Hey "Who Cares",
Yep, you're totally right. You can't offer profit participation / ownership stake in the film on the internet without proper disclosure documentation. That would violate U.S. SEC laws.
However you can pre-sell perks or experiences related to the film (like the DVD or a trip to the set). Imagine funding the making of a film by pre-selling thousands of copies of the DVD. (Acutally don't imagine, it's happening now on indiegogo). The only difference between "fundraising" and "distribution" then becomes the timing of the sale. It's a cool way for fans to lock in that copy (especially if it's a limited edition with limited availability) and help get the film made at the same time. Win-Win!
You can also offer tax deductions as you said by raising donation money too if you're fiscally sponsored or incorporated as a 501c-3.
So yes, there's multiple ways to raise funds from fans on the internet... none of them involve "investing" though... at least not yet :)
>> I think Kevin's matching idea and creating a film idea are great and definitely worth exploring.
A crowdfunding effort would not just show there's demand for RED STATE and other projects, but it opens up the filmmaking and film funding process and lets fans participate (not just be passive viewers, which is all fans can really do now).
See: 5 Benefits of Crowdfunding for details: http://www.indiegogo.com/blog/2010/01/benefits-of-crowdfunding.html
>> I encourage Kevin to think even bigger than donations.
By pre-selling the film (for example: by pre-selling copies of the DVD) to his fans, he's not just raising $, he's giving fans something of real value - his film! (He's just doing it earlier than normal). So it's not just a donation. TechDirt is a good example of all the tangible perks one can offer with emotional, custom, financial, and scarcity incentives: http://www.techdirt.com/rtb.php
>> I hope Kevin stops spending time and money on a website and uses a platform that already exists so that he can focus on making his movie and engaging his fans, which is what I think he prefers doing anyhow.
On IndieGoGo he can:
> keep, match and recognize all the funds he raises (no all or nothing restraint)
> offer both perks and tax deductions - so no headaches around tax receipt management as he alludes to in his post. (IndieGoGo integrates fiscal sponsorship with crowdfunding via its partnership with the San Francisco Film Societ - http://www.indiegogo.com/blog/2009/09/indiegogo-and-san-francisco-film-society-strike-new-fiscal-spo nsorship-partnership.html)
> raise money along side thousands of projects from over 90 countries... i.e. be part of and help fuel the Indie Movement, v3 as he says :)
Biracy has a great model too... leveraging a referral based system to turn fans into funders too.
But the cool think about crowdfunding is that it's complementary to all other kinds of finance (it's not replacing anything if one doesn't want it to).
Crowdfunding is an exciting movement... only in its infancy. I hope Kevin jumps on board! So much more cool stuff to come.
We do, DCX2. It's called IndieGoGo. Any artist, filmmaker, developer or creative entrpreneur can post their project on IndieGoGo and use the tools IndieGoGo provides to cultivate their audiences and raise money from fans by selling perks (like copies of the end product or experiences). It's empowering... the people who want the end product pay to get it made.
Re: "If there is ANY Revenue Split, ownership share etc...it is ILLEGAL." But there are other online legal models too in addition to donations..
Yep, you're totally right. You can't offer profit participation / ownership stake in the film on the internet without proper disclosure documentation. That would violate U.S. SEC laws.
However you can pre-sell perks or experiences related to the film (like the DVD or a trip to the set). Imagine funding the making of a film by pre-selling thousands of copies of the DVD. (Acutally don't imagine, it's happening now on indiegogo). The only difference between "fundraising" and "distribution" then becomes the timing of the sale. It's a cool way for fans to lock in that copy (especially if it's a limited edition with limited availability) and help get the film made at the same time. Win-Win!
You can also offer tax deductions as you said by raising donation money too if you're fiscally sponsored or incorporated as a 501c-3.
So yes, there's multiple ways to raise funds from fans on the internet... none of them involve "investing" though... at least not yet :)
More benefits to crowdfunding than just $$
A crowdfunding effort would not just show there's demand for RED STATE and other projects, but it opens up the filmmaking and film funding process and lets fans participate (not just be passive viewers, which is all fans can really do now).
See: 5 Benefits of Crowdfunding for details:
http://www.indiegogo.com/blog/2010/01/benefits-of-crowdfunding.html
>> I encourage Kevin to think even bigger than donations.
By pre-selling the film (for example: by pre-selling copies of the DVD) to his fans, he's not just raising $, he's giving fans something of real value - his film! (He's just doing it earlier than normal). So it's not just a donation. TechDirt is a good example of all the tangible perks one can offer with emotional, custom, financial, and scarcity incentives: http://www.techdirt.com/rtb.php
>> I hope Kevin stops spending time and money on a website and uses a platform that already exists so that he can focus on making his movie and engaging his fans, which is what I think he prefers doing anyhow.
On IndieGoGo he can:
> keep, match and recognize all the funds he raises (no all or nothing restraint)
> offer both perks and tax deductions - so no headaches around tax receipt management as he alludes to in his post. (IndieGoGo integrates fiscal sponsorship with crowdfunding via its partnership with the San Francisco Film Societ - http://www.indiegogo.com/blog/2009/09/indiegogo-and-san-francisco-film-society-strike-new-fiscal-spo nsorship-partnership.html)
> raise money along side thousands of projects from over 90 countries... i.e. be part of and help fuel the Indie Movement, v3 as he says :)
Biracy has a great model too... leveraging a referral based system to turn fans into funders too.
But the cool think about crowdfunding is that it's complementary to all other kinds of finance (it's not replacing anything if one doesn't want it to).
Crowdfunding is an exciting movement... only in its infancy. I hope Kevin jumps on board! So much more cool stuff to come.
- GoGoDanae
Re: Imagine that... (as Danae Ringelmann)
Check it out! http://www.indiegogo.com
Thousands of projects are already using IndieGoGo in 94 countries.
Cheers
Danae
danae.at.indiegogo.dot.com
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