I published two pieces in July
Substack gained 1 more unpaid subscriber and Patreon gained 1 more patron
I've been crowdfunding a basic income for half of a year
July's basic income of $70.38 went to furnishing my apartment and crowdfunding
I still have a lot to say after writing for half of a year and this fall I’d like to expand the topics that I write on and hope to publish at a more frequent rate
I’ve officially been crowdfunding a basic income for half a year as of the end of July. I’m happy to say that both the Substack and Patreon showed growth for the month. Substack gained 1 more unpaid subscriber and Patreon gained 1 more patron. After the platforms took their cut I received $70.38 for the crowdfunding basic income.
Unlike in June, I spent all of the crowdfunded basic income from July. I finally bought a couch for the living room of my apartment. For anyone unfamiliar, not long after I launched my Substack and Patreon I moved and have been slowly furnishing the apartment I share with my teenage son and my partner.
The couch only cost $22.88 so it felt like a steal. I also bought a tall bookshelf for $34.29. Despite moving back in May, I’m still struggling to unpack boxes because I don’t have the proper furniture pieces to organize my belongings. This tall bookshelf will definitely allow me to finally empty several moving boxes.
These furniture purchases definitely make for a cozier and more organized existence.
While the vast majority of the basic income for the month went to furniture, I used the remaining amount to help crowdfund for a couple of people and an up-and-coming nonprofit, Humanities101.org. I’ll be writing more about that in the future since I’ve been onboarded by it for consultant work.
Normally when I’ve spent my basic income on a microdonation I will include information about the crowdfunding effort but the two people who I helped crowdfund for met their goals. They were dealing with dental work expenses. Initially, I gave each of them $5 to encourage others to match me. One of the crowdfunding efforts went on a little longer, so I donated just $1 two times to encourage others to do the same.
Suggesting just $1 for a microdonation has been a recent fundraising technique of Humanities101.org. While it seems completely insignificant, when everyone in a large group donates one dollar each it has the impact of one person giving a large donation.
I plan on expanding on what I’ve observed after crowdfunding a basic income for half a year in a future piece. My hope is to publish content at a more frequent rate and to explore more topics.
I still have a lot to say about the power of coordinated efforts driven by empathy, the justice that comes with implementing universal basic income and other anti-poverty measures, and how much a crowdfunded basic income can change people’s lives.
Frankly, I have a lot to say about a lot of things and I’m just getting started on sharing my thoughts.
Thank you to everyone involved in helping me crowdfund a basic income and taking the time to hear what I have to say. Your support has a significant impact that I am truly grateful for.