Even the humble potato salad can do some good in the world.
To many people on the Internet, the unorthodox potato salad Kickstarter seemed like a big joke. But its creator, Zack Danger Brown, is determined to use his potato salad as a force for good.
Image: Kickstarter Zack Danger Brown
Brown originally set a simple $10 goal for his campaign. In less than a week, his potato salad dream has amassed more than 4,000 backers, surpassing $70,000 (and counting). Backers can receive rewards like T-shirts, potato salad-themed cookbooks and even bites of Brown's salad.
Despite the unexpected virality and legal obligation of the Kickstarter, Brown pledges to be an honest man of his word, starting with the people he has already committed to.
"First and foremost, we need to fulfill the promises that we've made," Brown told Mashable. It is unclear how much potato salad he plans to make, or how he plans to give people a bite of the salad. However, the FAQ on his Kickstarter page states that he is assessing the "feasibility of sending potato salad around the world."
Some brands have already offered to donate supplies for the potato salad preparation, which would cut the costs from a campaign that has already exceeded its goal more than 7,000 times over. After fulfilling his obligations to backers, including an open-invitation pizza party at the end of the campaign, Brown is hopeful there will be a sizable amount of money left over.
"After all that's paid for, and I'm assuming we can get a ton of [supplies] donated, there's going to be a huge amount of money left over. We're going to use that to do the most good possible," said Brown.
Though he's still unclear about what charitable cause he would contribute to his extra potato salad campaign money, Brown expressed interest in teaming up with local organizations from his native Columbus, Ohio, to help combat hunger or homelessness.
"One thing's for sure, that money will not go in my pocket. Or into my friends' pockets," said Brown. "This is about something way more than us."
Kickstarter's terms of service prohibit directly using the platform to ask for or promise funds to raise toward charity. However, there is no policy that states what a creator can or cannot do with profits off of the platform once the campaign has ended.
"In other cases, overfunding leads to better margins and the creator may even profit from the project. This often also means that the creator can continue the project beyond Kickstarter and backers are part of that story," the company states in its FAQ.
Kickstarter declined to comment publicly to Mashable on whether Brown's intent to donate leftover funds to a good cause violates terms of service. Since the campaign started and grew attention, the company's only public statement has been, "There's no single recipe for inspiration."
While Kickstarter remains mum about the individual campaign, Brown's idea has caused a wave of copycats, from other potato salad campaigns to coleslaw and macaroni salad.
Naysayers have their doubts about Brown's intentions, but he bears no grudges.
"I totally understand where they're coming from ... Internet history is littered with people who took a ton of money from the Internet and become villains, betrayed the trust of people online. We're not going to be that."
To back Brown's potato salad campaign and stay updated on his future plans, visit his Kickstarter page.
No comments:
Post a Comment