The Statue of Liberty

Did you know that one of the oldest recorded crowdfunding campaigns is that of the Statue of Liberty? During the summer of 1885 the State of New York needed to raise a final $100,000 to buy the granite plinth necessary to hold the great statue but fell short of the funds. When then Governor Grover Cleveland rejected using city funds, and Congress couldn’t agree on a deal to fund the project, famed journalist Joseph Pulitzer stepped up and launched a campaign in his newspaper The New York World to try and raise the funds.

In a wonderful display of societal generosity by the citizens of New York, 160,000 donors including young children, businessmen, street cleaners and politicians pledged $101,091. This equates to each pledge amounting to less than $1 dollar yet in just five months the city could now afford to purchase the granite plinth, whilst also having money left over to get a gift for the sculptor.

In today’s world this kind of mass funding for projects is called crowdfunding. People coming together to pledge money to campaigns they support through online media. Typically, the risk is shared amongst the many, ideas are validated when targets are hit and gifts are awarded to donors. This can range from personalised thank you notes and merchandising from the company.

At SanSooz, we are working to help make world be safe, seen and stylish. We are launching our campaign on the UK’s largest crowdfunding website, Crowdfunder, and are looking to raise £200,000. This will enable us to fund our fashionable reflective clothing and accessories for volume production. It will also allow us to continue with our safety research and development to ensure that children, adults, pedestrians, cyclists, runners/joggers and pets are safe, seen and stylish in the dark. You can pledge as little as £5 and receive a personal thank you email from Sooz and SANdy or a corporate donation as high as £20,000 can be pledged in return for a larger corporate reward!  Find us on http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/sansooz

Help SanSooz make the world be safe, seen and stylish!  Pledge today, claim your reward and help turn this amazing project into a reality to save lives worldwide.