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Crowdfunding Crucible
May 25 @ 8:00 am – June 29 @ 8:00 pm EDT

6 WEEK VIRTUAL COURSE
with PATRICK LUGO
May 25th – June 29th
$500 or two payments of $250
Hands-on support with launching your crowdfunding campaign!
Live Weekly Classes
& Check ins

Support when
you need it

Spotlight on Crowdfundr!

What is in this course?
Each week we will cover in real-time what will need to be accomplished so that each member can actually go live with their launch at the end of that final week, with ongoing campaign support from classmates and myself.
The Crowdfunding Crucible include templates, critiques, check-lists & homework. Also included will be a one-on-one video recording session (15 minutes) from which the student can create their crowdfunding video.
Lastly, each student will be started off with a list of primed leads to podcasters and journalists who have already set aside time in their schedules to Spotlight student campaigns on Crowdfundr!
OBJECTIVES
- Launch the crowdfunding campaign your project has been waiting for!
- Realistically assess your crowdfunding reach and campaign style.
- Extract your promotional assets and campaign narrative from the finished project you plan to crowdfund.
- Customize strategies for outreach and promoting your campaign.
- The secret to planning for success – even if a funding goal is not met.
- Bring your project to the crowdfunding launch pad in time for Crowdfundr.com’s summer kidlit spotlight
Syllabus
1 Hour sessions will be held via video call every Thursday at 11 am PST/2 pm EST.
WEEK 1: May 25, 2023 | Identify & Assess: your project and campaign style. |
WEEK 2: June 1, 2023 | Budgeting: defining your budget and goals. |
WEEK 3: June 8, 2023 | Outreach: bringing the crowd to crowdfunding. |
WEEK 4: June 15, 2023 | Assets/Media: templating and maximizing the imagery you’ll be using for your campaign. |
WEEK 5: June 22, 2023 | Building: your campaign page and the excitement for your campaign’s launch. |
WEEK 6: June 29, 2023 | Launch! Handling last-minute adjustments; planning, preparing and executing your launch event. |
TESTIMONIALS
“Navigating the challenges and pitfalls of a crowdfunding campaign can be a daunting task. However, Patrick Lugo’s ability to advise in the matter is equal parts mentor, strategist, and seer. My successful kickstarter campaign, Shadow Ghost, is a testament to his guidance in this regard.”
Sifu Kurtis Fujita: Martial Arts Master/Comic Creator The ShadowGhost.com
“Patrick knows how to cross pollinate skill sets to set up platforms, individuals, and Kickstarters for success. He provided illustration for a reward tier in my public health benefit zine project crowdfunded on Kickstarter, Zine100, that left backers with a concise takeaway postcard to compliment my writing skill set…. Patrick is the real deal: business savvy, sincerity, and heart.”
Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos: Author – StephanieNinaPitsirilos.com
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Patrick Lugo
My first professional comic pages saw print in the pages of indie comic publisher Double-Edge comics in the early 90’s, while I was attending SVA. Carmine Infantino would let me use those pages as class projects but just before the big boom of the 90’s, I left comics to work for my other favorite publishing niche – Kung Fu Magazine.
While devoting decades to making that magazine a mainstream publication, I simultaneously created the long-running comic series TIGER’S TALE and illustrated the picture book LITTLE MONK AND THE MANTIS. Along with a number of album covers, I also illustrated the middle-grade kindle chapter book LUCY VELOZ: HIGH-FLYING PRINCESS (2020). In 2021 my short comic story CONTRABAND saw print in the anthology Speculative Fiction for Dreamers was published by the Ohio State University Press. It was called a knock-out in a Publisher’s Weekly starred review.
Along with freelance illustration work, I’ve spent the past couple of years self-publishing the graphic novel series A TIGER’s TALE (volume 1. 2022 & volume 2, 2023) exclusively via crowdfunding.
We are partnered with Crowdfundr!
Your art deserves to be seen! Register your interest today to participate in the new spotlight for kids’ content creators. Your campaign will be featured and promoted on social media and other cool places.
Let’s do this together!

6 WEEK VIRTUAL COURSE
with PATRICK LUGO
May 25th – June 29th
We love it when people submit events in the kidlit comics community.