Kickstarter has been helping self-starters get self-started since 2009 by giving them a place to earn their seed money. One of the ways these future moguls entice people to back their work is to offer rewards: If you donate a certain amount of money, you will receive something in return; the larger your check, the larger your reward. And after four years, some Kickstarter rewards are just as clever—if not more so—than the project that the creators are trying to fund.
If you page through the list of Kickstarter projects, you’ll see a common theme in the rewards section. Backers can win a t-shirt. A copy of the creative work itself. An autographed copy of the creative work. Two copies of the creative work. Some creators will give you early access to the work, or even a behind-the-scenes look at the work in progress.
But a few rewards stand out in reflecting their awesome projects. Kickstarter sent me a few of their personal favorites, and I’ve found a few other of the more clever (or touching, or just cute) rewards to pass through Kickstarter’s funding process. Check them out below.
Note that some of these projects are in progress as of the writing of this article, so it may not be too late to get a goat named after you.
Build a barn, name a goat
$150: “Name a Poplar Wood Farm 2013 baby goat (or kid in goat language).” This also comes with two photo updates, so you can show your parents how your kid is progressing.
This project needs funding by Saturday, Feb 23, 9:00pm EST.
Help an ice cream parlor expand, get a custom ice cream flavor
$200: “A custom ice cream flavor or frozen drink named after you to be featured on the menu for 1 season. Choose from over 200 existing flavors or mix and match to create your own!” There are vegan options, too. Boston-area people, what are you waiting for?
This project needs funding by Friday, Mar 1, 12:00pm EST.
Mysterious letters
This funded project spoke for itself:
$24: You will receive a unique hand-written postcard composed whilst we were sober, clear-headed and utterly focused on the task.
$25: You will receive a unique hand-scrawled postcard written while we were drunk, which we’ll regret horribly by the time it arrives.
This project was funded in November 2009.
Supporting Penny Arcade earned the creators’ attention.
The creators of Penny Arcade followed their funders on Twitter for one year.
$300: “@cwgabriel will follow you on twitter for one year. Your day is now a constant source of his entertainment.”
Another $300: “@tychobrahe will follow you on twitter for one year. You can bombard him with 140 character requests all year long.”
This project was funded in August 2012.