Journalism
How do you fund independent journalism with crowdfunding?
Fund one piece of work: an investigation, an issue or a zine. Backers pay for the reporting and get rewards, never a say over what you publish.
Short answer
Crowdfund one piece of work: an investigation, an issue of a magazine, a zine. Price the reporting time, travel, records and printing, and set a goal your current readers can fill. Say in the campaign that backers fund the work and never get a say over what you publish. Offer rewards around the finished piece, like an early copy or a talk on how you reported it. If the goal is met, you claim the funds; if not, every backer takes their pledge back.
Key facts
- One campaign, one piece of work: a goal, a deadline and up to 5 reward tiers.
- Backers fund the reporting. They get rewards, never editorial control.
- Start with email or Google. No company, no bank account, no approval queue.
- Rewards only: no equity, no tokens, no financial return.
- Each pledge pays 1.5% plus a flat $0.99.
What can a journalism campaign pay for?
One piece of work with a clear end, and the time and costs it needs before it can be published. A campaign is one project with a deadline, not a subscription to your work.
- Reporting time: the days you'll spend on it, at a day rate.
- Travel: to sources, places and hearings.
- Records: fees for documents, archives and data.
- A legal read before publication.
- Editing and fact checking by a second person.
- Photography or illustration.
- Design, printing and postage, for an issue or a zine.
Name what readers will get and when. A series in three parts on how your town spends its housing budget is easier to back than a request to support your reporting.
Do backers get a say over the story?
No. Backers pay for the work and get the rewards you list; every editorial decision stays with you. Say so clearly in the campaign, before anyone backs.
That protects your readers as much as you: nobody can buy coverage, a softer angle or a story dropped. Keep the rewards away from the content. An early copy is fine; a vote on who you investigate is not.
How big should the goal be?
Big enough to finish the piece, and small enough for your current readers to fill. Count the people who reply, forward and comment, not the reach of one post that travelled.
For example, a 40 page zine: reporting time $600, printing 300 copies at $2 each ($600), design $200 and postage to backers $150. That makes $1,550, and about $1,800 with the rewards and fees.
Check it from the other side: 120 backers at an average of $15 make $1,800. The goal planner runs both sums.
What rewards work for readers?
Rewards around the finished piece and the craft behind it, never around what it says.
- Their name in the thank you list, if they want it there.
- The issue or the zine, posted to them.
- A digital copy a week before publication.
- A copy signed by the authors.
- A talk on how the reporting was done, after publication.
- A list of the public sources behind the piece.
- A workshop on your methods, for the top tier.
When and how do you reach readers?
Launch when you can describe the piece without giving it away, and set the deadline before your main costs fall due. The money only reaches you after the deadline, and only if the goal is met.
Describe the subject in general terms if naming it would warn the people involved. Then go to the readers you already have, and to the communities the story is about.
- Write the pitch: what you'll find out, why it matters, when it comes out. The pitch outline builder puts it in order.
- Send it to your newsletter and post it where you publish.
- Ask other reporters and local groups to share it.
- Post updates as the work moves, without giving the story away.
You can also set a share reward, from nothing up to 18.5% of each pledge, paid by the program to whoever shared the link. How to share your campaign covers the first week.
What does it cost?
Writing and previewing a campaign costs nothing. Opening it costs $5 on the free plan.
Each pledge then pays 1.5% plus a flat $0.99, and the share reward you set comes out of the pledge too. The minimum pledge is $10.
The percentage fee on a pledge follows the plan of the account making it. It's taken when the pledge is made, so it isn't returned if the campaign misses its goal. Paid plans aren't on sale today, so the published fee is the free plan's fee.
Every plan is on the pricing page.
What if the goal is missed?
If the goal isn't met by the deadline, you take your pledge back from escrow with one tap, and nobody has to approve it. What comes back is the amount held for you: your pledge minus the fees taken when you backed (the platform fee, the flat fee, any tip and any share reward the campaign pays).
The reporting you've done is still yours. Cut the scope to what backers covered, publish what you can, and launch again.
How do you start?
- Sign up in the app with email or Google.
- Write the piece, the budget, the goal and the deadline.
- Add a line saying backers fund the work and have no editorial say.
- Add your reward tiers, set the share reward and publish.
- Send the link to your readers on day one.
How to fund a side project helps if the reporting runs beside a day job. Everything you can fund has a guide for each kind of project, and every other question is in the answers.