Opinion: Kickstarter Raises More for Arts Than NEA, and That’s OK

The “crowdfunding” Web site Kickstarter provided more than twice as much money for cultural projects last year than did the National Endowment for the Arts, and that should come as no surprise, a Washington Post blogger writes.

Kickstarter raised about $323.6-million in 2012 for projects related to the arts, design, or video, while the NEA had a total appropriation of $146-million, Katherine Boyle notes in the Post’s Wonkblog, which covers business and economic policy.

“It looks like a shocking disparity between government grants and a technology start-up, but here’s why it isn’t surprising,” Ms. Boyle writes. “Individuals have always been the backbone of arts funding. … Kickstarter, in essence, simplifies the long-held American tradition of individual private donors giving to the arts.”