Superheroes Turn to Crowdfunding

Rock N Roll (left) and Night Bug, members of the California Initiative,are fundraising to produce a series of books for children.

In late May I posted a blurb about Austin,Texas RLSH Zimmer's effort to raise funds to build a solar poweredphone recharger for his gadget building company Zimtelligence. His Kickstarter campaign to fund the project was a success, raising over $3,000 and started what appears to be a new trend for RLSH (X-ALTS, RCSM,etc.)-- crowdfunding to support projects and equipment upgrades. There are two current campaigns I'm aware of and will mention here.

Members of the California Initiative are currently trying to raise a little over $8,000 through the site FundRazr to pay for the production of a series of RLSH themed children's books. The FundRazr page states:
"Through our stories, wehope to teach children the importanceof being kind,standing up for what you believe in, getting involved in your community, and much more from the code of ethics that all true superheroes live by."

The group says 10 percent of book sales will be divided between children's charities and are offering incentives at a number of donation levels similar to Kickstarter.

The donation page and more info can be found HERE.

Also a hot topic is Phoenix Jones' effort to raise$10,000 for a new "supersuit" via paypal donations. The Seattle superhero, leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, says the upgrades include bulletproof armor and face shield, and built in cameras that will allow viewers to follow his patrols live. His effort is off to a strong start,but other RLSH have been critical of his budgetary priorities. (See for example, this post from the Seattle Weekly.)

Jones is also offering a number of incentives for donating at different levels. High rollers can even get their name engraved on the suit. The donation page and more info can be found HERE.

Heroes in the Night will be published in Fall 2013 by Chicago Review Press