Grassroots Fundraising

In the article "His Fans Greenlight the Project," Glen Greenwald is able to raise $267,892 in just 10 days for his idea for a movie, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers." At the time, the movie had not been created or funded in anyway. By simply utilizing his fan base and list of emails, he appealed to his audience members and familiar names to help him fund a movie that would have an incredible impact on the November elections. He broke down the costs into numbers that people could understand: "4000 people giving $50 each. We'll put everyone's name in the credits." He promised names in the credits and just like that he was funded.

This story is somewhat shocking, but not all that surprising in today's world of immediacy. It gives hope to those independent journalists who are looking for a niche, or who may have already found a niche, and are simply faced with the obstacle of funding their ideas.

Starting an independent project is an obstacle in itself. Besides the obvious trials and tribulations that come with developing a plan of action, a cohesive project proposal, and answering the ever-important "why does anyone care" question, finding a niche and someone to fund your project is an enormous feat.

Strengthening Independent Media, "a multi-year initiative of the Salzburg Global Seminar, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Global Forum for Media Development, which aims to bring greater strategic focus and coordination to the field of independent media development around the world," focuses much of its energy on helping independent media sources find funding and raise awareness about their outlet. It is organizations like this that greatly aid the progress of independent media.

But if you took the Greenwald approach, you'd probably get more money quicker. Keep that method in your back pocket for later use.