Indiegogo
Craig D. Lindsey, an unemployed journalist, took to Indiegogo on New Year's Eve to ask for money to help pay his rent.
Now he has the money he needs, and an unlikely source to thank for getting the word out.
Once a staff writer for the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, Lindsey was laid off in 2011 and had been unsuccessful in finding full time work ever since.
"I try not to feel like a failure but, considering my age and where I am at right now, it's often difficult not to think that," Lindsey wrote on Tumblr.
Lindsey set up an Indiegogo page on New Year's Eve asking for $900 dollars.
This is my first time doing something like this, so I don't know how much this will impact you. Hopefully, it will impact me enough to not completely lose all hope. As I go into my fourth year of joblessness, with little to no prospects on the horizon, I've often felt I made a huge mistake choosing this line of work. I also feel I've made a bigger mistake moving to an area where there's not a lot of demand for my line of work. I don't have family here, so I don't even have that to fall back on. My friends try to help me out when they can, but they have their own troubles. I only ask if you can help me on this endeavor, and I will be eternally grateful.
With only a week before he had to turn in the back rent he owed to his landlord, Lindsey needed nothing less than a miracle.
We first read about this story on Romenesko. Romenesko had come across Lindsey's Indiegogo page and tweeted the following:
- Romenesko (@romenesko) December 31, 2013
Within hours, donations started pouring in from funders - many who chose to remain anonymous on the Indiegogo page - ranging from $5 to $200.
Lindsey has been given over $4000.00, well beyond his initial goal.
"You can stop sending money," he urged on Tumblr yesterday, "If you want to donate, that's fine, but really - I'm straight. Not only do I have enough to pay off the two months' rent, but I can pay off the next two months."
Because of the way Indiegogo works, the campaign will run until its scheduled end, which is this Friday.
"There are several things I've learned during this whole thing," Lindsey posted to Tumblr yesterday. "For one, I've learned that people aren't awful. (As I just recently told a mentor on the phone, "People just gave me $3000 - I can't say the world sucks anymore.") Secondly, while no one wants to be seen as a pitiful charity case, sometimes you need help. And, if you can get past your ego and your pride and just ask, people are more than willing to come to your aid."