Turkish Protesters Crowdfund over $100k for an Ad in the New York Times

by Startacus Admin

With political protest in Turkey building daily - and with at the time of writing, the storming of Taksim Square by Turkish Riot police in full operation - it is interesting to see that crowdfunding has played an important part in the political protest that has engulfed the Turkish Nation.

With a tag line “Activists - We hear you. Protesters - We are you. You have power. You can speak your mind at the New York Times!”, three Turks (living in New York) set up a crowdfunding page on Indiegogo with a goal of raising $52,800. Set up just over a week ago -  the Indiegogo campaign hit its initial goal in less than 24 hours and went on to raise $108,271 form over 2,500 funders from across the globe.

The initial protests stemmed from plans by Turkish government to turn a park into a shopping centre and military barracks, however very quickly turned into a nationwide protest.

A full justification for the protests and the reasoning behind the full New York Times page ad can be found directly on the Indiegogo page, and the crowdfunding team of three were also willing to crowdsource the ad’s text and tone of language to appeal to the overall sense of democracy that the advert represented.

Crowdfunding is an important financing option for many charities, businesses and startups, looking to raise some well needed cash (here’s a handy link to an intro guide to Crowdfunding ), and it has recently started to be used to raise money for political movements and issues, as well as to raise money for the greater good - a fine example of this being the recent Boston Bombing Crowdfunding Success.

It’s a little reminder to us all, that whatever your project or business is, if you are looking to build a community or following - there is no better way of ensuring that your core message resonates with your target audience, if in fact your core message is your audience. A case in mind proven by the Turkish Protesters Crowdfunding Project and its success in running a New York Times Ad.

Crowdfunding your project can help you raise the finance you need. Startacus is helping to make this happen right here. Read all about our own crowdfunding portal!

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Published on: 11th June 2013