Viral fundraising thoughts from a Pantless Knight
My girlfriend, Debbie Glasband, recently returned from a 7 month job in Koraput, Orissa – one of the poorest districts in India. I spent 6 weeks with her there, in no small part to make sure she returned. She suggested I bring a video camera and that we make a viral music video starring the villagers.
For the last few years, I’ve been making viral videos professionally for companies to sell products (seedwell.com). In general, these projects have had the same goal: to generate impressions for businesses to improve their reach online. When I returned from India with some HD footage in hand, it was for a slightly different goal: to generate goats for villagers to improve their lives in the village.
I have an optimistic suspicion that there are millions of people out there who, if inspired by the right cause at the right moment, would donate $20. For me, donating a single goat to these tribal villagers in India provided that inspiration. I’ve seen gaming companies making millions on Facebook and PlayStation Network selling $5 virtual add-ons for avatars. I’d like to see the same thing happen with donations to good causes online. This was the inspiration for iwantagoat.com.
The campaign for goats starts with a local multi-media scavenger hunt in San Francisco, extends through a global viral video campaign, and channels all viewers to a creative donation website. These three components all push the envelope with technology, entertainment, and humor. All time spent developing the campaign has been donated by generous individuals. All proceeds go to an established goatery program, through existing NGO’s, and benefit some of the poorest people in India.
I anticipate controversy with this campaign. Some people will say we are exploiting tribal Indian villagers and making light of a serious situation, which is not the case. We are using the best vehicle we know, to bring the most possible attention (and potential help) to a serious situation. In this particular case, that happens to involve parodying Andy Samberg and one of the most popular and explicit videos on YouTube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU). It also involves creating a website where the donation process is actually fun and visitors can “pimp” their goats.
One of the best things I’ve discovered through this project is that people want to help a good thing. After meeting the villagers in Puki and Nua Kerenga, and seeing the work Debbie was doing, I couldn’t stay uninvolved. I’d like to thank all of the people who have been similarly inspired to contribute to this cause: Debbie for being the mastermind, Peter & David for the video, Tommy for the website (iwantagoat.com), Finn for the scavenger hunt (http://thegogame.com/bollywood), Jane for the free flight to India, and everyone else who lent a hand or participated. I’d also like to thank anyone who chooses to donate.
In looking for a financial sponsor, I was surprised to find that we had difficulty getting support from existing non-profits. I imagined, naively, that once I’d decided to raise money for a worthwhile cause, all related non-profits would open their hearts and resources to me. That of course was not the case, but it has worked out for the better. Because we are doing this project on our own, we have total creative freedom. That’s the beauty of the web. We can do this independently without bureaucracy or censorship.
Please consider giving a goat to the people of Koraput.
iwantagoat.com
- Beau
