KickTraq

If you want to make your idea a reality, you may as well try crowdfunding it -- it worked out well for these folks! (Read More)

Authors, publishers and literary journals are all finding new ways of connecting directly to their readers – and their wallets – on online platforms such as Kickstarter. Marta Bausells examines the books industry’s new wave of social financing and picks 10 of the best literary crowdfunding projects. (Read More)

If you just read my Globe and Mail story about the inevitability of crowdfunded oven mitts, check out what Ben Grynol (pictured) has to say about, well, quite a lot. (Read More)

2015 is shaping up as the greatest ever for crowdfunding, with three 2015 projects already making it to the list of 15 most-funded crowdfunding projects on Kicstarter and Indeigogo. (Read More)

As Lean Startup principles have taken root over the past few years at companies large and small, innovators have stopped asking whether a product can be built and started asking whether a product should be built. (Read More)

Crowdfunding has sparked a new generation of entrepreneurs from the Ohio man who asked for $10 to make potato salad and raised more than $55,000 to LeVar Burton, who raised over $5 million to bring back "Reading Rainbow" and made it accessible to children and teachers across America. Whether you've got your own big idea, want to support a worthy cause or tap into leading edge technology, crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the places to go. (Read More)

You can call out the Kickstarter campaign for Potato Salad for being the blight that it was all that you want. That doesn’t stop it from being a runaway success. Its campaign page garnered more traffic for the crowd-funding website than some of its largest campaigns to date. (Read More)

It was barely 6 a.m. in California when LeVar Burton clicked "submit" on the Kickstarter campaign that, in just over a month, would go on to become the fifth-most successful in the crowdfunding site's history. More than 105,000 backers pledged a total of $5,408,815 to bring Reading Rainbow, Burton's educational TV classic which ran from 1983 to 2006, back to life — this time, in a web version. (Read More)

It’s really simple economics when it comes to movies: studios want as many people as possible to see a movie. More people equals more money. You’re still with me, right? (Read More)

The Reading Rainbow Kickstarter project earned a total of $5,408,916 after one month of fundraising; their initial goal was $1 million. (Read More)

After launching the campaign in May, LeVar Burton has gained over 100,000 individual supporters.  (Read More)

Congratulations are in order for LeVar Burton and his “Reading Rainbow” Kickstarter campaign! (Read More)

Good morning, Kickstarters! This is it: the final countdown – and thanks to you, things are looking good! As you might know, last night we passed our stretch goal of $5M, which means that – thanks to you – we will officially be able to bring... (Read More)

Want to add rewards to your pledge? It's simple!Just review the options below, then MANAGE YOUR PLEDGE and adjust your total pledge to include the total cost of your desired add-on rewards. Please note:  You do NOT need to choose a specific reward... (Read More)

If you've been on the Internet for the last month, you've probably heard of LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow Kickstarter campaign, which appealed directly to parents to bring the beloved reading-focused kid's program to the web. The campaign has just under six hours left, and at $5.1 million pledged, Burton & co. now have the resources available to meet their goal of bringing the upcoming experience to Android, as well as game consoles and set-top boxes. (Read More)

Reading Rainbow's Kickstarter campaign has the most backers ever for the online crowdfunding site. (Read More)

A Kickstarter campaign to relaunch the award-winning children's television show as a series of apps and streaming media services has been a phenomenal success, ending with over five times its intended goal. (Read More)

  You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Kickstarters, This is it. There are now less than 24 hours left until this campaign ends.  Before it does, there are a few things I'd like to say: 1. Thank you for... (Read More)

Kickstarters, We apologize in advance, but this final 30 hour countdown might get a little intense. First: starting right now, LeVar is doing a live Q&A over at Jezebel, so feel free to join in! We've got a few more announcements and final... (Read More)

Kickstarters! This is it: we’ve just entered the final 48 hours of our Kickstarter. We’ll have more news later today. This morning, just a few quick updates: 1. We now have the Most Backers for a Kickstarter Project EVER!This morning, at about 8... (Read More)

Days after Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane pledged to match every dollar raised on Kickstarter for the new, connected version of Reading Rainbow, comes word the crowdfunding site's previous highest-earners are pitching in to get LeVar Burton's literacy project past the five-million-dollar mark. (Read More)

“Reading Rainbow” was one of the most popular kids’ TV shows of the ’80s and ’90s, inspiring an entire generation of children to find the adventure in reading. The show won 26 Emmys and a Peabody Award in 23 years on the air. (Read More)

This Reading Rainbow Kickstarter funding is reaching a phenomenal number, and it's enough to make a grown man's eyes water. (Read More)

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Backers, We'll have more news and updates tomorrow. Today, we're not even going to talk about the Kickstarter. Instead, we wanted to share a quick message that LeVar and our... (Read More)

How the HELL high is this butterfly gonna fly, already? (Read More)

Those butterflies in the sky will fly twice as high with the help of Seth MacFarlane. The actor/writer/director announced he would match any money donated to the "Reading Rainbow" Kickstarter project during its last five days, up to $1 million. With MacFarlane's assistance, LeVar Burton will be able to bring his program, aimed at helping kids learn to read, to more children. (Read More)

Kickstarters! LeVar again. It's Friday, June 27, and we've now got just four days left in this campaign. But the response to Seth's $1,000,000 matching offer has been incredible. Hundreds of you have written and commented to tell us that you're... (Read More)

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane announced that he promised to match up to $1 Million to the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter campaign. (Read More)

LeVar Burton's "Reading Rainbow" fundraising effort is getting a boost from a generous pal, Seth MacFarlane. (Read More)

  You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00   Hey y'all. LeVar here with a HUGE announcement. HUGE! If you haven't already heard, our Kickstarter campaign has just received a STUPENDOUS offer from Seth MacFarlane:... (Read More)

Hello Backers! Three quick announcements this evening: 1. With one week to go, we just passed $4 Million!With less than one week to go, we just passed the $4,000,000 mark -- making us the 6th Highest Funded Kickstarter project ever -- and we... (Read More)

Exciting news for “Reading Rainbow” fans! The PBS show’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter has reached $4m from over 83,000 fans. The project has a week left until it comes to a close on the platform and its hoping to reach $5M. As previously reported, not only has it continued to be successful, “Reading Rainbow’s” campaign has managed to land on Kickstarter’s Top Ten Most Funded Campaigns Ever list. (Read More)

Reading Rainbow was a show dedicated to helping encourage young kids to read. It ran on PBS from 1983-2006 with reruns that aired until 2009. Just hearing the theme song brings back memories. (Read More)

Kickstarters! A few weeks ago, we gave you a first look at the planned designs for the exclusive READING RAINBOW KICKSTARTER T-SHIRTS that are available in all reward packages at $50 and up: Today, with just over a week left in our Kickstarter, we... (Read More)

In a "Reliable Sources" extended interview, LeVar Burton talks to Brian Stelter about his Kickstarter campaign to revive the classic children's show "Reading Rainbow." The campaign ends on July 2. (Read More)

Hello Kickstarters! We're on Day 24. Tomorrow, our final 10 day countdown begins, but trust us, we're not done yet! We've got more big announcements planned for next week. For this afternoon, we just wanted to share a few quick updates. ADDED:... (Read More)

Kickstarters, Big news this morning, so we'll get right to it. One of the backer rewards we've been most excited about is the READING RAINBOW 2015 CALENDAR, which is included in the READING YEAR-ROUND PACKAGE ($175), most $200+ packages, or as an... (Read More)

Kickstarters! Just a quick adjustment to the last update, to let you know that we heard your feedback. We want to make sure that each DVD reward lets us help more underfunded classrooms -- but we also want to make sure they're affordable! So, we're... (Read More)

Hello Backers! We're now entering the fourth week of our Kickstarter campaign.  We've come a long way, but we're not done yet: we've got two weeks left to find out how far we can go! And we've got some big plans and announcements planned for the... (Read More)

Hundreds of backers have written in, asking us to release DVDs of the original television series as REWARD ADD-ONS... and now we have!  To add any of these to your reward package, just follow the ADD-ON INSTRUCTIONS, and then go here to ADJUST YOUR... (Read More)

Do you have children (or know a child that loves Trek)? LeVar will be hosting special live benefit events where he and his friends from Star Trek will read stories to you and your children, take questions, and be able to thank you personally at... (Read More)

I’ve been the host and producer of Reading Rainbow for 31 years, and have done my best to teach generations of children that in the pages of a book – through reading – you can go anywhere and be anything. This isn’t a job for me: it’s a... (Read More)

While LaVar Burton famously hit a million dollar goal within hours of launching a Kickstarter campaign to bring back a modern version of Reading Rainbow, the actor and the educational show's other champions are aiming even higher. (Read More)

A few weeks ago, children of the ’80s and ’90s got a blast from the past when a campaign to resurrect “Reading Rainbow” launched on Kickstarter. The project aims to inspire a love for reading in children by bringing the old TV show into the modern age. A mobile app and desktop version are both in the works. (Read More)

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Trek Fans! LeVar here. Many of you know that I’ve been working for over thirty years as the host of Reading Rainbow, and have made it my mission to help children discover a... (Read More)

Welcome back to Fanboy on Kickstarter, the column that tries to clue you into the can't-miss fanboy fantastic opportunities in the world of crowd sourcing. Nine episodes in, and many of our earlier recommendations have already completed and are in the process of development and delivery, which is always exciting to monitor. (Read More)

Kickstarters! LeVar here. Day 17. Since last week, almost a thousand of you have filled out our volunteer form, asking how you can help us bring Reading Rainbow to even more classrooms and schools. You've offered your time, your talent and your... (Read More)

If you've already pledged for a different reward level, remember that you can always GO HERE TO UPGRADE YOUR PLEDGE and get one of these new packages! MORE RRL STAR TREK TICKETS AVAILABLE!We only released a few spots yesterday, but there are now... (Read More)

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Good morning, y’all! We’ve had two amazing weeks so far, and we’re on the way to reaching our first stretch goal of $5,000,000. But now, we’re getting to the hard... (Read More)

T-SHIRT DESIGNSWe’ve gotten a lot of questions from backers about the exclusive READING RAINBOW KICKSTARTER T-SHIRTS that are included with all reward packages at $50 and up. Today, we want to show you not just one but three t-shirt designs that... (Read More)

Reading Rainbow is a children’s TV series designed to encourage children to read. Each episode is centered on a theme from a book that is explored through segments or stories. Books were also recommended during the show so children could look for them when they went to the library. (Read More)

The "Reading Rainbow" Kickstarter reached it's One Million dollar goal on its FIRST DAY! Levar tells Shira the inside scoop, and what happens now! (Read More)

In this update:  A Message from LeVar Today is our 31st Birthday! How You Can Volunteer You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Hello Kickstarters! Today’s video was shot very early this morning, but we didn’t... (Read More)

The Reading Rainbow Kickstarter has reached about $3.5 million, and the velocity of increase has slowed considerably. I still think it has the potential to make 10 if it does well over the course of the month, especially when it gets the end-of-Kickstarter boost. But even if it makes its $5 million stretch goal, that will be something. (Read More)

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Hey Kickstarters! LeVar here. It’s been an UNBELIEVABLE first week. The team will share more details in a moment, but there are two things I want to tell you myself. 1. 76... (Read More)

LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow is ready to reboot. Here's a look at the new theme song. (Read More)

There are a lot of campaigns competing for your attention on Kickstarter, which is great because that makes this crowd-source web site a hotbed of innovation. But which ones really deserve your money? We answer that question by rounding up the coolest, most exciting, and most unusual products for you each week. (Read More)

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Dear Backers, Hello from Pittsburgh, where I've traveled to give a talk tonight at the Fred Rogers Center. (Some of you might have known Fred better as MISTER Rogers!) To me,... (Read More)

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play 00:00 00:00 Dear Backers, At this point, as you know, we've reached more than twice our minimum funding goal -- and together, we did it in less than two days. WHAT HAPPENS NOW?Now we... (Read More)

By now you may have heard that LeVar Burton launched a Kickstarter to bring back his hit show Reading Rainbow as a web series. (Read More)

Reading Rainbow host, Star Trek and Roots star, and wonderful human LeVar Burton launched a Kickstarter yesterday to bring back the groundbreaking kids' literacy show as an enormous online library of interactive books and video field trips. (Read More)

Hello Readers! What an insane second day we've had! A few quick notes. First: welcome to the 25,000 of you who have joined us since last night! Together, there are now 55,000 of us, with more joining every minute. And in less than 48 hours, we're... (Read More)

The Reading Rainbow Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign (see previous post) hit its $1 million goal in 11 hours yesterday. The team has posted an update with a video of the reaction and response by actor and host LeVar Burton immediately after the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign officially went over its goal. (Read More)

Yesterday, LeVar Burton launched a Kickstarter campaign to revive Reading Rainbow. Its goal was set at $1 MILLION...and even though it had over a month to get there...but it surpassed that amount with hours. As well-meaning as this is, the Kickstarter has received some criticism, because unlike the show, LeVar’s app is NOT free, and requires a monthly subscription. And there’s also the thought that you’re better off donating to an educational charity than giving to LeVar’s for-profit company. (Read More)

LeVar Burton has started a 'Reading Rainbow' Kickstarter - and it has already reached its $1 million goal. (Read More)

LeVar Burton's "Reading Rainbow" campaign has doubled its pledge goal, eclipsing $2 million on Kickstarter on Thursday. (Read More)

Reading Rainbow is coming back. As of today, a Kickstarter to bring the show back has raised more than double its initial goal of $1 million—enough cash to bring the educational program back as a cross-platform app, complete with a digital library, interactive resources, and virtual field trips—and to offer it for free to cash-strapped schools. (Read More)

After 23 years of introducing kids to the power of the written word, Reading Rainbow's final episode aired on November 16, 2006 – but now the childhood favorite is making a big comeback. (Read More)

Hello Everyone!   Mark here. It's 9pm on Wednesday night here in LA, and I am trying to compose our first backer update, but it’s hard with all the emotion built up over the day. We’re all somewhat in shock.   About an hour ago, I left LeVar... (Read More)

"Reading Rainbow," with its infectious theme song and simple premise, became a powerhouse for teaching a love for books when it launched in the '80s. (Read More)

It’s raining cash today on Kickstarter, all thanks to a rainbow, a Reading Rainbow. (Read More)

By now, you’ve surely heard the news that the irrepressible LeVar Burton — late of “Star Trek,” “Roots” and the classic children’s show “Reading Rainbow” — has launched a $1-million Kickstarter to get a Rainbow reboot/spin-off online. (Read More)