Crowdfunding organisation Pozible has launched a “hyper-local” page for Brisbane citizens to showcase their creative projects.
The Brisbane Edit is the third in a series of successful crowdfunding pages by Pozible focussing on local areas following Sydney and Chicago. Pozible co-founder Rick Chen says that the Brisbane Edit is all about supporting creativity on a more personal level. “It's one of the ways that we go hyper-local with crowdfunding and try to pool local resources and also local attention, including support and different sorts of partnerships and events together ... We want to shine a spotlight on the local people that are are doing creative projects.”
Rick ChenPozible found that while people were happy to support creative projects, it was hard for them to find interesting projects in their area. The Edit series is about having a place where people can easily find out what's happening near them. “That’s what it's for – to find out what's happening,” Rick says. “Also to get local support. We have lots of partnerships in place and events that are lined up locally, and to help people support the great stuff there.”
”The reason we started Pozible was simply because there isn't really a funding avenue dedicated to the creative community in Australia.”
Rick is passionate about the creative arts and knows how hard it can be to realise creative projects financially. “The reason we started Pozible was simply because there isn't really a funding avenue dedicated to the creative community in Australia. At one end we have the charities that are backed by the government for tax benefits, and at the other end we have the very high profitable business ideas backed by investors from big firms looking for big returns. But for creative types of projects in the middle, traditionally we just have some kind of government grant, but it's not enough. For that reason we started Pozible. We wanted to keep a funding avenue to the middle bit of the creative projects that are not always getting enough attention.”
Pozible projects vary from artistic enthusiasts rebuilding classic caravans to men requesting enough money to buy a box of wine from the supermarket. Rick describes the latter as: “an arty, quirky thing they do to engage with the community and have a laugh... and also grab some PR and a bit of attention.”
Following the launch of the Brisbane Edit, Pozible will host two local events to help Brisbanites learn about how to make crowdfunding possible. Pozible will be found at River City Labs from August 6-8 to discuss projects and advise the creators; while The Cube at QUT Gardens Point will also host a crowdfunding workshop. “Our manager will be in town from Melbourne to deliver the workshop, so you can definitely expect first hand, hands-on experience on how to make crowdfunding work for creative projects, as well as what sort of support you can get from the community.”
The Brisbane Edit will not be the last in the series. “We definitely have a few [Edit projects] planned,” Rick says. “The idea of going hyper-local with crowdfunding, we find it very successful. With the first launch in Sydney we found it very successful, very engaging and it gave people that grassroots sense of the place they're living in [with] the projects and they get more engaged with them. That’s the point of the Edit’s series. And we're definitely going to try [Edit projects in] more cities.”
Visit the Pozible Brisbane Edit to see what creative projects Brisbane locals are partaking in.
