Another great fundraising appeal via Kickstarter

“Give us the freedom we’ve never had before.”

Examples of wow! fundraising often arrive completely unexpectedly.

Yesterday’s email brought news from Christopher Lydon, host of Radio Open Source, that he met his Kickstarter campaign goal of $14,900 in the first 10 days of a 30 day campaign with a little extra to boot, over $21,000 raised.

The video for this campaign is a fundraising gem. You’ll want to check it out as it does everything a solicitation should, really well.

Chris knows and knows how to talk to his audience. He makes you believe, gets you excited about a project that is important, even aspirational.

Chris makes his case through a well-told story, well-delivered (he’s an engaging radio host of course).

The case is well crafted, the need specific and absolutely reasonable for the amount he’s trying to raise. And he even tells you why you can be confident that your money will be well-spent.

Chris asks for exactly what he needs.  And in a world where few fundraisers are willing to admit that organizations need money for more than programming, this ask tells you exactly what the money is for: no frills travel costs and production for a team of three in North Africa for a month. He even makes the necessities compelling:

“Your support will feed us for a month, and keep us independent and free.”

The ask is right up front, no apologies, no forcing us to wait till the very end to get to the point. Though we’re hooked on the story, even before the ask, as it should be.

You are invited to be part of this exciting journey through your gift.

It ends with a thank you.

Take a look. You’ll learn a lot.

P.S. You’ll want to look at the email thank you too. No boring “on behalf of…” here.