• 
• 

The Arts Foundation’s crowdfunding website Boosted announced today that it has raised $2 million for New Zealand arts.

Boosted is Australasia’s only crowdfunding platform solely dedicated to the arts. Launched in 2013, it has grown exponentially, raising $1 million over 2013-2015, and doubling that to reach $2 million just one year later. Almost 300 projects have been successfully funded on Boosted.

Hundreds of New Zealand-based artists have funded their work on Boosted. Examples include photographer Stuart Robertson, performance artist Julia Croft, Loading Docs Film Collective, Royal New Zealand Ballet, web series Auckward Love (currently funding), composer and performer Dudley Benson, actor/playwright Arthur Meek, PR specialist Anna Dean; Rapper Todd Williams aka Louie Knuxx, as well as larger projects including rebuilding Isaac Royal Theatre and Loons Theatre in Christchurch.

Boosted Founder and Executive Director of The Arts Foundation, Simon Bowden says, "It is hugely satisfying to have granted $2 million to the arts. Boosted provides the arts with a way to reach a new generation of arts supporters – and it’s working. Donors to Boosted projects and artists should be proud of this milestone, which is also significant for The Arts Foundation on our mission to grow philanthropic support for the arts in New Zealand".

Boosted has evolved to become more than a crowdfunding website. "We work with artists to develop their skills around marketing, branding, PR, networking and strategy under the umbrella of Boosted School of Crowdfunding," Simone Hunter, Boosted Manager says. "Boosted has established a channel and interface to support artists to connect with their audiences; we love that it has empowered artists to make cool stuff again and again. We want artists to share their incredible stories and work, so that they can keep being artists – but entrepreneurial artists! They have to have that go-getting mind-set”.

Facts:

• Boosted is a donation-based crowdfunding platform, where every donation qualifies for a 33% tax credit.
• Boosted has funded 298 projects since March 2013.
• Its highest value campaign was Isaac Theatre Royal at $370,000.
• It supports all art forms including theatre, film, performance, visual & multimedia art, literature and publishing, dance, and design.
• It has one of the highest success rates globally at 82%. The global industry standard is 44%.
• Boosted is a purely democratic platform open to all artists. The only criteria is that the project must be arts-related. 
• The average donation amount given is $50
• The average project value is $5,616.

For more information, or to organise interviews with the artists, contact Anna Edgington on 027 936 8571.

We can suggest artists you may wish to interview. Get in touch with us to find an artist relevant to your region or area of interest.