Piggybackr
 | |
| Company type | Crowdfunding |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | New York metropolitan area |
| Website | piggybackr.com |
Piggybackr is an American crowdfunding website for students and youth teams to fundraise for their schools, projects, and causes online.[1] It is compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, meaning that children under the age of 13 must have parental involvement with their projects. Children as young as 5 can run fundraising projects online. Backers of projects can post public comments, but cannot communicate directly with the children posting projects.[2]
Description
[edit]Piggybackr has been described as “Kickstarter for students.”[3] Unlike Kickstarter, children offer "thank you gifts" including advertising for companies, such as committing to running a lap, putting a business' logo on their page, or giving someone a shout-out on Facebook.[4][5]
History
[edit]Piggybackr was founded in 2012 by Andrea Lo and Keenahn Jung. It was launched out of the AngelPad accelerator.[6] Andrea Lo's 12-year-old sister had just begun to fundraise the year before, in the same way that Lo did 10 years earlier as a child. Lo spent about a year developing a way to fundraise for children that used Facebook.[7] After another year of private beta, Piggybackr launched nationwide on April 17, 2013 with over 1,500 projects and $250,000 raised by kids. The website's customers include national and regional chapters of youth organizations like FIRST Robotics and YMCA.[8]
Sample projects
[edit]- Norcal Crew youth rowing team raised $45,000 to buy a new eight-man racing boat[5]
- University of California at Berkeley Alternative Breaks raised $14,565 to support college students doing volunteer work during spring break[8]
Endorsements
[edit]A number of youth organizations have suggested fundraising on Piggybackr. These include:
- Timothy C. Draper's Bizworld Foundation[6]
- For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology[8]
- United States Power Soccer Association[9]
- California YMCA Youth and Government[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ https://www.piggybackr.com
- ^ https://www.piggybackr.com
- ^ “6 Women Entrepreneurs To Watch Empowering People Through Crowdfunding Platforms: Piggybackr, SoMoLend, Indiegogo GiveForward, Kiva, Catapult” Forbes, 21 December 2012
- ^ Lee, Ellen (May 21, 2013). "Piggybackr Helps Kids Fundraise Online". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b Rodriguez, Joe (May 21, 2013). "Silicon Valley website Piggybackr helps kids use 'crowd funding'". San Jose Mercury News.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Coleen, “Piggybackr Launches Its ‘Kickstarter For Kids’ To Let Youth Get In On The Crowdfunding Wave”, TechCrunch, 17 April 2013
- ^ Taylor, Coleen, “Meet The 10 Startups Who Just Got Their Wings At AngelPad’s Spring 2012 Demo Day”, TechCrunch, video interview of Andrea Lo at 1:00, 10 May 2012
- ^ a b c Koldony, Lora (April 17, 2013). "Piggybackr Gives Kids A Kickstarter of their Own". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ USPSA newsletter, March 2013
