Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives

Crowdfunding platforms make it possible for individuals and organizations of any size to harness social networks and raise start-up capital for projects that might otherwise fail due to lack of funding. Each week, Xpress highlights notable Western North Carolina crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd.

Nate Barton’s little landscapes

In January, Kickstarter launched its Make/100 campaign, encouraging individuals to produce and distribute a collection of 100 creations through the crowdfunding website. Local artist and teacher Nate Barton is up for the task. “My background has traditionally been in watercolors, though I have dabbled in all sorts of media,” he writes on his campaign page. “This year, for Christmas, I was given a beautiful wooden box of fine oil pastels. Having not worked much with the medium, I was intrigued by the challenge and the great difference from watercolor.” Barton will use his new supplies to render North Carolina-inspired beach and mountain scenes on square canvases ranging from six to 10 inches long. He has already surpassed his $300 goal for the project, and he’ll continue to administer pre-sales of his works through Thursday, Feb. 23.

Restoring Asheville Global Report’s archives

Lauded by fellow journalists, financed largely by donors, and produced by a team of volunteers who toiled after their day jobs,  Asheville Global Report offered its nationwide readership data-driven insights on rarely covered international topics like labor movements, the environment and corporate corruption for years. “Over time, the Global Report archives became a virtual library of historic information — a preservation of a people’s history of social movements, and political and environmental news spanning over the first dozen years of the new millennium,” former AGR editor Kendra Sarvadi writes. Though the media outlet isn’t planning a comeback, Sarvadi is running a crowdfunding campaign to make AGR’s catalogue of print stories available online again. She has already surpassed her $600 goal for the initiative.

Bound for Filmapalooza

At age 11, Charlotte Abell was cast in her middle school’s production of Richard III, and that’s when she recognized her dream of being an actress. “I will never forget the feeling of complete ecstasy I felt as I walked out on that stage — like liquid gold [was] pumping through my veins,” she writes online. A year later, Abell began creating short films with her brother and other collaborators, and this year, her team’s submission to Asheville’s 48 Hour Film Project was named the best film in the city. With that honor, she’s eligible to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project’s annual awards festival Filmapalooza, which takes place in Seattle in March. “Travel and tickets to this event are expensive,” the sixteen year-old writes on her campaign page. “Would you consider helping me participate in this incredible opportunity?” Abell aims to raise $1,000 to cover airfare, accomodations, admission and food costs for the trip.

Send your crowdsourcing campaign news to kmcreynolds@mountainx.com. A limited number of campaigns will be highlighted each week, at Xpress’ discretion. Campaigns must be locally based and should represent a current project with an achievable goal. Conditions are subject to change. Read about more Western North Carolina projects here.