Crowdfunding Backed Projects Audit 2024

In July 2022, I audited the Kickstarter projects I backed to know where all these projects were, if I was missing something, and what was still forthcoming. I wrote a Facebook post about it, which collected the following facts:

This is how my Kickstarter backing breaks down:

• 399 Projects Backed.
• 2 are currently ongoing as of 7/27/2022.
• 383 were successful.
• I canceled 14 for several reasons.
• 99% of Projects have been in the Games category.
• 1% have been in the Art, Comics, or Film & Video categories.

Of the 383 successful pledges as of 7/27/2022:

• 339 have been successfully fulfilled (89%)
• 23 are unfulfilled but on time (6%)
• 14 are late (4%)
• 6 are unfulfilled for a variety of reasons (2%)
• 1 backed with no reward.

The 6 unfulfilled projects represent a total of $135. This looks good to me!

One year later, in 2023, I did not do a deep dive like the year before, but I had backed 464 projects by then.

Last night, I realized I had not received the digital rewards for one fulfilled Kickstarter. I contacted the creator, and the situation was solved quickly and painlessly. But this led me to do a deep dive into my crowdfunding-backed projects, not just on Kickstarter, but on Game on Tabletop, Backerkit, and Verkami, the main platforms through which I’ve backed crowdfunding projects. Kickstarter remains the main platform, though I’ve backed crowdfunding projects, and 96% of all the projects discussed below are on Kickstarter. Game on Tabletop presents a disproportionately larger total of pledges because most of the projects backed there were rather costly Torg and Fading Suns projects, for which I pledged proportionately larger amounts.

Here is some data on the projects I’ve backed over the last 13 years in the four platforms mentioned above since 2011, when I backed my first Kickstarter crowdfunding project, Far West, from Adamant Entertainment.

As of 8/31/2024, the crowdfunding projects I’ve backed broke down as follows.

• 505 Projects Backed.
• Of that total:
  • 458 have been successful.
  • I’ve backed out of 30 for several reasons.
  • The creator canceled 9.
  • 8 were unsuccessful.
• There are currently no ongoing projects; all have ended.
• 99% of projects have been in the games category.
• 1% have been art, comics, or film & video categories.
• There are currently 37 (7%) unfulfilled projects. Of these, they break down as follows:
  • According to their fulfillment dates, 22 (4%) projects remain unfulfilled but on time.
  • According to their fulfillment dates, 15 (3%) projects remain unfulfilled and are late.

Out of the 505 projects backed, one (1) was backed for no reward, and five (5) projects will likely never be fulfilled. One was derailed due to legal problems between creators; in one instance, the creator passed away before fulfilling the project, and the creators abandoned three with no updates, and thus, I consider them lost.

• These unfinished projects represent 1% of the total crowdfunding projects backed.
• I have lost a total of $55 in those 5 projects.

I’ve invested a substantial amount in these sorts of projects, but crowdfunding took over much of my discretionary spending on games in the changing tabletop gaming landscape. I still buy gaming books and materials, but if you aggregate both, the total is similar to my past game expenses.

One hears of so many failed projects; I consider myself incredibly lucky to have so few backed projects that never deliver any reward and to have lost so little money. I have waited an exceedingly long time for many projects. Still, I always think of these crowdfunding projects as investments in the creator’s ideas, not pre-orders, and I know that the final product I receive may differ from the original concept. I’ve discovered new creators, people whose work I would have never seen otherwise, and have even become friends with a few creators through their crowdfunding process. Overall, my experience with crowdfunding has been positive.

What has been your experience? I’d love to know. Tell us in the comments.