Ugh! Begging for a Dream.

[iggylove]

I played basketball for several years with "Lenny".  He has a 20-something daughter "Lennita", whom I have met a couple of times when she subbed for the team.  On January 23rd, I received an email link to Indegogo (a fundraising site) with the following intro:

"Recording an album has been my dream for as long as I can remember and this year is the year I finally go for it."  She then encourages everyone to go to the site, and to share with everyone we know "and bully them into donating too!"  Ugh.  I hit delete and forgot about it.

Then, on January 31st, I received a helpful reminder from Lennita to make her dreams come true. "And to the people who have already donated that are getting this email, yes, I do like you more than everyone else."  Delete.

This morning, I got an email from her father, Lenny with "a gentle reminder to some of you" to support her cause.

Again, Lennita is in her mid-20s, a college graduate, and able bodied.  Who does this?!  And at what point can I reply with a request to unsubscribe?

[WillyNilly]

Wow, how obnoxious.

I think if you are comfortable asking to be removed from the list, I say its been more then ample time to do so.
This is her hobby, and she can fund it just like everyone else funds their won hobbys.  And really its not all that expensive even.

[bonyk]

"I'm sorry I am not able to financially contribute to your dream, because I am currently funding my own dream to be a self-supporting grown-up.  However, I have often wondered what Tahiti is like.  I'll shoot you an email when my donation site is up.  Talk to you soon!"

 

[CakeBeret]

Would it be wrong to set up a donation site for a luxury vacation and then spam her (and only her!) with incessant requests to donate?

Okay, yes, it would.

Realistically...I would reply to her and say something to the effect of "How exciting for you! I'm unable to donate, so please take me off your email list. However, I wish you the best and I hope you succeed!"

[gramma dishes]

...   This morning, I got an email from her father, Lenny with "a gentle reminder to some of you" to support her cause.   ...

...   And at what point can I reply with a request to unsubscribe?

The point has arrived.

[blarg314]

At this point I think a straightforward "Please remove me from your mailing list for donations" would be appropriate by this point.

[White Lotus]

Indiegogo and Kickstarter -- there are probably more -- generally fund artistic efforts and generally give donors a chance to get involved in a project and follow it.  It can be fun for those who enjoy new music, or independent film, or new books, games or technology.  It can even be a way to learn about project development and production by getting involved in someone else's project.  Successful crowd source fundraising requires plans, budgets, samples, concentrated publicity campaigns, and using premiums to get a support base of people enthusiastic about the project.  What I see here is somebody doing it wrong.  I don't see any talk of a link to sample, I don't see a specific project description or a budget.  I don't see a premium for supporters at different levels.  What I see sounds like a kids's little hobby project, and not a serious artistic endeavor.  What I see is an attempt to solicit donations rather than sponsorship and project or artist support.  I wouldn't send this young woman any money because she hasn't done her homework.  I also wouldn't criticize crowd funding generally just because some people don't know how to use it.

[blue2000]

Indiegogo and Kickstarter -- there are probably more -- generally fund artistic efforts and generally give donors a chance to get involved in a project and follow it.  It can be fun for those who enjoy new music, or independent film, or new books, games or technology.  It can even be a way to learn about project development and production by getting involved in someone else's project.  Successful crowd source fundraising requires plans, budgets, samples, concentrated publicity campaigns, and using premiums to get a support base of people enthusiastic about the project.  What I see here is somebody doing it wrong.  I don't see any talk of a link to sample, I don't see a specific project description or a budget.  I don't see a premium for supporters at different levels.  What I see sounds like a kids's little hobby project, and not a serious artistic endeavor.  What I see is an attempt to solicit donations rather than sponsorship and project or artist support.  I wouldn't send this young woman any money because she hasn't done her homework.  I also wouldn't criticize crowd funding generally just because some people don't know how to use it.

I agree. Fundraising can be either great or terrible depending on the circumstances. It sounds like she is leaning towards terrible with all the reminder notes. Starting a dream project shouldn't have everyone around you running for cover.

And yes, it is fine to say "Sorry, I am unable to donate. Best of luck to you!"

I do have to wonder what the heck she is spending this money on. Sure, the big stars spend megabucks on CDs, but lots of people still record their first demo CDs in their garage/basement. There is even an RPM Challenge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPM_Challenge) going on in some cities right now, much like NaNoWriMo - the idea is to record a CDs worth of songs/music/whatever in a month and share it with everyone else at the end. There are also music sites that will sell independently-made CDs. If this is truly her dream and she has no money, why isn't she starting with the cheaper options??

[CaffeineKatie]

I can see using Indiegogo, etc. to send out ONE solicitation--most of the ones I've received/read also promise investors/donors a small related gift in return for their support of the project listed.  It's easy to delete if you aren't interested and a potentially creative way to raise support for interesting projects.  HOWEVER, the repeated nagging/nudging/demanding--bad, bad, bad!  Yep, I'd block these two, no explanation needed.

[MrTango]

This sounds like a perfect situation in which to use your email site/software's Spam filters.

[iggylove]

Indiegogo and Kickstarter -- there are probably more -- generally fund artistic efforts and generally give donors a chance to get involved in a project and follow it.  It can be fun for those who enjoy new music, or independent film, or new books, games or technology.  It can even be a way to learn about project development and production by getting involved in someone else's project.  Successful crowd source fundraising requires plans, budgets, samples, concentrated publicity campaigns, and using premiums to get a support base of people enthusiastic about the project.  What I see here is somebody doing it wrong.  I don't see any talk of a link to sample, I don't see a specific project description or a budget.  I don't see a premium for supporters at different levels.  What I see sounds like a kids's little hobby project, and not a serious artistic endeavor.  What I see is an attempt to solicit donations rather than sponsorship and project or artist support.  I wouldn't send this young woman any money because she hasn't done her homework.  I also wouldn't criticize crowd funding generally just because some people don't know how to use it.

True.  The emails in question contained none of those elements that make crowdsource/fundraising sites a valid option for some.  My sense of her is that of a young woman who is not quite ready to grow up, and is using this endeavor as a way to cross something off her bucket list.  She apparently does not intend to pursue music as a career. 

[snowdragon]

One of my friends is using Indiegogo currently...her facebook posts are often about it. I honestly see no difference between posts to fundraise for an adult's endeavor and fundraising for a kid's. Kids go door to door and adults do facebook and email.

 If you would tell a kid begging at your door, "No" why is it so hard to say "No" to this?

Personally I would be blocking the guy's email.

[CrazyDaffodilLady]

I don't think you should block or unsubscribe -- simply because I want to know how many more reminders they'll send.  Maybe they'll escalate. You wouldn't want to miss the email that informs their cheap friends that they've destroyed a young girl's dream.

[iggylove]

I don't think you should block or unsubscribe -- simply because I want to know how many more reminders they'll send.  Maybe they'll escalate. You wouldn't want to miss the email that informs their cheap friends that they've destroyed a young girl's dream.

Ha!  Well, the campaign ended recently, and she made her goal of low four figures.  So I suppose I have many more of these types of emails to look forward to; help me throw an album release party, buy a ticket to attend my concert, help me buy a van to tour the country....

And two funny codas that I discovered when I clicked the link for the first time to see if the fundraiser had ended: she uploaded a video that features more begging (but absolutely no singing), AND, if you donate a significant amount, you totally get a handwritten thank you note.   

[nuit93]

My experiences with online beggars are that it NEVER ends with just one campaign.  Once they realize that they *can* use that as a source of income, they will for everything.