Kickstarter is putting its money where its mission is. The crowdfunding platform announced the launch of the Kickstarter Culture Fund, a $1 million initiative aimed at supporting independent creators working in art, fashion, film, and music. It’s the first fund of its kind to be entirely self-financed by Kickstarter, and it’s open to creators worldwide.
The Culture Fund builds directly on Kickstarter’s recently launched Power of Belief brand campaign, which centers on a simple but powerful idea: belief sparks new ideas, and community belief is what turns those ideas into reality. With the Culture Fund, the company is translating that philosophy into actual dollars, providing direct financial contributions to creators running live campaigns on the platform.
Rather than waiting until a campaign wraps, Kickstarter is stepping in during the fundraising window itself, when creators are actively working to rally backers and build buzz around their projects.
Creators working within the fund’s four core categories, art, fashion, film, and music, can apply once their campaign is live or even while their project page is still in draft. Full eligibility details and the application are available at Kickstarter’s Culture Fund landing page.
Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor framed the fund as a direct response to the mounting obstacles creators face in securing resources today.
“Creators across all industries – especially artists, musicians, filmmakers, and designers – are facing increasing challenges finding the resources and support they need to bring their ideas to life,” he shared. “The Kickstarter Culture Fund is our commitment to addressing that problem because when fewer ideas have the opportunity to break through, culture, the economy, and society all suffer. By putting resources directly behind creators, we’re helping more ambitious ideas find the support they need to become reality. This is just the beginning.”
Kickstarter isn’t going it alone. The company is opening the Culture Fund to partnerships with like-minded organizations willing to contribute their own dedicated funding streams, a way to widen the fund’s reach across disciplines, regions, and creative communities.
Kickstarter says more partners will roll out their own funding initiatives under the Culture Fund umbrella in the months ahead, suggesting this $1 million commitment is meant to be a starting point, not the ceiling.
