A new way to fund ideas and endeavors

Ever since President Obama got to the White House on a bajillion small donations, I feel as though if I had a nickel for every time I heard a theater company think of the brilliant idea to do an online, grassroots donation campaign in hopes of getting a bajillion small donations, I'd have enough nickels to do the theater projects I want to do. Easier said than done though. Lots of small donations requires lots of people hearing about your project. Kickstarter.com is a new Web site where all sorts of innovators may post an idea, set a funding goal and deadline, and receive pledges from anyone interested in supporting the project. No funds get transferred unless the full funding goal is reached by the deadline. Projects creators can offer incentives of any kind they like, but they keep full ownership of their project and receive 100% of funds pledged (less whatever Amazon.com charges for credit card fees). Before you get too excited, be aware that currently the only people who can post projects are there by invite from the site creators. But you can sign up to find out when that changes. In the meantime, maybe you want to donate some dollars to help Accidental Nostalgia Company rebuild their set so they can build/strike it in 35 minutes or less for the Edinburgh Fringe, help empower women in Rwanda through social enterprise, or participate in a choose your own adventure robot painting series.