Would You Fork Over Cash for a Food Project You Cared About?
If the crowd-funding over at Kickstarter or Indiegogo is feeling, you know, a little crowded, a new site launched last week is hoping those of you with a penchant for artisanal food might be willing to put your money where your mouth is.
Three Revolutions claims it’s the world’s first crowd-funding platform for farms and food.
“Right now we’re focused on Vermont because that’s where we live, but our plan is to expand into New England this fall and then launch a national platform,” founder Kevin Lehman tells TakePart.
For now, there are only a handful of projects to fund (though 20 more are in the pipeline). Currently you can support a small cell comb honey bee trial. Or help a rice farmer get a harvester. A mobile tap room is the dream of a company that makes probiotic drinks; or you can always tuck some cash into a couple of Vermonters who are into soup. Your funding might earn you a visit to the apiary, or a growler of Kombucha.
MORE: It's Not A Fairytale: Seattle to Build Nation's First Food Forest
The concept of crowd-funding is on fire. According to Forbes, crowd-funding raised $1.5 billion funding over one million projects in 2011, and is expected to double during 2012.
But remember, when it comes to money, it’s important to understand where your pennies actually go.
“One of the things that should be clear to people is that really, you are giving a gift to a for-profit company,” says Elizabeth Ü, founder & executive director of Finance for Food.
Indeed, Three Revolutions is for-profit, as are the companies they’re currently funding (though support for a not-for-profit project is possible in the future). According to their website, Three Revolutions keeps six and a half cents cents per dollar raised to fund the platform’s operation and expansion, while the backer is charged three and a half cents per dollar to fund the financial transactions on the site. Lehman says they’re striving for profitability so they won’t have to rely on grant funding.
So if you’re enticed by a company’s reward, and are ready to shell out cash, Ü says it’s important to realize there is the risk of no return.
“What I like about Kickstarter and Three Revolutions is there has to be a critical mass of money donated to the project before they receive the funding. [Donors] know there’s going to be enough money that the company will do what it claims to be doing, but it’s a total risk. There’s no guarantee they’ll send the product they promise, and it’s entirely possible you’ll never hear from the company again or it could go belly up,” says Ü.
Related Stories on TakePart:
• Organic Farming Funding Rises Under Obama
• The Hidden Costs of the Farm Bill
• Famous Foodies Unite to Pressure Congress on the Farm Bill
Clare Leschin-Hoar covers seafood, sustainability and food politics. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, The Wall Street Journal, Grist, Eating Well and many more. @c_leschin | TakePart.com
