As PBS increasingly receives projects funded through crowdsourcing websites, such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, please remember that each individual donor that supports content production must be properly identified to comply with federal regulations and PBS policy.

The Federal Communications Commission requires that broadcasters “fully and fairly disclose the true identity” of all broadcast program funders. See 47 CFR § 73.1212(e). Under the PBS Funding Standards, “funders” include any entity or individual who provides a financial contribution to support the production or acquisition of PBS content. Funders cannot be anonymous, and they cannot exercise influence over content.

As such, whenever a producer uses a crowdsourcing website to raise funds for content production, each donor must be properly identified and evaluated by PBS to make sure there was no editorial influence or perceived connection to the content. This process, which occurs before content is approved for broadcast distribution, can be prolonged if producers submit incomplete information about individual donors.

To help ensure expeditious review, producers should provide PBS with the following information for each donor who contributes funds at any dollar amount, including through crowdsourcing websites:

• the legal name of each entity or individual, as well as the donor's city/state and web address (if available);
• the donor's funding amount; and
• a description of any relationship between each donor and the producers, the program subject matter, or the production process.
   

At the outset of a crowdsourcing campaign, producers should make sure potential donors understand that no anonymous names, online usernames, or pseudonyms will be permitted (e.g., “Johnny B.,” “username123@gmail.com,” or “Anonymous Girl”). Consider also making donors aware that their contributions will be returned if they had any stake in or influence over the content (e.g., advocacy or business interests related to program subject matter). Please ensure that any perks for crowdsource funders do not violate PBS policy, including no sale of vanity credits, no appearance in content, and no prior review of content in development.

To help simplify the reporting of crowdsourced donors, PBS has developed a template funding grid for producers to complete. The grid, which is available upon request (standards@pbs.org), is divided into two sections — producer funding and underwriter funding. Please note that if crowdsourced donors are members of the content production team or talent, or are closely related to the content production team or talent, then their donations should be listed as producer funding.