Welcome to the Crowdsourcing Mornings segment! Every weekday morning, Geek Alabama talks about and features one crowdsourcing project from crowdsourcing sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and others. The hope with Crowdsourcing Mornings is to feature and help a project be successful and reach its fundraising goal. Please enjoy today’s featured project!
Please read our crowdsourcing guidelines at: https://geekalabama.com/media-kit-pr/geek-alabama-crowdsourcing-guidelines
Let’s cut straight to the chase. We’ve got a few PROBLEMS!!!
Problem Number 1: Democracy is in peril. Authoritarianism is on the rise around the world and in the U.S. we are not immune. The list of threats is quite long as we barrel towards the November elections:
-Polarization, tribalism, and political violence
-Mis and disinformation campaigns
-Intimidation of election officials
-Voter suppression and purging
-Gerrymandering and manipulation of electoral districts, and the list goes on…
Problem Number 2: Funding for journalism to cover these threats to democracy is shrinking and editorial budgets are in free-fall. These problems are interlinked, because as the Washington Post says so well: “DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS.”
Problem Number 3: Despite the seriousness of this election cycle and the policies that will live on for decades from this single election, many just can’t decide if they want to participate!
Well friends, rest assured, because we have solutions for all these things. But we need YOUR help to roll them out!
SOLUTION number 1: We need to pay photographers to help visualize the threats to our democratic institutions. With your help we will build a rapid response fund to help them do their work this Summer and Fall as the threats increase in intensity.
SOLUTION number 2: For those who can’t decide if they will participate in our democracy this year, we offer the finest in decision making technology, a coin for you to toss! This limited edition coin, the first from our friend Shepard Fairey, will help you determine not just your own fate, but the fate of the nation!
Our project addresses the critical void left by shrinking editorial budgets and reduced assignments in traditional newsrooms. By directly supporting photojournalists, we aim to fill this funding gap and empower the public with the information necessary for informed participation.
As democracy and voter rights face unprecedented scrutiny ahead of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, our mission is to shed light on voter disenfranchisement, systemic inequities, and the intimidation and manipulation undermining our democratic processes. Through compelling visual narratives by our fellows and grantees, we strive to unveil systemic injustices, foster deeper understanding, and ignite civic action to protect our democracy’s integrity.
Our true goal is to raise over $100k by July to support more photographers with a rapid response fund tailored to our dynamic landscape. These projects will benefit from our network of organizations and advisors, ensuring distribution through media partners and insights from academic and civil rights experts committed to voting rights and civic engagement.
We will distribute additional grants for projects highlighting community-driven narratives around civic participation, documenting barriers to voting rights, and crafting impactful visual stories that inspire advocacy and action. These efforts will strengthen community bonds, boost media literacy, and emphasize the essential role of accessible voting in a healthy democracy.
As of May 28th, this project has raised $64,000 of their $50,000 goal. This project has 27 days left to raise as much as it can. For a pledge of $12, you will get a sticker pack. For a pledge of $25, you will get one bronze coin. To learn more and to pledge money, go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amplifierfoundation/democracy-in-focus?
