Living Outside The Lines: Crowdfunding On The Oregon Trail

Oxford dictionary defines crowdfunding as, “the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.”

By, Becky J Miller

Oxford dictionary defines crowdfunding as, “the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.”

Crowdfunding has been around since the 1700’s, however the modern day version of crowdfunding surfaced in 1997 when the British rock band Marillion funded their reunion tour, raising $60,000 through fan donations. By 2009 it had gained popularity as a major funding source.

The Top Ten crowdfunding sites are:  1) GoFundMe 2) Kickstarter 3) Indiegogo 4) Teespring 5) Patreon 6) YouCaring 7) CrowdRise 8) DonorsChoose 9) Kiva and 10) GiveForward. Across the globe in 2014, according to industry research by Massolution, $16.2 billion was raised through crowdfunding.  #whoknew

The harsh reality is that good or bad, sometimes life just happens. No amount of careful planning can account for every circumstance. What happens when a loved one dies suddenly, and either there is no life insurance, or it is not enough to cover expenses? What if your budget is very tight, and a child makes the cheering championship/soccer playoffs that’s out of state?

Many people have very big hearts, they want to help, but unless they understand the need, how can they offer assistance? Crowdfunding provides that opportunity. Someone with a need humbles himself or herself enough to ask for help, and those who have a desire to do so can.

The key here, in my opinion, is a heaping helping of humility. Humility doesn’t come easily to everyone, present company included. Asking for help is hard, even when you really need it.

Our son plays football for Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, and this momma loves watching her boy play! The team had a great regular season, finishing with an overall record of 9 – 1, good enough to earn an at large playoff game. With only two American Southwest Conference teams in Texas, there was a high likelihood the game would be held out of state.

The championship bracket was announced at 4:30 p.m. on a Sunday. HSU would play Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon that coming Saturday. I wanted nothing more than to make that game, but how could we manage the trip in less than a week? The drive is 36 hours and there was no way I could get the time off work. Flying on such short notice would be expensive.

I cried myself to sleep that night, thinking there was just no way. However, my husband, undeterred, created a GoFundMe campaign and in less than 12 hours we’d raised over $1600, enough to purchase plane tickets!! I was in shock, and honestly a little embarrassed.  I mean, he told me he was going to do it, but I had absolutely no expectation anyone would give.

It didn’t end there; donations continued to trickle in throughout the next few days. Ultimately, generous and kind people gave enough to cover our airfare, lodging, car rental and food. Friends who live in the Portland area we hadn’t seen in five years opened their home to house and feed us the first night. Getting to spend time with them was an unexpected bonus to the trip.

As if having people care enough to make our heart’s desire come to fruition wasn’t enough, the story behind one gift was particularly impactful. A young man now in his late 20’s, who my husband coached during his 8th grade junior high school football season, gave and posted a comment about how much of an impact my husband had made on all the players lives that year. My husband had not spoken to this young man in many years, and they were not even connected on social media, yet somehow, he found the posting and stepped in to help.

The trip was unquestionably worthwhile. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire weekend we were there. Hardin-Simmons lost to Linfield, but our son had an amazing game, leading the defense with a remarkable 13 tackles!! Sure, I wish they would have won, but I am incredibly grateful we were present to share the experience.

So, while crowdfunding may be a little hard on the pride, getting to see my son play was certainly worth suffering a bruised ego. A huge shout out, not only to those friends and acquaintances who gave so generously to fund us, but also to those individuals who regularly look for ways to quietly impact the world around them.

Until Next Time,
Becky J Miller ~Warrior Princess

Becky J Miller is a contributor and is exclusive to SM Corridor News. You can read more of Becky’s columns in Lifestyle.