Creative Capital and Skoll Foundation Launch $500,000 Kickstarter Fund for Asian, Black, Indigenous and Latinx Creators

Today, Kickstarter is pleased to announce that Creative Capital and Skoll Foundation have partnered to launch a $500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Creator Fund that backs projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators on the crowdfunding platform. Effective immediately, funds will be awarded on an ongoing basis to creators with active projects across all of Kickstarter's categories: Arts, Comics & Illustration, Design & Tech, Film, Food & Craft, Games, Music, and Publishing.

As the largest crowdfunding platform for cultural projects, Kickstarter supports the success of thousands of new creative ideas every year. However, research studies suggest that Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous communities face larger barriers on crowdfunding platforms, be it via access to community support or early investment to begin a proof of concept.

"Since Kickstarter was founded, it has challenged traditional, outdated structures of cultural patronage and funding. This fund is a major opportunity for us to take that work even further and push for racial equity in the creative economy," says Patton Hindle, Kickstarter's Head of Arts.

The mission of the Creative Capital x Skoll Creator Fund is to increase the number of funded Kickstarter projects launched by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators through removing early financial hurdles. These funds will help bring more of their creative projects to life in the world, contributing to a more diverse and equitable artistic ecosystem.

"Creative Capital believes that investing in projects at catalytic moments by creators of color can lead to transformative cultural and social impact. We're honored to extend our venture philanthropy approach and infrastructure to fund innovative artists via this inspiring new partnership," says Christine Kuan, Creative Capital President & Executive Director.

To select fund recipients, Creative Capital, Kickstarter, and Skoll Foundation will work closely together to continually review active projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators on the platform. The final selections will ultimately be made by Creative Capital and Skoll Foundation.

As part of the partnership, Kickstarter's category experts will offer strategic guidance throughout each of the selected projects' runs and Creative Capital will offer its extensive artist career development programming to the creators after they have successfully funded their project. Kickstarter will regularly promote the chosen creators on its platform, highlighting who has been funded and including them in promotional efforts through newsletters and social media.