Our Backers (2024)

FAQs

Do you get a refund if Kickstarter is not funded? ›

Kickstarter has an All or Nothing Funding Model. This means that if a campaign doesn't hit its funding goal, all the pledges are canceled and the project creator doesn't receive any of the pledged funds. All the money pledged by backers is returned to them and no money exchanges hands.

If the project reaches its goal, the money is transferred and the project is funded. If the project fails to reach its goal, the money is returned to the Supporters.

It's an estimate because it can often be tricky to determine exact dates so early on in the creative process, when a project is still in its beginning phase. The project itself must first be completed before rewards can be fulfilled.

They also get to choose from a variety of unique rewards offered by the project creator. Rewards vary from project to project, but often include a copy of what is being produced (CD, DVD, book, etc.) or an experience unique to the project. Backers can also opt to pledge for a project without selecting a reward.

Yes, you may be able to sue the creator of a Kickstarter project. If you are a backer of a project who doesn't get their reward, you may be able to sue for breach of contract, fraud, or for violation of a state consumer protection statute. You may even be able to bring a class action.

Creators will still receive the balance of collected funds, less fees, even if the final amount falls below your project's funding goal due to dropped pledges. Kickstarter will only collect fees on the funds that we are able to successfully collect.

In March 2015, Pebble's second smartwatch project completed its crowdfunding and publicity run with 20.34 billion dollars raised in Kickstarter pre-order funding, becoming the most successful Kickstarter project as of July 2021. In 2022, however, the crowdfunding project Surprise!

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that allows creators to bring their ideas to life with the help of backers. According to Kickstarter, around 9% of projects on the platform have failed to deliver rewards to backers.

As of January 2024, the success rate of fully funding a project on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter was 41.15 percent. In other words, more than four out of ten projects on Kickstarter were successfully funded, while roughly six out of ten projects were unsuccessful.

Kickstarter is unique in that it operates on an all-or-nothing fundraising model. If a project doesn't meet its funding goal, backers are not charged, and the creator receives no funds. But to start this crowdfunding adventure, creators must first go through a thorough vetting process that includes a credit check.

Why do people cancel Kickstarter pledges? ›

I rarely take things personally, and I understand that people have a wide variety of reasons for canceling their pledge: They may not have enough money for your project and another project, they may decide they don't like the game, or a new aspect revealed in a project update may not have sat well with them.

Our payments processor, Stripe, meets and exceeds the most stringent industry standards for security. You can learn more about the technical details of Stripe's secure infrastructure here.

Funds raised on Kickstarter are generally subject to taxes. How much you owe can vary based on a number of factors, including the deduction of project-related expenses.

Kickstarter does not have a specific maximum funding amount that creators can borrow. Instead, the funding amount for each project is determined by the creator's funding goal, which reflects the estimated expenses required to bring the project to fruition.

We know when a project is offering lots of great rewards it can be tough to decide which one to pick. However, it's only possible to pledge to a project once.

As Kickstarter does not offer refunds, we encourage backers to investigate the project idea first, to vet the creator thoroughly, and to assess the inherent risk of the project for themselves before making a pledge.

Remember, a pledge can only be canceled while a project is live. If the project has ended and pledge collection has started it is no longer possible to cancel.

For refunds issued before your project's payout occurs, Kickstarter directly refunds the backer our 5% fee + payment processing fees. You are responsible for covering the cost of fees for any refunds issued after the payout. If a backer has been issued a full refund, it'll be reflected in your backer report.

If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when time expires. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing. If the project falls short of its funding goal, no one is charged.