For 17 years, Kickstarter has empowered creators and their backers to produce innovative, groundbreaking work.

In 2025, Kickstarter had its biggest, most successful campaign ever: the eufyMake E1, the first personal 3D-texture UV printer. The makers of the E1 raised an eye-popping $46,762,258 from 7,822 backers. And that’s just one of the many campaigns that broke records last year. 

Both literary publishing and comics had door-busting campaigns. Ali Hazelwood and Adriana Herrera’s “After the End: A Dystopian Romance Collection” that featured “eight original stories exploring love after the end of the world” brought in over $1 million, and “The Transformers: Compendium Set” raised $4.6 million.

Ali Hazelwood, one of the creators behind “After the End,” explained their success, saying, “people are hungry for projects that are powered by creatives, projects that are diverse, and above all projects in which authors haven’t had to compromise their creative vision!”

“It’s so important that everyone feels like they can go wild,” she says, and “run with their ideas and creativity, and see where they take them. That’s something traditional publishing often can’t afford to let authors do, but with a project like ours, it’s a whole different ball game.”

Kicking the power of belief into high gear

The power behind Kickstarter is its community. The people who become backers on Kickstarter are a highly engaged, collaborative group who complete the ecosystem of creators whose collective optimism brings new ideas to life.

Instead of traditional passive consumption, this community is built on patronage and direct market validation. Data from Kickstarter shows that over 24 million individuals have backed at least one project on the platform. A significant driver of this funding engine is its strong retention rate, often referred to as the repeat factor, given that approximately 33% of the community consists of returning backers. 

On average, these dedicated users support between three and four campaigns over their lifetime, providing a reliable foundation for creators.

According to recent user surveys, 78% of repeat backers support projects simply to participate in the creation of something “cool,” and 52% of respondents said they supported a project because they need the product itself. Of that group, 37% said they were hoping to get in on the ground floor and buy a product at a discount before it became available to the public.

When individuals pool their resources to support an independent creator, they are participating in an act of collective optimism. 

Shared conviction is the engine that transforms dreams into realities. By directly funding artists, engineers and visionaries, backers prove that when a dedicated community rallies around a shared vision the impossible rapidly becomes achievable.

The Power of Belief campaign celebrates the idea that communities with imagination and the ability to come together can make innovation an open invitation. In fast-moving, uncertain times, it champions creative independence, cultural relevance and the choice to stand behind what you value. 

This ethos is a principle deeply embedded in the company’s structural DNA. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Kickstarter holds itself legally and morally accountable to its impact on society.

Ultimately, this dynamic ecosystem relies on a delicate balance: the courage of independent creators to share their unvarnished passions, and the willingness of everyday people to foster them. 

The platform serves as a cultural compass, guided entirely by the people who fund it. Whether you have an idea you have never launched or a project you want to back, there has never been a better moment to find your power.