Kickstarter.com—a pioneering platform for creative project fundraising—can help anyone, including college students.

Since its initial launch in 2009, 5.2 million participants of Kickstarter projects have given $878 million to fund more than 51,000 creative projects.

“Rolling Stone” magazine reviewed the website, stating, “Kickstarter funds the future.”

Every Kickstarter project is independently managed and each fundraiser is all-or-nothing.

Meaning, if the project fails to reach its goal within the allotted time period, the project creators don’t  receive any of the money donated.

Currently, 44 percent of projects have met their funding goals and therefore have been able to keep the money.

Kickstarter supports creative projects including artistic pursuits such as independent films and games, as well as other types of projects such as small food businesses hoping to expand.

The sky’s the limit with these Kickstarter projects, and even celebrities have utilized all that the website has to offer.

Rob Thomas, creator of the critically acclaimed television show, “Veronica Mars,” made a Kickstarter to fund a “Veronica Mars” movie.

The show’s many loyal fans covered the film’s costs.

The power of the website can be seen in this project’s numbers—91,585 backers and $5,702,153.

“The Veronica Mars Movie Project,” was the fastest project to reach $1 million and $2 million, had the most project backers in Kickstarter history, and is the third highest-funded project in Kickstarter history.

The key to a successful Kickstarter fundraiser is perhaps in the incentives for backers.

When backers “pledge” money in higher and higher increments, the rewards get better and better.

The “Veronica Mars” rewards featured limited edition t-shirts, PDFs of the movie’s script, and even a small part in the film.

But students can take advantage of the fundraising tool, too. In fact, many already have.

In Shoreline, Wash., Shoreline Community College students in the school’s digital filmmaking program raised $2,201. They were able to surpass their original goal of $1,800, to help fund two short films for their classes.

The Seattle students stated on their Kickstarter’s page, “Due to recent Washington State budget cuts, community college art programs are being cut left-and-right.

With your help, we can not only produce two fine pieces of art; we can also show anybody watching that art is worth saving.”

The project’s incentives included photos of the productions, thank you cards, and invitations to a private screening of the films.

Essentially, if you have a passion for film, art, fashion, photography, or other creative pursuits, and an idea for a project, Kickstarter might be the way for you to realize those dreams.