Advanced Search: Want to find out about illustration projects near you? Or perhaps bacon-themed projects? Use our advanced search feature to tap into the projects that interest you. Interested in learning how advanced search works? Learn more here.

Staff Picks: The Staff Picks section collects standout projects selected by the Kickstarter team.  

The Internet: Kickstarter projects are often big news on social media and in the press. This is how many projects are discovered.

To pledge to a project, just click the green “Back This Project” button on any project page. You will be asked to enter your pledge amount and select a reward tier. For US-based projects, you will go through the Amazon checkout process. For projects launched outside of the US, you will check out through Kickstarter. To complete a pledge towards any project, you'll need to have and be logged in to a Kickstarter account.

If the project you’re backing is successfully funded, your card will be charged when the project reaches its funding deadline. If the project does not reach its funding goal, your card is never charged.

If you've backed a project that is still live and are seeing a charge on your bank statement, what you are likely seeing is a temporary authorization of funds. The time it takes for an authorization to clear varies on the bank, but typically takes 1 - 3 days. You will not be charged until the project you backed has ended successfully.

Your chosen account name will be added to the Backers tab on the project page — so you’ll be listed as part of the whole community of people helping bring the project to life. The creator will also get a message letting them know you’re supporting their project.

No. The amount of your pledge and the reward selected are never publicly displayed — only the project’s creator will be able to see that information.

Each project has a “Backers” tab, which lists the account names of the project’s supporters and links to their Kickstarter profiles. It’s our way of celebrating the community of people working together to help bring an idea to life. This list is updated with every ten new backers, and each group of ten is added in random order. (That way, nobody can hang out on the project page trying to figure out who pledged how much.) The list isn’t searchable from within Kickstarter, and it’s de-indexed, so it won’t show up on search engines like Google.

We don’t currently have an anonymous pledge feature. But you’re free to choose any account name you like — so if you don’t want to be personally connected to your pledges, just choose a name that’s not identifiable (e.g., CatLuvr02).

Project creators will see your Kickstarter account name, your pledge amount, and the reward you’ve selected. If funding for the project succeeds, we’ll also provide the project creator with your email address, in case they need to contact you about your reward. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

We’ll send you an email when funding ends, no matter the outcome.

Ask the creator! At the bottom of each project page there’s an “Ask a Question” button. This will send your question directly to the creator.

If you are already a backer and you would like to make your question public, you can post a comment on the project. The creator will be notified by email when you do.

Visit the project page and click the blue “Manage" button. At the very bottom of the next page, click “Change Payment Method.”

Visit the project page and click “Manage Your Pledge.” Enter a new amount in the pledge amount box. Note that you are not adding to your existing pledge; the amount you enter will be the total amount collected if the project is successfully funded.

Visit the project page and click “Manage Your Pledge.” To change your reward, make a new selection. Note that changing your reward selection does not automatically change your pledge amount.

By pledging, you are committing to supporting that person’s project; canceling that commitment is discouraged. If you must cancel, visit the project page and click “Manage Your Pledge.” At the bottom of the next page you’ll see the “Cancel Pledge” button.

It is the responsibility of the project creator to fulfill the promises of their project. Kickstarter reviews projects to ensure they do not violate our rules, however Kickstarter does not investigate a creator's ability to complete their project.

Creators are encouraged to share links to any websites that show work related to the project, or past projects. It's up to them to make the case for their project and their ability to complete it. Because projects are usually funded by the friends, fans, and communities around its creator, there are powerful social forces that keep creators accountable. 

The web is an excellent resource for learning about someone’s prior experience. If someone has no demonstrable prior history of doing something like their project, or is unwilling to share information, backers should consider that when weighing a pledge. If something sounds too good to be true, it very well may be. For more information about backing and launching projects on Kickstarter, please visit our Trust & Safety page.

This is likely due to an issue with the card you’re using. Please check that there are no issues with your card details or your bank, or try a different payment method.

If you are receiving an error message after signing in to your Amazon Payments account, please contact them using the email address tied to your Amazon Payments account to resolve the issue.

When a project is overfunded backers sometimes wonder: what happens with all that “extra” money? If a creator has a funding goal of $5,000 and raises $25,000, what do they do with the $20,000 they didn’t ask for?

What the creator does in that case varies greatly depending on the project.

Most of the time what seems like “extra” money isn’t extra at all. Ten times the funding often means ten times the backers. More rewards have to be produced and distributed, and creators need that funding to do it (and sometimes some of their own money too).

Sometimes when a project is overfunded it lets the creator put that money back into the project to create something better for the backers and themselves. More songs on an album, additional game elements, better materials, etc.  

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.

Perhaps you are friends with the creator, or you heard about the project from a trusted source.

Looking for more information? Read through the description and watch the video to get a better sense of the person or team behind the project.

In the creator bio section of each project, you can find additional resources like links to websites, relevant background information and in some cases, a connected Facebook account. For projects that have launched since May 19, 2014, you'll also find a verified name with a check mark next to it. This person is the creator of the project or a part of the company or team behind it, and they verified their identity through an automated process. 

And if you have more questions, you can send the creator a message to let them know.

If you have questions or want to reach out to a project creator just click on the 'Contact me' button on the project page.

Yes! Anyone can pledge to Kickstarter projects, from anywhere in the world. The only requirement is a major credit card.

In general, no. However, some US projects started by or with a 501(c)(3) organization may offer tax deductions. If so, this will be touted on the project page. If you have questions about tax deductions, please contact the project creator directly via the "Contact me" button on the project page.

Sorry, Kickstarter currently only supports credit card payments. In order for your pledge to count towards a project's funding goal, you must pledge through the project page using a credit card. (For US projects, you must complete the transaction through Amazon Payments.) If you decide to send funds to the creator outside of Kickstarter, you will not be reflected as a backer.

We support most major credit cards, but we do not support payment with Paypal at this time.

While the total amount pledged and number of backers are updated on a project page in real time, the actual names of backers are added in groups of ten. When names are posted, they're listed in a random order.

Kickstarter never discloses the amount that backers pledge, just that they're proud backers. The Backers tab ensures that no one but the creator can figure out who pledged what. We love seeing our names up top on the Backers tab, but privacy is a top priority for us.

Each project has an RSS feed of its project updates. To subscribe to it you can simply copy and paste the project URL into your RSS reader. Most readers will automatically detect and subscribe to the updates.

There’s also an overall RSS feed of recommended projects, which you can subscribe to here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/feed.atom

The Remind Me button lets you keep tabs on projects you’re interested in but maybe aren’t ready to back yet. When you star a project, you can reference it at any time in your starred projects. 48 hours before the project ends, you’ll get a reminder email giving you a chance to become a backer before the deadline.

On Kickstarter, it is only possible to pledge to each project once from a single account. Accordingly, backers can only choose one reward tier per pledge. However, you can change your pledge amount and reward selection for as long as a project is live.

Advanced Search allows you to create custom searches using a wide variety of filters — location, category, tags, and even a way to view only live projects. Search results can also be sorted in order of popularity, launch date, end date, or by funding. The new default sort, “magic,” displays a rotating cross section of compelling projects from every category on Kickstarter.

• Show me live projects in Food from Brooklyn, NY sorted by magic.
• Show me Fashion projects on Earth tagged with #Zombies sorted by end date.
• Show me All Projects on Earth with > $1 Million pledged sorted by popularity.
• Show me lamp projects in All Categories on Earth sorted by magic.

Your pledge will be collected in the currency reflected on the project page. If you have questions about foreign currency transactions, we'd recommend reaching out to your financial institution for further clarification.

Project creators will send an email survey to request any information they need to deliver you and your fellow backers’ rewards. Survey questions may include shipping address, size, color or other project-specific preferences.

Surveys are sent by the creator only after a project has been successfully funded (and the project has met its deadline). Some creators send surveys right away, while others wait until they’re ready to deliver rewards. If you think you might have missed a survey email, please log in to your Kickstarter account to check — you’ll see a yellow notification bar at the top of the site for any missed surveys. Once you complete a survey, you'll receive an email confirmation that includes a copy of your responses.

The first step is checking the Estimated Delivery Date on the project page. Backing a project is a lot different than simply ordering a product online, and sometimes projects are in very early stages when they are funded.

If the Estimated Delivery Date has passed, check for project updates that may explain what happened. Sometimes creators hit unexpected roadblocks, or simply underestimate how much work it takes to complete a project. Creators are expected to communicate these setbacks should they happen.

If the creator hasn’t posted an update, send a direct message to request more information about their progress, or post a public comment on their project asking for a status update.

Projects have an Estimated Delivery Date under each reward on the project page. This date (month and year) is entered by project creators as their best guess for delivery to backers.

Please note that this is an estimated date rather than a firm ship date. When projects launch on Kickstarter they’re often in the early stages of development and the project itself must first be completed before rewards can be fulfilled.

Older projects may not contain this information. Check the project's updates or comments to see if the creator has indicated when they plan to deliver rewards. If a creator is communicative about delivery taking longer than expected, we ask that you take that transparency into account. If a creator is not communicating and you want to know what’s going on, contact the creator by posting a public comment or sending a private message.

When you create a Kickstarter account, a basic profile page is created for you. It displays your chosen account name, the date the account was created, and a list of projects you have backed or launched. To that, you can add as much or as little information as you want — like a picture, a bio, or a link to your website.

This page isn’t searchable on Kickstarter, and it’s de-indexed, so it can’t be found via search engines like Google. But whenever your account name appears on the site (for instance, when you post comments, send messages, or back projects), people can click that account name to see your profile. Make sure anything you add follows our Community Guidelines, and don’t add any personal information you’re uncomfortable with others seeing.

Just for fun, each profile also includes a colorful little “pie” that shows which categories you’ve backed projects in. I wonder what happens if you fill in every category?

Make sure you’re logged in to Kickstarter and go to your profile page.

Make sure you’re logged in to Kickstarter and go to your account page.

A vanity URL is like a personalized URL. You can set a special URL for your Kickstarter profile so that instead of being recognized by a series of numbers (e.g., http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1234567890), it can be recognized with a name or a word of your choosing (e.g., http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/yourname). If you'd like to create one, you can do so on your profile page.

Click the question mark icon on the login page to request a password reset. Just input the email address associated with your account and we'll send you an email with a link to reset your password.

If you're currently receiving Kickstarter emails, and you'd like to opt out, visit your notifications page to adjust your settings. Make sure you’re logged in to Kickstarter when you do so. From the notifications page you’ll be able to unsubscribe to specific project updates or from the Kickstarter newsletter.

Alternatively, if you're unsubscribing from the newsletter, you can just click the Unsubscribe button in the footer of the message.

You can sign in with Facebook using the Facebook login button on the login page.

Facebook Connect is a way for you to link your Facebook account to Kickstarter so you don't need to create a new account. It's the same as logging in through Facebook. Kickstarter uses the email you use for Facebook, and you don't have to remember a new password. It's easy!

If you're a creator and you've turned on Facebook Connect, your Facebook username and friend count will be displayed in your Kickstarter bio (at the bottom-right corner of your project page). This helps backers learn more about the people behind the projects they support, and builds trust between the backer and creator.

If having your Facebook profile a click away makes you uncomfortable, you can either adjust your privacy settings on your Facebook profile or disconnect from Facebook through the "About You" section of your Edit Project page or on your account page.

If you are using a computer that is logged in to someone else's Facebook, connecting your Kickstarter account to Facebook will create a link to that other person's account. Make sure that whichever computer you're working on is either logged out of Facebook or already logged in as yourself.

Curated Pages are open to cultural organizations and institutions in creative fields: museums, film societies, record labels, publishers, creative trade organizations, educational institutions, and more. Featured projects can be directly associated with an organization or simply align with its mission. As long as the project is on Kickstarter, it can be featured on a Curated Page.

If you're an organization looking to start a Curated Page, please know that they are extended by invitation, with an editorial focus in mind. We typically work with cultural organizations, arts groups, and educational institutions.

Setting a unique password helps to ensure the security of your account. Tools like 1Password and LastPass are great for generating unique passwords and keeping track of them.

Enabling two-factor authentication is an additional step you can take to further ensure that only you can access your account. With this feature enabled, you'll get verification codes via text message, phone call, or an authentication app whenever you try to access your account from an unfamiliar device. You’ll be prompted to enter that code before you can access your account.

You can view your login history at the bottom of your account settings page. This feature will provide information about your account's logins and changes.

You can enable two-factor authentication on your account by visiting your account settings page.

Select "set up two-factor authentication" under the "Security" heading, and follow the indicated steps to set up your phone to receive or generate verification codes.

With two-factor authentication enabled, you'll get verification codes via text message, phone call, or an authentication app whenever you try to access your account from an unfamiliar device. You'll be prompted to enter that code before you can access your account.

Your account can be deleted from your account page. Warning: this is not reversible!

If your pledge was declined, just log in to Kickstarter and click the “Fix payment” button in the banner at the top of your screen. This will guide you through the process of changing your payment method. We'll also send you an email every 48 hours with a direct link to correct the issue. Don't delay, however: backers have 7 days to resolve payment issues before they are dropped from the project.

Here are things to look into:

1. Check that you entered a valid credit card number and the correct expiration date. Make sure the card hasn't expired.

2. Confirm that your billing address and phone number are correct.

3. Make sure you haven't exceeded the credit limit on your card.

If everything checks out, it's possible your bank put a hold on the charge. Please contact your bank to authorize the pledge. Once you've cleared up any issues with your bank or card, you'll still need to follow the "Fix Payment" link to retry your pledge.