Creators are the primary beneficiaries of Fan pledges; they are the one’s being asked to deliver the campaign goals. 

They are:

artists musicians authors inventors coffee roasters journalists scientists athletes chefs politicians celebrities farmers illustrators corporations actors directors podcasters screenwriters…

Possible Creators are endless. We’re eagerly waiting for the next Founder’s creative spin on a campaign that stops us cold and makes us question why we never thought of that application! 

Seriously, if you’re reading this thinking, ‘So could I launch this…are they a potential Creator?’ the answer is almost always yes.

Named Creators

In most campaigns, the Creator is clearly identifiable and is uniquely or solely able to fill the role—only Taylor Swift could create a new Swift Acoustic Album after all.

Creator Pools

In other campaigns, the Founder might provide a pool of named possible Creators who are all up to the task and then designate that the funds pledged should go to the first Creator who agrees to undertake the campaign. See Underlined Link to Title of Campaign.

In these campaigns, Fans should recognize that their funds remain pledged regardless of which Creator takes up the campaign, or carries it across the finish line, so long as they were potentially named at the time in the campaign when they made their pledge.

Unnamed Creators

Occasionally, a campaign won’t have a specific named Creator in mind but rather has a clear idea of what type of Creator they want.  That’s fine too, we only ask that it is clear to all pledging Fans who could eventually become the Creator.

Qualification Based Creators

One option is to provide a list of qualifications potential Creators must meet to be considered.

For instance, a campaign might say funds go to anyone who is:

• ‘a previously Oscar Nominated Director’ 
• ‘a pulitzer prize winning journalist’
• ‘a university funded and FDA accredited lab’
• ‘legally named Bartholomew ’ (that…would be a weirder one though)

Committee Approved Creators

Another option, in lieu of providing qualifications for potential Creators to meet, is for a Founder to name another person or group of ‘experts’ who must sign off on any interested potential Creator.

For instance, ‘Anyone trusted by these esteemed Nutrition PHDs and MDs (listed in the campaign) may head the nutrition study we’re trying to fund.’

Fan Pledges with ‘TBD’ Creators

In all such cases where the potential Creator is not explicitly named, Fans should recognize they are committing their pledges to the central goal of the campaign itself, accepting that the eventual Creator must simply meet the stated terms of the campaign to serve as Creator.

As a general rule, to maintain the integrity of the campaign model and out of respect for both the Creator and the community of Fans who are invested in the campaign, Fans who pledged will not be allowed to withdraw their pledge solely on the basis of which qualified Creator emerges to take up the goal of the campaign. 

Fans should therefore take care to consider thoughtfully the terms and mechanics of how the Creator will be selected before pledging to a campaign.
Once a Creator is explicitly named and confirmed, Fans who subsequently pledge may elect to withdraw their pledges only if the Creator backs out and the campaign was amended to reflect that this particular Creator was the only intended Creator moving forward. Most campaigns with multiple potential Creators will explicitly state that ‘the current qualified Creator is…’ while also clearly indicating that alternative Creators are still possible.