Roadtrips, Robberies & Remembering The Dead

24 September 2013 | 1:29 pm | Dan Condon

Help make them happen! Actually, not robberies...

Do you give a funk? Do you need money for a funeral? Want to help someone who got robbed? Or just help some bros make a video about their roadtrip.

Name: Bootsy Collins
Project: #IGiveAFunk
Current Status: 1,103 pledges, 24% ($24,453) of $100,000 goal achieved. Nine days remaining.

Funk legend Bootsy Collins is on the promo trail in a very big way. He has launched the #IGiveAFunk campaign, an initiative that looks to combine a couple of things that Bootsy loves; funk and bringing people together for good. He wants youth to get involved in music, he wants to partner with similarly minded organisations as he tours the globe with his band and he wants to open a community centre to preach the virtues of creative arts.

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He's looking for a hefty $100,000 – thus all the campaigning – and he only has nine days to get over three-quarters of the goal he has set. There is no shortage of rewards; from an album download, thank you or bracelet for a dollar, to one of Bootsy's legendary Space Bass guitars for $10,000 and all manner of awesome shit in between.

At least watch the video, Bootsy is an amazing character and he'll make you feel real good.

Name: Dessa
Project: Replace stolen gear
Current Status: 1,035 pledges, 106% ($31,931) of $30,000 goal achieved. 24 days remaining.

I'll be honest, I had no idea who Dessa was before I saw the IndieGoGo campaign that her and her people launched this week, but it seems there are plenty of people who adore what she does. You see, the tour van they were travelling in was broken into in Buffalo, New York last week and they lost a stack of cash, musical equipment and camera gear that devastated the whole team.

She has launched a crowdfunding campaign to try and raise some cash to replace the things that they lost – mainly the photo gear that their photographer Ricardo needs for his day job. A goal of $30,000 was set on Saturday and they have already hit the target with plenty of time to spare. What's more; they didn't offer any perks other than their most sincere gratitude for the generosity of their fans. Good work, all.

Name: Michael Creed
Project: Blues Ain't Blue documentary
Current Status: 14 pledges, 15.8% ($790) of $5,000 goal. Six days remaining.

The great American road trip is something so many of us have our sights set on and these three Aussie dudes have their itinerary mapped out to track the history of blues music and see what remains of the influential genre in the hotbed areas today.

They hope to raise five grand to put towards the production of the documentary, which will incorporate live performance, interviews and insight into the culture of the cities and town they visit. If you want to back them to make it happen, you'll have to work pretty quickly as they have a long way to go with not a great deal of time remaining.

You can get a DVD copy of the finished product for $30, a copy, plus a poster and your name in the credits for $100 or for ten bucks you can get a thanks on their social media page.

Also in crowdfunding this week:

At the risk of becoming too political, it would be remiss to not at least mention the independent Climate Council that scientist Tim Flannery is heading up, that will replace the government's now defunct Climate Commission. It has reportedly received over $30,000 in funding since its launch on Monday. Check it out here.

Late last week those crazy motherfuckers at Vice published a piece about people crowdfunding their funerals. It's all a bit sad for my liking right now (it's been a rough week), but if that's the kinda thing you go in for, then you can check out sites like Graceful Goodbye and see if they'll help you out for something like that here in Australia. If they can't, maybe you can start your own funeral crowdfunding site?