Seed Project: Nonstarter.org

=My Project Idea=

The idea of nonstarter.org is that people will upload project descriptions in the same way as on kickstarter.com, but instead of funding specific projects, people will just donate money and let the crowd decide what to do with it! (Back to proposals.)

Name
Nonstarter.org

Group
no working group here, contact information is via https://groups.google.com/group/nonstarter and homepage is http://nonstarter.org/.

One Line Summary
kickstarter.com is famous, but for profit?? We can make a not-for-profit site that does what kickstarter.com does but that is more fun and better.

What is the proposed solution?
Nonstarter.org is a radical experiment, in between democracy and anarchy. It masquerades as an "art market" but in fact aims to become a tool for political change.

The model works as follows. People donate money and ideas. Then, we use use StackExchange/OSQA-like software to vote projects up and down (one vote per day keeps it addictive). Whatever is voted to the top AND has sufficient funds available to fund it will be funded automatically. To throw in an additional twist, and provide a source of revenue, additional votes can be purchased or earned. Thus, for every $10 you contribute to the site, you get 1 additional vote per day for the next year. Any time your idea gets funded, you get an additional vote, good for life.

How will you make the change?
The software seems pretty simple. We just need to make it! We could use pretty much anything as a basis (e.g. OSQA, Drupal, whatever). Then we need to promote the site. This is where the trick lies (and why the site is called "nonstarter"!) People need to be convinced that giving money to "the crowd" is better than giving money to an individual.

As a "proof of concept", we might deploy this code (once it is ready) as a way to distribute contributions among FTG member projects.

What is your value proposition?
Contributors can get a reputation as a philanthropist or a creator of cool ideas. A more advanced version of the system might actually allow contributors to earn dividends from projects (but because this creates issues of accountability, we should probably build the platform and do some experiments first). Mainly, we will be a more open and less ego-driven kickstarter, generating more good ideas, and getting more done.

Why is this different from other offerings?
Every other known crowdfunding site follows a many-to-1 model (which is really a 1-to-1 model). We use a many-to-many model, and can therefor build in extra intelligence.

=Team: bio, expertise, and role(s) in the group=

Member 1
Joe Corneli: BA in mathematics, reasonably experienced with building websites and running nonprofits.

Member 2
Fabrizio Terzi: Apprentice concept Designer.

=Stage of the venture=

Concept

Date of founding
2011

Milestones achieved
Built "concept" website describing the project

Milestones yet to be achieved

 * Build real working demo
 * Deploy it in a real context (FTG?)
 * Incorporate as a non-profit so people can get tax deductions

=Support required=

Who else do you need on your team to make the project a success?
Before 2013 I don't anticipate having a whole lot of time to work on another website, so if anyone is interested in doing programming here, feel free to take this on.

Are any of these people in the Academy/Guild?
Unknown

What in general would you do with funding or volunteer support?

 * All funding should be distributed through the Nonstarter system (no special "groundfloor")
 * Volunteers should build the code and promote the project, coming up with increasingly crazy ideas to explain why this is good

=Market and Competitors=


 * Kickstarter and clones
 * National Foundation for the Arts and equivalents in other countries
 * Other art-related charities

Quantify the market (if possible)
If we can build this successfully we might destroy global capitalism.

Specify your target niche (my target is "any Internet user" is not an answer)
Any internet user, but specifically, art lovers, rebels, entrepreneurs, and people with too much money on their hands.

=A few numbers=

First phase: no return on investment, no accountability. The whole point is to generate ideas, not actually make anything.

Second phase: Create accountability, allow people to use this for investment purposes (at their own risk).

Third phase: Use nonstarter.org to run municipalities instead of city/state government and taxes