Older persons in advocacy and years of experience including me approach these matters with some trepidation due to foreigners coming here to shoot documentaries or projects, we have been burnt before as they benefit and leave the subjects of their work or research behind with no or little positive impact to write home about. Persons pretend to be interested in our 'plight' yet disappear with the materials etc when they are done and gain professional and other benefits without any real return or assistance.
In October 2014 a press release and online fundraising campaign came to hand from one named Carolyn Bick on Kickstarter, the goal for the campaign was not met yet no follow up has come as to the next step and what has happened with the funds already collected, if returned to the donors or dispersed to the named groups. Miss Bick's website does not load when visited. carolynbickphotography.com
Who is responsible for completing a project as promised?
It's the project creator's responsibility to complete their project. Kickstarter is not involved in the development of the projects themselves.
Kickstarter does not guarantee projects or investigate a creator's ability to complete their project. On Kickstarter, backers (you!) ultimately decide the validity and worthiness of a project by whether they decide to fund it.
How do backers know if a project will follow through?
Launching a Kickstarter is a very public act, and creators put their reputations at risk when they do.
Backers should look for creators who share a clear plan for how their project will be completed, and who have a history of bringing their creative ventures and other projects to fruition. Creators are encouraged to share links and as much background information as possible so backers can make informed decisions about the projects they support.
If a creator has no demonstrable experience in doing something like their project or doesn't share key information, backers should take that into consideration. Does the creator include links to any websites that show work related to the project, or past projects? Does the creator appear in the video? Have they connected via Facebook?
Don't hesitate to request information from a creator. You can always reach out before pledging via the "Contact me" button on the project page.
How do I know a project creator is who they claim they are?
Perhaps you are friends with the creator, or you heard about the project from a trusted source.
Looking for more information? Read through the description and watch the video to get a better sense of the person or team behind the project.
In the creator bio section of each project, you can find additional resources, like links to websites, relevant background information, and in some cases, a connected Facebook account. For projects that have launched since May 19, 2014, you'll also find a verified name with a check mark next to it. This person is the creator of the project or a part of the company or team behind it, and they verified their identity through an automated process.
Can Kickstarter refund the money if a project is unable to fulfill?
No, Kickstarter doesn't issue refunds. Transactions are between backers and creators directly. Creators receive all funds (less fees) soon after their campaign ends.
Why can't Kickstarter guarantee projects?
We started Kickstarter as a new way for creators and audiences to work together to make things. Many traditional funding systems are risk-averse and profit-focused, and tons of great ideas never get a chance. Kickstarter opens the door to a world full of creative possibilities, one where anyone can help decide which bright idea will become tomorrow's reality.
Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative ideas. Many of the projects you see on Kickstarter are in earlier stages of development and are looking for a community to bring them to life. The fact that Kickstarter allows creators to take risks and attempt to create new things is a feature, not a bug.take a look at the press release from Miss Bick:
Carolyn Bick Launches Kickstarter Project to Help the LGBTQ Community
No, Kickstarter doesn't issue refunds. Transactions are between backers and creators directly. Creators receive all funds (less fees) soon after their campaign ends.
Why can't Kickstarter guarantee projects?
We started Kickstarter as a new way for creators and audiences to work together to make things. Many traditional funding systems are risk-averse and profit-focused, and tons of great ideas never get a chance. Kickstarter opens the door to a world full of creative possibilities, one where anyone can help decide which bright idea will become tomorrow's reality.
Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative ideas. Many of the projects you see on Kickstarter are in earlier stages of development and are looking for a community to bring them to life. The fact that Kickstarter allows creators to take risks and attempt to create new things is a feature, not a bug.take a look at the press release from Miss Bick:
Carolyn Bick Launches Kickstarter Project to Help the LGBTQ Community
Imagine being afraid to seek health care, because there is a real possibility you will be killed over the results.
Jermaine Burton, founder of the homeless, gay help and advocacy group The Colour Pink, remembers the day at Comprehensive Health Centre when she learned she was HIV-positive. Despite the grave news, her nurse warned her not to look upset when she left.
“I was crying,” said Burton, who identifies as a woman, and used to be homeless on the streets of Kingston. “[The nurse] said, ‘Don’t go out and cry, because, if you go out and cry, people are going to know you are HIV-positive’."
Her life was at risk, because she could be a target of Jamaica’s violent, deep-seated cultural prejudice against homosexuality. Since HIV/AIDS is associated with homosexuals in Jamaica, the safety of HIV/AIDS patients is also at risk.
While Jamaica's government offers treatment programs for citizens suffering from HIV/AIDS-related illness, many among the LGBTQ community who are HIV-positive, or may be at risk, refuse to seek testing or treatment out of fear they will be killed over their sexual orientation.
What is going on in Jamaica is an atrocious violation of human rights, and the term 'fish' -- one of many derogatory names for MSMs in Jamaica -- reflects the dehumanization of the situation. 32% of Jamaican MSMs (men who have sex with men) are infected with HIV, according to the UNFPA, and the stigma against the disease, because of its connotations, will only make that number grow. But it is not just MSMs who are hurt. It is the entire island. If already-out Jamaican MSMs are afraid to seek health care, how many more Jamaican men are simply afraid to admit they are not straight? If these same men have unprotected sex with other men, and -- because of fear, or because of shame -- do not tell their partners, or get tested, this not only raises the infection rate on the island, but also increases the rate of reinfection.
I am working on a documentary about the struggles Jamaican MSMs and other Jamaicans along the LGBTQ spectrum face in obtaining proper health care safely, in the wake of such homophobia. I will be focusing primarily on one or two subjects to tell the story. As you can see in the short preview video, I spoke with many people in the eight days I was there. However, I need to speak with many more -- politicians, doctors, closeted Jamaicans -- and visit other places, such as Kingston Public Hospital, the Ministry of Health, and Comprehensive Health Centre. I will also need to spend a longer period of time with the homeless MSMs I spoke with during my trip in December. I want to document exactly what they go through, when they try to get testing and treatment -- services we in the United States often take for granted.
This isn't just about human rights. It is about an entire population's right and fight to live. Help me fight with them.
Risks and challenges
The biggest risk I face is one of access, due to a) the danger to many of the people involved, and b) the fact I am an American with a fancy camera (not exactly the most inconspicuous person around). However, with the contacts I have made and maintained, as well as the fact I was able to get access through these contacts within the first few days I was in Jamaica last December, a month or more there can only mean I will not only have more opportunities to speak with people, but I will also get a chance to develop relationships with them, and speak with them multiple times.
(As a very important note: JFLAG and members of The Colour Pink are my contacts, and I will be forever grateful to them for everything they have done and are doing to help me get this project out there. I could not have even started this project without them.)
I will also run into difficulties finding Jamaicans who are not 'out', who will be willing to talk with me, because of the problems described above. I plan to get around this issue by offering anonymity, and asking my contacts if they know of anyone who would be willing to speak with me under the condition of anonymity.
ENDS
Now it is established that the online fundraising platform is not held to require refunds to backers where has all that money gone and where is the actual statement or release to allay suspicions and mistrust? Miss Bick and others need to come clean and not let cynicism encroach on their work or reputations but barring any followup it appears off.
I have lost count with the amount of documentaries, specials and features on homeless LGBTians here yet they still have not had any major improvements come their way
A word to the wise is sufficient but where oh where is that documentary or other activity in lieu of its non production and unaccounted for funds raised?
Peace & tolerance
H
also see:
my latest podcast, yes I am podding again:
MSM/Trans homeless employ Civil Disobedience to get JASL Board's Attention .... 2010
The Quietus ......... The Safe House Project Closes 2010 where the madness all began albeit homelessness has been with us forever.
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