Giving

A Kick in the Pants for Jewish Projects

Kickstarter.com Offers New Fundraising Framework

By Margaret Eby

(Page 5 of 5)

“My ideal knish? That’s one for the Talmud,” Noah Wildman jokes. And you can’t blame him for being indecisive: Wildman’s Knishery NYC churns out specialty knishes like butternut squash and pumpkin; potato and pastrami, and mango blueberry. Limited by a tiny New York City oven, Wildman turned to Kickstarter to ramp up the production of his toothsome Jewish classics, seeking $2,000 in funding to change his operation from a tiny in-house service to a full-blown knishmobile, distributing knishes once again through Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

Meshugene Divas

$4,500 goal met May 14, 2011. $4,570 total, 122 backers.

Opera and Jewish traditional music might not sound like a combination that exists outside of your iTunes categories, but composer Osnat Netzer was determined to make it happen. Along with partner Derek David, he raised $4,570 to produce a concert of his hybrid creation, funding everything from the musicians’ fees to high-quality recordings to document the event. The show, Netzer says, went off without a hitch. “I think that the biggest advantage of also using Kickstarter is the amount of advertising and promotion that comes along with it. It’s the chance to get people aware, excited and involved in your project.”

Margaret Eby has contributed to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Slate and Salon, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn.