What a year it’s been! From incredible gadgets to funny perks to inspiring nonprofit fundraisers, we have seen a little bit of everything from all over the world. Our community has used the full range of our open and global platform and has continued to move us with incredible campaigns along the way. We’re thankful for the gogofactor — our meritocratic ranking algorithm — because it would have been impossible for us to pick the best campaigns of 2012. There’s simply too many!
Let’s Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum
Let’s Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum
Location: Shoreham, New York
The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman returned to Indiegogo for his second campaign — this time to raise money to help purchase Nikola Tesla’s old laboratory. Not only did he secure a matching loan from the State of New York for $850,00, but he also set an Indiegogo record of $1,370,461 in total funding.
Let’s Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!
Let’s Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!
Location: Greece, New York
After a video of a bus monitor getting bullied by students went viral, a man who had never even met Karen rallied the support of tens of thousands of people around the world to support her. With $703,123 contributed, they didn’t just raise enough for a vacation — but also for a great retirement.
BugASalt – The Final Push
Location: Santa Monica, California
Who would have guessed that a salt-shooting shotgun to kill flies would have raised over half a million dollars? The crowd wanted a replacement for their old fashioned flyswatters though, and that’s the power of this platform.
Misfit Shine: an elegant, wireless activity tracker
Misfit Shine: an elegant, wireless activity tracker
Location: San Francisco, California
Its over five-and-a-half thousand contributors (and counting) were clearly drawn to this incredible device’s design, touch connectivity, and numerous health benefits.
Rebuild the Joplin Mosque
Location: Joplin, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri knows tragedy. The site of a deadly and destructive tornado in 2011, Joplin also lost its only mosque in a suspicious fire this past August. In a matter of days, thousands of people had nearly doubled the original goal of $250,000 — to help get the mosque rebuilt.
Who Gives A Crap – toilet paper that builds toilets
Who Gives A Crap – toilet paper that builds toilets
Location: Melbourne, Australia
This campaign centered on an incredible, viral idea: The campaigner said he was going to sit on the toilet (and live stream it) until his campaign raised $50,000. 50 hilarious (for us at least) and sleepless hours later, the campaign hit its goal, and Simon could get off his throne.
Pe’ Sla: Help Save Lakota Sioux Sacred Land!
Pe’ Sla: Help Save Lakota Sioux Sacred Land!
Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
This campaign was one of many inspiring milestones in crowdfunding this year on Indiegogo. With some of the tribe’s land going up for sale and threatened with development, a campaign was started to help them hold onto it. To witness the Lakota rally massive support and media attention to save their sacred lands was truly incredible.
HONY & Tumblr Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser
HONY & Tumblr Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser
Location: New York, New York
In a momentous partnership, the popular people-documenting blog, Humans of New York, and Tumblr ran a campaign to bring rapid relief to the victims of Hurricane Sandy — while also telling their stories. It was a great example of how quickly crowdfunding can be used to mobilize the community and bring aid to those in need.
1:Face Watch
Location: Chicago, Illinois
A social enterprise in the vein of TOMS, but one that gave contributors the choice of what global cause to support. By choosing a color, you could choose to support anything from AIDS relief to cancer research. Thousands of watches were claimed, creating an impact on thousands of peoples’ lives.
Ready to Believe: Anderson Relief Fund
Ready to Believe: Anderson Relief Fund
Location: Aurora, Colorado
The US has seen a number of violent tragedies this year, and Petra Anderson’s story is one of the few that emerged that gave people hope. She miraculously survived a nearly fatal gunshot during the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, and her sister took to Indiegogo with an impassioned plea to raise support for her medical recovery.
Allegiance the Musical – World Premier Production
Allegiance the Musical – World Premier Production
Location: San Diego, California
Star Trek’s George Takei, who spent time in Japanese internment camps during WWII, started a campaign to finance a production of a play on the subject and help spread awareness of this dark moment in American history. Drawing more than 5,000 contributors, Mr. Takei more than tripled his original goal of $50,000.
StarForge
Location: Edmonton, Canada
Combining elements from popular games like Halo and Minecraft, StarForge was a runaway success — not only raising nearly twice its goal and raising awareness, but also building an army of nearly 5,000 eager alpha and beta testers!
https://youtu.be/OSmlrPcXumc
Also make sure to check out more of our top campaigns from 2012:
Top 12 Entrepreneurial Campaigns of 2012
Top 12 Creative Campaigns of 2012
Top 12 Cause-Related Campaigns of 2012
Top 12 Gadget Campaigns of 2012
Top 12 Community Campaigns of 2012
Top 12 Music Campaigns of 2012
Top 12 Gaming Campaigns of 2012
What was your favorite campaign of 2012? Tell us in the comments!
