If two is company, and three’s a crowd, does seven make it crowdfunding? The seven-man team at The Spark Project would like to make it so. Though the idea of bringing the technology of crowdfunding to the Philippines has been around for a while, it was only last year that plans for this project were actually laid out. The Spark Project website was officially launched on February 16th, 2012.
According to co-founder Patch Dulay, “The Spark Project is a crowdfunding community where Filipinos can support and fund their creative, innovative, and passion driven projects.” Of its founding members, Patch says:
Our group is a mix of IT geeks and social entrepreneurs. We find it such a good team-up because our group can develop web technologies and at the same time bring them to market.
To date, The Spark Project has completed funding for its four pilot campaigns. Hinabi sa Pilipinas was for the production of a locally designed watch. Offbeat Pursuits aimed to produce a travel video to share the amazing experience of travelling in the country. Paint-Some-Happy wants to paint childrens walls to give hope and inspiration through art. Finally, Lagon Custom Guitars sought to revive the art of Master Fretter and Luthier Agustin Lagon’s hand-crafted bamboo guitars. All told, TSP raised a total of PHP 144,066 (US$ 3,483) for the four projects, with more on the way. Patch tells us:
We are rounding up the next batch of spark projects. This time, we’ll be launching them one after the other. The goal is to have a new project every week or two. We just received seed money on March 16 from the Project Pagsulong grant competition, a Philippine-wide search for innovative ideas that help build the nation, where we placed third. We also won best pitch at the ‘ASEANpreneur Idea Canvas’ competition on April 6th, and got additional seed money.
The Spark Project is certainly not the only crowdfunding site in the country and certainly not the first. Specifically, ArtisteConnect stands as a possible rival and competitor. However, as ArtisteConnect marketing and web manager Diego Mapa told us last year, that site is currently mostly focused on music and film, leaving the playing field wide open for a range of creative ideas for funding.
Patch Dulay doesn’t seem to mind the competition either, “It really depends on how you look at it. Any crowdfunding site can be a competitor, but we choose to see them as allies. After all, most crowdfunding sites we find today aim to give people a chance to fund their passion-driven ideas to reality. And at the end of the day, what we really want is for more people to take control, and start up their own initiatives.”
Running a funding campaign is relatively straightforward, and it won’t even cost you anything initially. That comes into play once funds are raised, as TSP deducts a minimal four to nine percent for every peso raised, on top of PayPal fees. Take heart that this goes toward maintenance and development of products and services. To begin, simply go to the site and hit the ‘Create’ button to fill out an online form with questions about your proposed project. Once the TSP team reviews your application, ensuring alignment with the project guidelines, you’ll receive feedback on your application.
Backing an existing funding campaign is even easier. Simply navigate to the desired project’s page and hit the ‘Back this Project” button. Credit card payments are through PayPal, though you can make local bank deposits through BPI.
Patch Dulay adds:
The Spark Project takes on a community approach to crowdfunding. The relationship we build with our projects start even before they launch their campaign through the site and continues even after their campaign ends. We help innovators refine their projects and do follow ups once their campaigns are done. Because what we really aim to do in the long run is to build a startup community that goes beyond the platform.
Look up the word Bayanihan on Google, and the common images you see are of a group of men carrying a grass hut across a field or open plain. This is a very old Filipino tradition in the country and mountain areas, a united community helping a neighbor move their house, with no reward sought, except maybe a thank you and a handshake. Alas, this archaic tradition has long fallen out of fashion. Perhaps The Spark Project can revive this kind of co-operation, albeit in a more modern fashion. Well, if its pilot projects are any indication, I’d say The Spark Project is off to a good start.
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