It might not feel like the end of August is fast approaching — but to a growing community of “Burners” around the world, it’s moving like a freight train — straight to the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. It’s time for Burning Man.

Burning Man is a week-long festival-of-sorts focused on the creation of a wholly organic community in the neutral space of the desert. Works of art and self-expression are highly encouraged, and there is a foundational emphasis on “decommodification” — a movement away from both the use of money and the presence of corporate sponsorship and advertising.

Despite this though, the event has grown over the years, and the continuing evolution and intricacy of the art and entertainment projects created in the desert have brought with them some higher costs. Rather than turn to larger sponsors, Burners have turned toward the community, the crowd, to gain support for their projects — and they’ve used Indiegogo to make it happen.

This growing pattern truly caught fire (pun intended) with last year’s Burning Man. The “Temple of Transition,” a massive art instillation, met its goal of $27,000 — with hundreds of perks claimed and the momentum of public validation going into the desert. As you can see, the ethos of Burning Man and philosophy behind crowdfunding make the coop a match made in heaven.

Check out some of the campaigns for this year’s Burning Man:

Project: Blue Sky

https://www.indiegogo.com/project-blue-sky
A 3D figurine, made from a scan of your body, delivered to you by a drone. Art has never been this interactive. Sponsored by Indiegogo partner, ReAllocate — a global network of great minds committed to solving humanitarian problems.

Tower of Nowhere

https://www.indiegogo.com/towerofnowhere
A team from London wants to build a 20-foot bell tower at Burning Man. Don’t worry, they’re also going to burn it down.

The Oasis of the Sacred Cow

https://www.indiegogo.com/sacredcow
Now in its third year, this camp — with a “Mumbai speakeasy” theme — wants to continue to gift gourmet Middle Eastern food to the Burner community.

Caledonia Lookout

https://www.indiegogo.com/BM2012
A campaign to fund a 40-foot lookout tower in the shape of an egg that’s surrounded by a dancefloor. An $85 contribution gets you a glow-in-the-dark hula hoop — and $500 gets you a fire performance.

Cloud 9 Mutant Vehicle

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/171773
Geisha House has been pouring sake for Burners for over a decade. Now, they want to build an art car.

Other notable Indiegogo campaigns for Burning Man 2012 include ones for a laser experiment, a sound system, a Mayan TRIcycle, and an Oakland-based community-built art piece.

Campaigns for last year’s Burning Man included a farmers market, a vegan ice cream stand, and a bank!

Check out other Burning Man campaigns currently funding on Indiegogo here!

Been to Burning Man? What’s your favorite part? Tell us in the comments!

Featured image © Flickr user Ahmed ElHusseiny