We noticed that people are more than willing to put their money towards trivial projects on Kickstarter.com (Potato salad? Meat-scented soap? Giant inflatable Lionel Richie Head?). So we decided to harness this frivolous behaviour for a greater good: instead of starting things, we built a site that could stop things. Knowing that a lot of well-intentioned charitable advertising invokes sympathy but does not provoke action, we created Kickstopper to help grassroots charities raise more than just awareness; it also helps them collect the funds needed to make a real difference.

Kickstopper shows people how even small donations can add up to big change. On Kickstopper.ca, charities can create projects that explain their mission and familiarize people with their organization. Each project features a fundraising goal and tiered donation levels that allow donors to know exactly what will be accomplished with the funds. Donations are made quickly and easily through PayPal and are given to the charity whether or not it reaches the project fundraising goal. We then encourage people to share the site or project through their social media channels.

Kickstopper has only recently launched but already has raised thousands of dollars. Given it's free to use for the grassroots charities, every dollar raised is incremental to existing fundraising efforts. Also, nearly 100% of the money donated goes directly to the charities (minus PayPal processing fees). Kickstopper also creates a multiplier effect for good: the attention created by each charity on Kickstopper casts attention on the needs of the other charities featured on the site. The site has been an instant hit in social media and the press, garnering mentions in Canada's leading marketing publications and sites.