Crowdfunding for culture taking off

Crowdfunding is now available on Culture Jiading Cloud, an Internet-based platform for public cultural services. Individuals and cultural organizations in Jiading can use the platform to raise funds.

Jiading is the first district to pilot crowdfunding in the field of cultural services. The Culture Jiading Cloud has gained popularity since its opening. However, it was hard for users to apply for a free ticket sometimes because there were too many “competitors.” “Some people even said that they were willing to pay for a public cultural event,” said Yan Yan, an officer from Jiading District Culture, Radio, Television Administration Bureau. “We launched the crowdfunding function to solve this problem.”

The cultural event will be successfully funded after the number of applicants reaches the minimum number required. The content of events will be examined before launching. The crowdfunding fee is relatively low and funds raised will be kept by a third-party non-profit organization.

The first crowdfunding event is a flower arrangement event launched by Hu Xin on March 31. Locals can pay 20 yuan (US$2.94) for the one-hour experience. Although the money raised on the platform was much less than the cost, Hu was happy to make friends with people who share the same hobby.

Li Ping, a calligraphy teacher, successfully held a lesson on May 13 with the help of crowdfunding.

She says crowdfunding offers her more choices on teaching methods.