After funding is completed, projects and uploaded media cannot be edited or removed from the site. The web pages of projects launched on the site are permanently archived and accessible to the public. Unlike many forums for fundraising or investment, Kickstarter claims no ownership over the projects and the work they produce. Their payments processor applies an additional 3–5% fee. Kickstarter applies a 5% fee on the total amount of the funds raised. The kickstarter platform is open to backers from anywhere in the world and to creators from many countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Mexico. If the goal is not met by the deadline, no funds are collected (a kind of assurance contract). Project creators choose a deadline and a minimum funding goal.
Kickstarter is one of a number of crowdfunding platforms for gathering money from the public, which circumvents traditional avenues of investment. In December 2021, Kickstarter announced they would be moving their platform to Blockchain, with the aim of making the tools required for creating a crowdfunding site available to anyone. The union negotiated a settlement for laid off employees including four months of severance pay and up to six months of continued health benefits for anyone who gets laid off, recall rights for a year (so that those laid off can return to job openings), and a release from noncompete agreements for those who accept severance pay. On April 20, 2020, Kickstarter announced that it was likely going to layoff workers due to the coronavirus pandemic causing the number of active projects to be "about 35% below what it was at this time last year with no clear sign of rebound." The layoff was reported by the union to affect up to 45% of the employees, although Kickstarter has yet to report the scale of the layoff as of May 2, 2020. In July 2017, Strickler announced his resignation. On October 31, 2012, Kickstarter opened projects based in the United Kingdom, followed by projects based in Canada on September 9, 2013, Australia and New Zealand on November 13, 2013, the Netherlands on April 28, 2014, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden on September 15, 2014, Germany on April 28, 2015, France and Spain on May 19, 2015, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland on June 16, 2015, Singapore and Hong Kong on August 30, 2016, Mexico on November 15, 2016, and Japan on September 12, 2017. This model traces its roots to subscription model of arts patronage, where artists would go directly to their audiences to fund their work. People who back Kickstarter projects are offered tangible rewards or experiences in exchange for their pledges. As of July 2021, Kickstarter has received $6.6 billion in pledges from 21 million backers to fund 222,000 projects, such as films, music, stage shows, comics, journalism, video games, technology, publishing, and food-related projects. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. 140 employees (before May 2020 40% staff reduction) : 1