Boosted crowdfunding campaign generates $2m for artists

The Arts Foundation’s crowdfunding website Boosted revealed this week that it has raised $2 million for New Zealand arts over the past three years.

The Boosted campaign is Australasia’s only crowdfunding platform solely dedicated to the arts. Launched in 2013, it has grown exponentially, raising $1 million over 2013-2015, and doubling that to reach $2 million just one year later. Almost 300 projects have been successfully funded on Boosted, with one of the highest success rates globally at 82%. The global industry standard is 44%.

Hundreds of New Zealand-based artists have funded their work on Boosted. Examples include photographer Stuart Robertson, performance artist Julia Croft, Loading Docs Film Collective, Royal New Zealand Ballet, web series Auckward Love (currently funding), composer and performer Dudley Benson, actor/playwright Arthur Meek, PR specialist Anna Dean; Rapper Todd Williams aka Louie Knuxx, as well as larger projects including rebuilding Isaac Royal Theatre and Loons Theatre in Christchurch.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet raised $20,100 (With a target of $20,000) to enable it to take two Anzac-inspired works on its European tour. The two works were Andrew Simmons’ “Dear Horizon” and Neil Ieremia’s Passchendaele.”

The New Dance Company raised $15,513 ($15,000) for a European tour of “Rotunda.”

The Playgroup Collective also received $15,555 ($15,000), which enabled them to stage a dozen short plays in New York.

The highest-value campaign for Boosted was for the Isaac Theatre Royal at $370,000.

Boosted founder and executive director of The Arts Foundation, Simon Bowden says, "It is hugely satisfying to have granted $2 million to the arts. Boosted provides the arts with a way to reach a new generation of arts supporters – and it’s working. Donors to Boosted projects and artists should be proud of this milestone, which is also significant for the Arts Foundation on our mission to build philanthropic support for the arts in New Zealand."

Boosted has evolved to become more than a crowdfunding website."We work with artists to develop their skills in marketing, branding, PR, networking and strategy under the umbrella of Boosted School of Crowdfunding," Boosted manager Simone Hunter says. “Boosted has established a channel and interface to support artists to connect with their audiences; we love that it has empowered artists to make cool stuff again and again. We want artists to share their incredible stories and work, so that they can keep being artists – but entrepreneurial artists! They have to have that go-getting mind-set.”

Boosted is a donation-based crowdfunding platform, where every donation qualifies for a 33% tax credit.

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