Kickstarter: Is It Right For Your Project?

Fundraising for your project, whether it's a short, feature, animation, documentary, series, or some other sixth option, is one of the most enigmatic aspects of production. Any way you slice it, you need money to make it a reality, and it sure would be nice if it didn't come from your pockets. There are a couple of options when it comes to getting funds. Landing a grant or fellowship can be a huge help. If you're lucky, and you've networked well enough, asking high net-worth individuals could be one way to go. You could also try being born rich! But it's too late for that I suppose. Maybe next time. Another option is crowdfunding, and the main man for the job is gonna be Kickstarter.

I mean, it says so right on their website:

"Kickstarter exists to help bring creative projects to life."

Since April 2009, Kickstarter has been a website for creators to share, fund, and reward backers for supporting their endeavors. This extends to comics, fashion, board games, video games, kitchenware, music, dance, theatre, technology, food, and the thing we're most interested in of course, film. Many film campaigns have met or exceeded their goals, launching the creators and their team into success. Though just as many have disappointed creators with campaigns that failed to hit their target. As lovely as it would be, Kickstarter isn't always the answer your funding problem.

Judging whether or not Kickstarter is the way to go for you, is a bit tricky. I bet you're thinking to yourself, "It sure would be nice if someone could tell me the benefits, drawbacks, and considerations of the site so that I can make an informed decision regarding what's best for the future of my project, the healthiness of my wallet, and save me hours of research time." Lucky for you, your knight in shining armor is here to do just that.

Creators are able to launch a Kickstarter campaign practically whenever, but to make it truly worthwhile, they've got to put a LOT of prep work into it. The best campaigns are overflowing with any and all information that a project can provide. Let's say you're pitching a cartoon. You detail the who, what, when, where, and why of your production team. You delve into the concept, characters, art direction, episode concepts, concept art, tone, and ANYTHING ELSE about the direction of the series.

On top of that, it's also important to show exactly how you'll be using the money you receive. Explain what percentage of the money will go to the animation, for instance. Same for voice actors, sound design, and the like. Remember, you're trying to convince a bunch of strangers on the internet to give you money. The more concrete your plan is, the more they're willing to trust you.

Another hallmark of a massively successful campaign is backer rewards! Often, a campaign will set reward tiers that give bigger and better rewards the more you donate. These tiers can go from 5 bucks to 5 thousand bucks.It's important to note that these rewards have to be made by you and your team! Smaller rewards could be stickers or a thank you in the credits. Medium ones could be a specially made art book or early access to the project. Larger rewards could be as big as being part of the production in some way such as drawing a character for the show or having smaller voice parts! It's important to budget so you're able to keep all of your promises! If you're not able to deliver, then you're in for a world of hurt with possible bans from the platform or even potential lawsuits from unhappy backers.

Depending on the size and goals of your campaign, rewards won't be necessary. Though don't expect people to flock for your project without any.

Kickstarter also runs on "all or nothing" funding, meaning that if your goals aren't met, all the money is returned to backers. This may sound depressing at first, but this can also be an advantage to you. Backers on other crowdfunding sites with a "keep what you raise" platform are more hesitant to donate if it's not guaranteed their money would be going to a finished product.

Now that we've got an overview of what a crowdfunding campaign looks like, let's go into some other pros and cons of Kickstarter.

Pros:

• Good news! Kickstarter is massive. In the site's 17 year history, over 24 MILLION donations have been made totaling over 8.5 BILLION dollars in donations. You will have many eyes on you!
• Even if you don't get fully funded, it's invaluable for receiving feedback from the public, as well as seeing the general interest level in your work. This can help you figure out the future of your project!
• A successful campaign can establish you as credible. Returning backers will often check your production's previous work to see if you're good for it. Consider it like building a resume.
• Campaigns are also a great opportunity to build community around your studio/project. Many campaigns offer a Discord or a newsletter to keep people around and engaged in what you do next.

Cons:

• The flip side of Kickstarter being so popular is that there's a gargantuan number of other projects to contend with. As of July 2026, there are 2,500 live projects, with another 10,000 upcoming. Making yours seem appealing and professional compared to others is crucial for success.
• Kickstarter has a sizable fee – 5% from any fully funded campaign, plus another 3 to 5 percent from payment processing fees. This can cut into your budget pretty significantly, which usually means the funding goal is inflated just a little more than usual.
• Backer rewards can also take a chunk of your budget. This depends on the rewards you make, which ones were claimed, and shipping costs. This contributes to the inflated funding goal as well.

Kickstarter has helped countless creators continue their creative journeys and make things they know there's an audience for.

Whichever crowdfunding platforms you do, or do not, decide to use, you now have some tools to help you choose.