Beth Schmidt Is Helping Underprivileged Students Find Supporters with Wishbone
New crowdfunding sites seem to pop up every day since Kickstarter blew up on the tech scene. Most sites focus on one particular industry or type of project that can benefit from the now-popular model. Almost all of these sites are very capitalistic in nature, looking for backers to support businesses or commercial music, writing, and art. There is nothing wrong with helping entrepreneurs or artists chase their dreams, but cool person in tech Beth Schmidt believes there’s another group who could benefit greatly from this concept—poor and underprivileged youth. Beth Schmidt is the founder and executive director of the non-profit Internet company Wishbone. Wishbone finds promising young people who do not have the resources to pay for the education that would allow them to chase their goals. Schmidt’s company then provides them a space on the Internet where backers can crowdfund their education. Rather than use the crowdfunding model to invest in single projects or startup business, Schmidt wants people to invest in a proven resource for society’s future—smart, young students. Read more »
