Brian Chabot

I decided to give IndieGoGo a try because they’ve been proactive in contacting ME about the previous entry.

Check out Vape Gourmet over on IndieGoGo!

Give as little or as much as you can! Share the link http://www.indiegogo.com/Vape-Gourmet with all your friends.  And be sure to check out the other awesome projects there while you’re at it.

In my philosophy of making the world a better place, I come up with a LOT of ideas, from the very small (treat a friend to coffee) to the huge (C4I for Humanity).  In the process, people have given me a lot of positive feedback, but my own circle of friends lacks the financial power to back the vast majority of these concepts.

I’ve recently been turned on to an idea called “crowfunding” which I think is positively BRILLIANT.  It uses the idea of crowdsourcing to solicit donations or investments from the general population.  With this, a person with an idea can get their funding with a hundred thousand people donating just their pocket change rather than a small handfull of investors who are only interested in the payback.

This concept brings public opinion into the equation. By making it donation based, individuals can give micro grants as small as $1 to ideas and projects they like.  This is neither a loan nor an investment, but a donation.  Thus the paperwork is simplified, the money is all used to make the idea grow, and the person who’s idea it is can judge the public reaction before spending a load of money.

So I’ve been looking into crowdfunding for business.  The idea has been around for years for non-profits, but it’s pretty new for actual for-profit enterprises.  With Kickstarter as one of the top sources in the non-profit sphere, here are a few I’m looking at for the for-profit and personal project sectors:

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  ChipIn

  ChipIn – By far this is the simplest system.  You set goals for the amount and deadline and you collect your donations direct to your PayPal account.  The donations go right in and that’s it!  This doesn’t have quite the features I’m looking for, such as pledges and incentives, but it is very easy to use and understand. The service is free and uses a Flash based widget you can embed in a web page.  They also have plugins and widgets for many social media and blogging systems.  PayPal fees are applied as per their terms.  If you’re looking for simplicity, this is it.

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  PeerBackers

  PeerBackers – These guys are new players in this game.  They seem committed to good funding and good projects.  All projects are reviewed for approval.  They are goal-oriented.  This means you set a goal and if the finding isn’t sufficient (80% of the goal), no money changes hands.  Their site has great tips and advice.  You can also offer a tiered rewards system to your contributors to sweeten the offer.  They offer link sharing buttons to post your project to most major social media sites, etc.  If you’re looking for a site with a lot of success stories, you might want to wait a little while.  PeerBackers is so new, there aren’t many to see here yet.  But fear not, they look like they know what they’re doing.  Keep an eye on these guys.  They have potential to shine!

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  GoFundMe

  GoFundMe – Kind of a cross between the previous two, this company does direct PayPal transaction of your donations AND has a ton of social media features. They seem to be pretty easy to use, too.  They are another fairly new company and like PeerBacks, their site says they are still in “Beta” testing.  You can set your goals and track your donations over time.  Their video tour of the site is helpful.  GoFundMe does charge a 5% fee on each transaction (and PayPal will also charge you their fee).

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  RocketHub

  RocketHub – These guys have a great theme to their site. Your new idea is like a rocket ship.  Your donations are the fuel.  They are goal and pledge oriented – You don’t get your funding till there are enough funds.  What makes them unique, is how the contributors work.  A contributor buys “rocket fuel” and then pledges it to the projects they like.  Then, if the tank is full, the rocket takes off.  If not, the contributor can re-pledge to a different project.  The good is that contributors are encouraged to donate to more causes and projects if one fails to be funded.  The bad is the rocket fuel is purchased.  The contributor puts their money in right away rather than pledging to do so later.  This is really not a bad idea.  It encourages people to fund a new project in the demise of their first pick.  This keeps the capital flowing and that’s a good thing.  I like the fact that by doing this, they encourage people to both keep giving and also check out other projects.  this benefits the projects greatly and makes it well worth the higher fees. Rockethub takes an 8% cut once a project is funded.

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  IndyGoGo

  IndieGoGo – Like we have been seeing among the others, IndieGoGo has it’s own take on things.  Here, they transfer each donation to you but hold back 9%.  If your project succeeds, they send you 5 of that and only keep 4% for handling charges.  PayPay fees still apply.  They boast over 13,000 projects over the 2+ years they’ve been in operation.  As one of the first crowdfunding sites, they are proud to have become a sort of industry standard against which most other sites are compared.  It seems they were originally focussed on independent artists but have branched out to become less specialized.  In addition, they have a pretty impressive array of corporate partners including MTV and Facebook.

• 

  Give.fm

  Give.fm – Here, the crowdfunding site with the best name, in my opinion, breaks off from the pack.  They boast the ability to solicit recurring donations.  This means that the contributors pledge a certain amount a day and are billed monthly for it.  Recurring payments, especially automatic ones are brilliant in that you keep interaction up as well as continue to get money.  Additionally, many people might forget and as it’s all automatic, the money keeps on coming.  This is how many magazines keep coming and how some electronic cigarette companies are going about their business.  While IndieGoGo is partnered with Facebook, Give.fm is fully integrated with the Causes Application on Facebook.  This gives tremendous leverage of the millions of Facebook users out there.Give.fm charges a flat $5 a month for each campaign and there is an additional transaction for  for the Causes application.

• 

  Invested.in

  Invested.in – These guys seem like they’ve broken from the pack in a very good way.  First thing you see on their site are their success stories.  Second thing I found poking in there is that they boast some of the lowest fees out there at 3%.  Third, they focus on showing off the projects they host.  Fourth they offer a scalable platform so you can run a crowdfunding campaign on your own server, and over all they seem focused on soliciting support for the projects more than getting more new ones.  The way this system works, is that like IndyGoGo, they collect donation funds at the time of the pledge and make those funds available to the project when the goal is reached.  What if the goal fails?  Well, it can’t really.  With Invested.in you set either a time goal (raise as much as possible by a certain date) or a monetary goal (raise a certain amount of money).  You can stagnate but you can’t lose.

In all they are very similar with a slightly different way of doing things.  I was hoping to find a business crowdfunding site that worked exactly like Kickstarter, but I did not find one.  In stead, I found 7 good sites that do things 7 different ways and not one fit the goal I had in mind.  From the look of things, I may need to revamp my hopes here and use a different crowdfunding site for each idea I have… Pitty.

If you know of a business crowdfunding site that works like Kickstarter, please let me know, either in the comments here or by other means.

Additional Note: M. Shane Hill of http://www.TheDownTag.com and an IndoGoGo project coordinator, has let me know that PeerBackers also requires that you host your project *exclusively* with them in order to use the PeerBackers service.  I agree with Mr. Hill that his probably is not the best policy, but if you don’t mind it for your project go for it.  As with all crowdfunding sources, you should choose the one (or more!) best suited for your project.  So do your homework, folks, and while you’re at it, toss a few bucks to TheDownTag over at IndieGoGo.  The life you save could be your own.

Right now, many governments are taking steps against Julian Assange and his organization, Wikileaks, which in my opinion, can only be classified as vengeful.

If you haven’t heard, Wikileaks is an organization which publishes leaked documents which others want kept under wraps.  Recently, these have included a huge number of documents from the US government in three batches – regarding the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and international diplomatic cables.

Among the Americans I’ve spoken with, Assange has been dubbed both a hero and a traitor, depending on who is talking.  One thing many fail to consider is that Assange is NOT an American.  He is an Australian.  This brings up the question of first, how he could be a traitor to the US if he has no allegiance to the country.

Personally, I think the publications he’s made will do a wealth of good to show candidly to the world, what goes on behind closed doors so to speak.  Wars are never pretty, but he has shown some compelling evidence that US officials have had a strong hand in whitewashing what we’re doing abroad.  Of course, the diplomatic cables will stir up a tempest.  These sorts of cables are not written for the public or foreign nationals to see.  Ever.  They represent the candid, uncensored back room kind of talk which is needed between diplomats and the nations they represent.  Their publication will go a long way to help the world better understand international politics and the people involved.  While it does cast some of the players in a negative light at times, I think the overall effect is a positive one.  They show honest opinions and views on the real workings in the world.

The same goes for the two sets of war documents.  There are some serious items in there which need to be addressed, whether by legal means or by influencing future elections and other actions.

I am what I consider a Patriot.  I love my country.  But this is not to say I think my country is perfect.  As a Citizen I have both a role and a stake in what my country does.  As such, I’d like to know what it is doing and why.  This is how we, as a nation make improvements.  The United States are composed of Citizens and the government of this nation is a democratic republic.  We are not a dictatorship, and by law we are not an oligarchy.  Every Citizen has the right, nay, a duty to be involved in our government.  In our form of government, we do this by electing people among ourselves, to represent our interests and act as our proxies.

The publication of this wealth of information does more to inform the American People than it has harmed our representatives and their underlings.  Let us, the entire Citizenry of these United States, wake up and pay attention to these documents.  Let us learn from them and make the best possible decisions in electing our future representatives.  Let our current chosen leaders also take note and also take note of our attention here so that they, too may make better decisions.

Many people are wondering if a person… who is not affiliated with ANY political party… who has no budget… and who isn’t even ON the ballot can win.

Well, folks… It IS possible.

How?  Well, you tell me! It’s YOU who can make it happen.  It’s YOU who will need to spread the word that Brian Chabot represents Liberty and can do great things for New Hampshire that no one else is willing to try.  It’s YOU who need to go out there and tell everyone about Brian Chabot.

Here’s what you do:

Go out and get yourself a pack of Post-It Notes and a good pen.  The color doesn’t matter, as long as it is easy to read.  Write something like the following in big, bold, clear handwriting on each Post-It Note:

Write in BRIAN CHABOT for US SENATE on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

Now go around and give one of these to everyone you see.  Everyone.  Post them on every door you pass.  Leave them on every desk.  Stick them to bulletin boards.

What else? Tweet the following a couple times a day:

Yes, we CAN do this.  NOW is the time.  Grab your Post-It Notes and pen and keep going till the polls close on Tuesday!

Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:37:41 -0400
Subject: Gay Marriage
From: Brian Chabot
To: family@unionleader.com, letters@unionleader.com 

To whom it may concern;

I have recently been made aware of the Union Leader's policy on
printing announcements for homosexual weddings, as reported by WMUR
here: http://www.wmur.com/news/25481016/detail.html

While it is, of course, your right to publish what you please, I
cannot help but feel dismayed at your decision.

Since the beginning of 2010, the State of New Hampshire has allowed
same-sex marriages to be recognized by the State.

I can understand the argument regarding the "sanctity of marriage"
even while I disagree that such a sanctity is in jeopardy.  No one is
forcing you to marry anyone against your will or religious beliefs and
no one is forcing your church to marry anyone against your religious
customs.

As someone who has many friends who are involved or have been involved
in same-sex relationships, I have had the opportunity to observe the
differences and similarities in their lives compared to traditional
heterosexual couples.  To be blunt, the ONLY difference is in the
genders.  Gay couples love and argue, just like heterosexual couples.
They have long term relationships and sometimes have relationships
which do not work out.  Just like you and me.

I see no problem with allowing two people in a committed, loving
relationship to marry.  The State of New Hampshire agrees.

If the Union Leader wants to go against the will of the People of New
Hampshire, and remain in the dark ages, that is your prerogative.

I would like to urge you to reconsider this decision and give all
loving couples who choose to marry, the same attention in your
marriage announcements section.

Thank you for your time,

Brian Chabot
Independent (Write-In) Candidate for US Senate (NH)
http://brianchabot.org

In case you are wondering where I stand on gay marriage… It is pretty simple: No one should be forced to marry against their will nor be barred from marrying because of someone else’s beliefs. I believe we should get the government out of marriage and only allow the government to declare “civil unions” between two or more people who act as a family within the same household. This would include married couples as well as long term dedicated roommates. You want to get married? Find someone to marry you… but not someone in the government. Rather than marriage officiants, we should have witnesses. If two people declare themselves married in front of official, sworn witnesses (aka anyone who agrees to be a witness) then the State shouldn’t have anything to do with it. If a religious institution is against gay marriage, it should not be forced to perform a wedding for a gay couple. But if a gay couple want to get married… find a witness and seal the deal. Government sanctioned “civil unions” should be divorced from marriage. In fact, governments should be divorced from marriage. You want to be taxed as a family? You want the RIGHTS of a family (visitation, insurance, etc.)? That’s where a civil union comes in to play. You want to get married? Not the government’s business.

We have all heard it before.  You may have said it.

There are some people in America who think that voting for someone who they think “can’t win” is a waste of a vote.

Bull.

Here’s what happens: Candidates with a lot of money, in loose collusion with mass media outlets and others who think this way, will tell you that if you vote for a candidate they tell you can’t win, you’ll be throwing away your vote and the “other” candidate – the one you don’t want – will win the election.

That may be possible.  This time.

You CAN END THAT though.  By casting your vote for another candidate, you are telling the other candidates where you stand. You are giving them the hint that they need to change their ways to better conform TO YOU in order to win any future elections.  You are telling them you disagree with “both” candidates.

YOU ARE VOTING.

This is not a betting game.  This is YOU CHOOSING YOUR GOVERNMENT.

If you really want to make a BIG stir in politics VOTE IN A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE like Brian Chabot.

This will get the message across.  Even if some other candidate wins, the number of votes for Brian Chabot for the US Senate seat in NH WILL tell the winner that YOU WANT FREEDOM.

Can Brian Chabot win?

Believe it or not, YES.  Stranger things have happened.  If you value the same principles as Brian Chabot, you know who to vote for.  Send the message to the US Senate.  And if he wins?  BONUS!

Writing in Brian Chabot for US Senate is WIN-WIN for everyone.  Even if someone else gets into office, you have sent a clear message.  If he wins?  You have a friend in the Senate.

No matter what, we ALL win when you write in Brian Chabot for US Senate this November 2.