After introduction, the notion of participatory democracy, notably thanks to the power of social media and online petitions, a new way of financing has blossomed. Individuals are gradually discovering that they can act by themselves for causes that are dear to them, to bring to the world the change they want to see.

Collaborative economics

Crowdfunding allows, through the financial participation of individuals who recognize themselves in a project or who want to support one, to participate in the development of a project that may not have been able to see by traditional financing. Beyond former borders, innovative projects have been created, that stand for innovation and change. Projects that wouldn’t be supported by the normal financial system, are now nourished. Crowdfunding is therefore part of the collaborative economy, since it relies on trust

The buzz is going around that crowdfunding creates new possibilities. But what is the success rate and what makes people participate? First of all there are a lot of different sorts of crowdfunding.

Crowdlending: an innovative way of financing personal projects

For a long time, banks were the only ones able to present an offer of financing. Now individuals can obtain peer to peer lending, whether for a cash need, a desire to travel, for a renovation of a house or a big operation that you are unable to finance yourself.

Small business and crowdfunding

Crowdfunding makes a real difference for small business. It also allows companies to federate around them a community of customers, collaborators and suppliers. Especially because small business should present their business model, product or service to the crowd of individuals to convince them to finance them, crowdfunding makes it possible to carry out a prototype of a new product.

Investors can either receive product or services from the business or they can invest in the business’ capital and receive interests in return. Unlike classical ways of financing, crowdfunding allows investors to choose themselves where their money goes. There is a direct connection between the investor and the entrepreneur. They share an goal. Success of the company.

Crowdfunding plays here the game of proximity through savings that are not only responsible and solidarity, but also transparent and close to investors.

How NGOs find a new way of fundraising 

It now seems quite inevitable for NGOs to take a closer look at these new fundraising techniques if they want to sustain their budgets. First, because the financing through governments’ helps is less and less substantial. Secondly, because the growth of crowdfunding is increasingly orienting the public towards digital financing of projects, humanitarian or otherwise, which will undoubtedly divert it from the traditional physical collections for which it is solicited by the historical NGOs.

Crowdfunding allows the shortening of the circuit between the financer and the project, which reinforces the feeling of transparency and traceability. Indeed, it responds to the emergence of a concept of proximity in which citizens wish to give more meaning to their financial contributions by following their own sensitivities and limiting intermediaries.

To guarantee its independence, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), launched in November 2016 a crowdfunding platform, with the aim of collecting 1 million euros in 60 days. Intended for the youngest, between 18 and 35 years old, it invited them to pledge on the platform independance.msf.fr and it offered a range of rewards for all amounts, including a guitar signed by the Muse group.

A platform for each project

Thus, the only term of crowdfunding encompasses many realities. Different platforms have different functions, and even different philosophies. While all have in common to create a relationship between a project and investors, some are more focused on NGOs and individuals, while others represent a lever for future business.

I myself pledged Boyan Slat to support him in his vision to clean this world from the plastic waste that we are surrounding us with. Please share your thoughts on crowdfunding so we can learn from it. I didn’t do it for the pledge. It gave me a feeling of participating in a solution of a better future.

As the banks are giving almost no interest on money on the bank it stimulates me to look for alternative forms of investment. From personal to solar and sustainable project. The future will tell, where I will invest my money in.

Now that it is all possible, leaves us with the question does it reach the bigger audiences. My question to you, did you ever pledge a crowdfunding campaign? Why did you? Because of the cause, the product, the pledges or to support a personal goal. Why did you get involved, please share your experiences so we can learn from it.

—

At DUTCH PICTURE INDUSTRY, we are aware that if people work together on a common project, they can collectively make things happen and change the world.

The post Crowdfunding: be the change you want to see in the world appeared first on DUTCH PICTURE INDUSTRY.

This is not the case with Anne Pekelharing. Anne has always been fascinated by food. Since her childhood she has her mind set on food, cooking and creating new dishes. The underlying thought for her has been that food is more than just eating or drinking, it inspires, connects, and drives us forward. From her love for food and desire for adventure Life Cycle Stories was born.

Anne was inspired by the questions we usually do not ask about food. It was essential to approach food as something that has an extensive impact on our everyday lives and our environment rather than something that is always available and possesses limited value. She felt that to understand and witness the journey of our food, it was essential to track it to its origins. However, our meals come in many different forms and from all over the world, so it is imperative to get out and explore the different regions, people, production, traditions, and environment where the food comes from. Life Cycle Stories focuses on sustainable food production and the small, personal stories about the people behind these endeavors.

Life Cycle Stories follows Anne on her journey through Europe, 8 countries in 6 months. It takes courage, discipline, and clear vision to leave your everyday comforts and tasks behind to travel across Europe on your bike. It also takes a special kind of spirit to be concerned enough about a specific problem and acting upon it. This kind of journey does not have to be realized by travelling to distant destinations, it can be achieved by looking up your local food producers. Anne’s adventure is inspirational not only, because she decided to concentrate on different countries in Europe and their specific ways of making food, but also because she is determined to create awareness and shine a light on the issue that is close to her heart. It is about passing on the knowledge that you gained and by doing that having a positive impact on the society and the environment that we live in. Life Cycle Stories is also a story about the people. Inspirational individuals who, like Anne, chose to have a specific mindset when it comes to food. These stories are as much about the people and their culture of producing the food in fair and passionate way. It is an in-depth look of their everyday struggles and successes.

For us Anne and her hosts are an inspiration and we are very much looking forward to the fascinating tales that are Life Cycle Stories. Meanwhile you can follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook and lifecyclestories.com

The post Life Cycle Stories appeared first on DUTCH PICTURE INDUSTRY.

The idea

Boyan Slat, the young engineer at the initiative of this project, hopes with his plan “Ocean Cleanup”, to succeed in cleaning the oceans of plastic waste. Originally announced to be in place from 2020, this project should emerge in the coming months.

Called “The Ocean Cleanup”, the ambitious project aims to recover no less than five trillion plastic waste from bottles or bags floating on the surface of the seas. How? Thanks to a system using marine currents to trap waste.

A new system set up in few months

In June 2016, the 22-year-old Dutchman launched his first test in the North Sea. To ensure the viability of the project, the company build a 100-kilometer long barrier of floats and nets in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. But since then, things seem to have accelerated.

At a recent presentation in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Boyan Slat and the engineers with whom he is working, have announced that a new, more efficient system is emerging. The latter indeed replace this unique barrier in the form of a “V” with a fleet of several small systems, much more profitable.

Over the next twelve months, about 30 km of smaller, 2-kilometer-long barriers attached to a 12-kilometer floating anchor should be launched and navigated by sea currents to collect plastic waste on their way.

An inspiring example

His project was born from a simple sketch drawn on a paper towel. Boyan Slat was then 17 years old. “During a scuba diving on holiday in Greece: under water, I saw more plastic than fish”, he explained. Today, the dream of the young Dutchman, to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, is about to become reality.

Ocean Cleanup is an inspiring example of how we can address the growing problem of water pollution.

We believe that we are all creative people. We share the talent to think of simple but efficient sollutions to the problems that we face today. We have to have dreams to create the impossible. But the example of Boyan shows that we can.

Boyan SLAT – CEO & Founder

—

DUTCH PICTURE INDUSTRY believes in projects like The Ocean Cleanup, because it inspires people in the way of protecting our planet. Indeed, by minimizing our impact on the Earth, we could offer a better future for the next generations.

As we saw in the previous blog about crowdfunding, the power of people is changing through the evolution of the Internet. New ways of actions are emerging and people can now act from anywhere they are on subjects they care about. At your level you can act for the oceans’ protection by signing the petition: Save our Oceans – End plastic pollution now!

“They didn’t know it was impossible so they did it” – Mark Twain

The post The Ocean Cleanup appeared first on DUTCH PICTURE INDUSTRY.