Crowdfunding campaigns can perform miracles, like giving someone US$55,000 to make potato salad. However, this one particular Indiegogo fundraiser may just be trying a little too hard. It aims to raise €1.6 billion (about RM6.7 billion) to help Greece pay off its debt to the International Monetary Fund.
Thom Feeney, a London resident, started the campaign because he believed that Greece can be saved if all of Europe pitched in. By his calculations, it should only take €3 (about RM12.50) from each European to reach the lofty goal. Feeney has also set stretch goals that involve him traveling to Greece and sending postcards from the country; as well as sending people wine vouchers for Ouzo.
We're experiencing connectivity issues due to overwhelming worldwide interest in the @GreekBailout campaign. Thanks for your patience.
— Indiegogo Reads 🏳️🌈 (@Indiegogo) June 30, 2015
While the aims of the Indiegogo campaign are noble and quite charitable, it is impossible to see the amount being raised at any point in the future; even Greece itself hasn’t been able to manage the task. Feeney has not opted for flexible funding for the campaign, which means that the money is only charged from backers’ accounts if the goal is reached. This is not going to happen as there is only €500,000 (about RM2.2 million) pledged at the moment, with only six days left to go.
Also, Greece has already missed the payment deadline for the loan and defaulted on it. Meaning that even if the Indiegogo campaign succeeds in reaching its goal, it will not be in time to save anyone. On the other hand, the campaign has attracted so much online attention that it crashed the Indiegogo servers for about four hours. So maybe there is some merit to crowdsourcing the financial bailout of an entire country.
