Can a homeless shelter be crowdfunded through Indiegogo?

Aug. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Brandon Connell is an Illinois resident that grew up in Chicago, but moved to Central Illinois where he has made his home for the past few years. In the small town of Galesburg, there are a couple of homeless shelters. Only one of them are well known, and it has a bad reputation given to it by the many homeless that passed through its doors. "The shelter is known by everyone, but only the residents of past residents know it personally," says Brandon. "I have heard horror stories about thefts by the shelter itself, and by those who couldn't get out because they were not in control of their money...the shelter is".

In fact, the shelter has certain requirements including drug testing, no cell phones allowed in residents hands, and money/link cards have to be turned over in order to get space in the shelter. It's understandable that a shelter must have rules in order to protect the residents, but when do those rules go too far?

Brandon went to Indiegogo with his idea; A homeless shelter that empowers the residents by teaching them business, computers, and finance, and allowing them to be an adult and control their own finances. If you are unfamiliar with Indiegogo, it is a popular and growing crowdfunding website where someone can pitch their idea and anyone can pledge an amount. Generally, the campaign owner provides perks for their donation. The perks can range from a handwritten thank you letter, to an item the campaign owner is trying to develop with the funds.

"Because it's a homeless shelter I am trying to start, I don't have anything tangible to provide anyone. Instead, I provided my design, marketing, or consulting services in the perks for this project. So far, I have $100 contributed and a goal of $200,000 to reach in the next 30 days. If I reach the entire goal or more, I will be able to secure a building. If I get less, depending on the amount I can at least get the non-profit corporation filed and hire a grant writer to help me do the rest." Indiegogo allows Flexible Funding which means that the campaign owner will receive the funds whether or not the goal is reached, as opposed to Kickstarter which only offers an all-or-nothing solution to crowdfunders.

"It's amazing what many homeless shelters can get away with, and be rewarded for it. Did you know that the higher amount of residents a shelter has, the bigger the grant they can receive from the government?," asks Brandon. "My entire focus is to get these people back on their feet, and provide them the knowledge they need to start their own business so they don't have to rely on anyone ever again. Nobody is safe in this Country anymore. Jobs are not plentiful, and that hasn't changed in the past 4 years."

To learn more about Brandon's campaign, visit http://www.indiegogo.com/lets-help-the-homeless?a=550561 and contribute, share, and do what you can to make this campaign a success. The homeless trend in America can turn around.