 This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. Kickstarter is a website where people give money to support creative projects. It started in 2009, mostly to help artists and musicians. Now, inventors, people starting businesses, and a growing number of farmers are raising money on this site for crowdsourced funding. Josh Brill and Meadow Squire grow vegetables and rice in Tinmouth, a town in the northeastern state of Vermont. Last year, they used Kickstarter to raise more than $6,000 to increase their rice production. 76 people watched the couple's 6-minute video and believed enough in their dream to send them money. Another farmer in Vermont, Scott Nelson, raised almost $9,000. He wanted to document the growth and development of his farm to teach others who are interested in organic farming as a video explained. Bigger ideas have raised much more for some farmers among the projects on Kickstarter. In all, on a recent day, there were 4,500 creative projects seeking money on the site. Site officials reported $3 million in weekly pledges. To raise money on Kickstarter, people need to think of a project with a clear goal. Then, they need to get the project approved by the site. Many project creators make a video to explain what their project is and why people should support it. Projects have a time limit, generally about 30 days, to meet their funding goal. Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing funding method. Projects do not get any money unless they meet their goal. Kickstarter gets 5% of the money raised, but only if the goal is met. Amazon.com takes another 3-5% for credit card processing fees. To get people to pledge money, projects also include a list of thank-you gifts for different levels of support. Josh Brill and Meadowsquire gave supporters rice, seeds, and, for fun, good karma points. They say they are happy with their experience using the site to raise money for their new rice patties. Meadowsquire calls it free advertising for them. Many people now know they grow rice and know more about their farming practices. She points out that the experience would not have been the same if they had just gotten alone from a bank. Josh Brill says one pledge came all the way from New Zealand. In his words, when someone is willing to put up their money for your farm, that means something. It's like you would feel bad if you couldn't succeed for them. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villareal.