Sir David Attenborough is to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help save the mountain gorilla.
The veteran broadcaster aims to raise £100,000 on IndieGoGo by December 11 to go towards maintaining a healthy population of the primates.
The campaign will officially launch on 1 November to coincide with National Crowdfunding Day.
The money raised will go to Fauna & Flora International, which protects threatened species and ecosystems worldwide and along with Attenborough was a founding force behind the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.
Gorilla marketing
Sir David, who first highlighted the plight of the mountain gorillas in 1978 in the BBC’s Life on Earth television series, said:
“If we are to ensure the survival of mountain gorillas, it is vital that the global community supports our efforts.
“By supporting this campaign and promoting it through your networks, you will not only be helping to secure a future for mountain gorillas, but also the tens of thousands of Rwandan, Ugandan and Congolese people who have come to depend upon them for their livelihoods and wellbeing.”
‘Rebooting funding as we know it’
Barry James, founder of TheCrowdfundingCentre.com said the campaign is the first truly global conservation crowdfunding project.
“The UK is leading the world in using Crowdfunding for good as well as for business.
“Crowdfunding is revolutionising how businesses are created – making them more people-centred – enabling and supporting the causes the crowd are passionate about. It’s rebooting funding as we know it.
Crossing borders
IndieGoGo founder Slava Rubin attended the Tech City News roundtable at the Dublin Web Summit, where he discussed taking the platform international.
Find out more in our upcoming report.
Image Credit: Wikimedia