.

This documentary was shot in a warehouse where a group of performers came together to be able to pursue their dreams. Crowdfunding is about business but also about sharing ideas and concepts with the entire world. The possibility of having a project from Portugal spread throughout the globe seems just out of reach, as most dreams do before becoming real.

I had read about it before but now I know for myself that these campaigns are like roller coasters; some days you have unexpected contributions, other days you feel like nobody’s out there. When I received an email from Howard Orloff saying he looked at my campaign and he was interested in posting it as “crowdfunding campaign of the month” I was stunned.

I don’t know if I’m going to reach my financial goal but having this kind of recognition gives me strength and tells me that no matter where you’re from, if you have a strong project and build a solid crowdfunding campaign you have the possibility of getting your work noticed.

 

Suspended Warehouse crowdfunding campaign:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/suspended-warehouse

Contacts:
Suspended Warehouse

http://suspendedwarehouse.com/

Andre Matos Cardoso

http://cargocollective.com/andrematoscardoso

 

March has brought us an exciting crowdfunding campaign

We had the opportunity to try NightFood and highly recommend you give it a try.

Our November Crowdfunding Project of the Month

Project Summary:

 

We are seeking funds to help a quadriplegic student to finish his Ph.D. dissertation in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Craig Schuff (see photo, above) was suddenly made quadriplegic by a freak accident in May 2011.  At the time of the accident he possessed a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and was pursuing graduate work in the College of Engineering.  He had begun construction of a device designed to generate neutrons that would be used to detect clandestine materials (explosives, IED’s, smuggled nuclear material, drugs, etc.).

 

It took Craig a year to get his life back in order and he recently (11/2012) passed the oral exam for his Masters Degree in Nuclear Engineering.  He is now trying to finish his experimental work for his PhD.

 

He is being assisted by an undergraduate Nuclear Engineering student who is working under his supervision to complete the construction of the device he designed and had partially built before the accident.  One of the impediments to the operation of the device is the purchase of a turbo-pump capable of providing the vacuum needed to allow the fusion of deuterium ions that produce the neutrons needed for identification of the clandestine material.  The estimated cost for the pump and associated equipment and other supplies needed to complete his work is US$25,000. Once the pump is in place and the system is operational, it is estimated that Craig will need 6 months to take data and another 6 months to write his doctoral dissertation (by voice-activated computer interface) and defend his work.  His ultimate goal is to contribute to the defense of the Nation either at a national laboratory or in an industrial setting.

 

Money donated through this page will go to the Fusion Feasibility Fund at the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Madison, WI. Donations are deductible from income for tax purposes. They will be first applied to meet Craig’s laboratory needs. If we raise funds in excess of those through our fundraising efforts, we will apply them to supporting the undergraduate student assisting Craig.  If there are any funds collected in excess of that, they will be applied to the experimental needs of other students in the laboratory.

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This crowdfunding project has touched the hearts of the Orlando community. Please take a look at this project

and see the good crowdfunding can provide for neighbors in need. With over 500 Facebook likes, this

crowdfunding project has expanded far beyond the initial friends that have donated to help this family in need.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding

After years of research and development on a way to produce viable electrical energy from low temperature spreads I finally developed a machine that can do just that.  Many companies and institutions are attempting to do the same thing so It was an unlikely achievement for me.  Luckily I happened to have just the right combination of friends in the scientific and engineering community to bring the idea to life.  Even though that was a landmark event, producing the proof of concept coincided with the last of my personal savings.  In the months leading up to
this point the issue of funding had become more pressing. The best idea in the world is useless without the financing to make it happen.   I looked at loans, grants, financing and other investing options and frankly there is not a shortage for clean energy development. The trouble comes with the terms associated with each funding option. In almost every case control is released to the group or entity investing or loaning the money.  In addition, other funding options turn the focus toward leveraging a profit rather than the cause itself.

A friend told me about crowd funding and it seemed like a perfect fit.  Contributors can donate money to help projects they personally support in the amount that they choose without having to be part of an organized group.  It’s a real community achievement rather than a cold corporate calculation. This gives a sense of obligation to the person doing the project toward
every individual contributor.  In addition, every contributor gets their own personal satisfaction out of helping a cause
they believe in.

A friend of mine initially directed me to a different site but my project was not a proper fit for their focus.  I  searched crowd funding site reviews and gofundme.com was at the top of the list.  I reviewed gofundme.com and liked the intuitive format, the categories and it appeared to be user friendly overall.  I posted my project on gofundme.com and was not disappointed.  The ease of posting the project and the ease of making a contribution are outstanding.  I would recommend gofundme.com to anybody needing to fund a project.

- Judson Ristau