Being crowdfunded I know how hard it can be to survive out here and get the tools you need to succeed. For that reason, I’ve decided to launch the “Pay It Forward” fundraising initiative.
This is how it works:
Once a month I’ll set aside a week-long period with a $300 fundraising goal. If that goal is met, I’ll spend $100 of it to buy a year of hosting and a domain name for an independent creator who does not already have a website.
Update, week 2: the whole idea of giving someone a website for a year doesn’t seem to have lit the fire I was hoping for, although we did raise some money. With that in mind, I’m taking that part out for the second run (and possibly permanently) – instead, we’re holding the $300 goal but the forward-pay will simply be a cash contribution in the amount of 1/3 of the total raised during the PIF period to a selected independent artist, activist, or registered non-profit to be selected and announced at the end of the period.
All of the possible ways to contribute can be found here. Further details are below.
- October 9, 2023 6pm EST to October 19, 2023 6pm EST: Raised:$168.50 total, $56.16 donated to Kalamazoo Loaves And Fishes, my local food bank (screenshot posted to FB)
- October 8-15: Ongoing
This will happen once a month going forward generally during the second week the month.
In order to avoid the appearance of capitalizing on someone else’s worthiness, I will not announce the beneficiary until the goal is met and the presumptive recipient has accepted.
All contributions will be made in the name of “Supporters of JohnHenry.US.”
You’re probably thinking “dude you can’t even buy food half the time, how are you gonna give away what little you do have?” Simple: I believe if I put good into the world, it’ll come back to me and I’ll have more good to add. Do I need that extra hundred bucks? Yes I very much do…but so do other people, so this is a way you can help me keep my work going AND help others get their own. Pretty soon you’ve got a whole community of folks all working together to elevate each other instead of scrambling for our own individual needs individually.
Disclaimers & Caveats:
- contributions involving merch perks have out of pocket costs to me, so for instance sending out a “free” shirt is gonna cost me around 15 bucks. For the purposes of calculating the PIF incentive, “contributions” in the form of merch purchases or “tier” subscriptions via Patreon or my site which have merch perks will be calculated based on marginal income, e.g. a new $50 patron who gets a free shirt will have contributed about $35 to the PIF incentive goal if they sign up during the incentive period. Profit margins from merch perk sales during the period will be included in the fundraising total.
- For the purposes of calculating the PIF incentive, existing recurring support does not count even if it pays out during the target period. For instance if I have $150 in previously existing Patron payouts that hit during that period, that doesn’t count toward the goal. However if new Patrons subscribe during that period, that will count toward the goal, for that month.
- Beneficiaries will not be required to engage in any quid-pro-quo or public acknowledgement. Obviously any shout-outs or what have you are appreciated, but they’re not required. All that’s required is they accept the gift. What the recipient chooses to do with it after that is up to them.
- Fundraising will be tracked on this page to provide transparency and status updates.
Quick FAQ
Why $300?
Everything I do including eating is crowdfunded. I have an extraordinarily modest goal of earning a steady 1K/month income for my work. $300 in one week means $200 that week for me; I figure that’s a good spot that’s in line with my needs and also ensures that whatever contribution is made isn’t just a couple of dollars or a few cents.
How do you select recipients?
Mostly by picking someone whose work I like. I do have an internal “filter” that will prevent me from playing some sketchy game like giving it to my roommate/host/landlord or something and calling it philanthropy. I don’t announce beneficiaries in advance for reasons outlined above.
How do we know you’re actually donating the money?
I post screenshots of the donation receipt to my Facebook Page.