Even if you don’t have a flashy product or service, or if you’re not a company or brand, the doors to Wadiz funding are wide open. Just like Maker Kim Hyun-kyung, who has launched three donation projects through Wadizover the past five years and made her own dreams a reality. Is there a dream you’ve always wanted to achieve deep down, one for which you’ve longed for people’s support? Maker Kim Hyun-kyung’s story will give you the courage you need.
“President Kim,” Kim Hyun-kyung, the maker who spreads the joy of giving
Maker Kim Hyun-kyung (right) and her family
Hello, I’m Kim Hyun-kyung, and I recently launched a personal crowdfunding campaign Wadizto solicit donations and support. While being a mother—giving birth and raising a child—takes up a significant part of my life, I still introduce myself simply as Kim Hyun-kyung. I’ve also had the nickname “Kim-tong-nyung” since I was a child, which means “connecting with the masses to inspire and be inspired.”
I first organized a Wadiz crowdfunding campaign back in 2018. Under the name “The Shimmering Project,”I launched a fundraising campaign to support children with leukemia and other forms of cancer. Thanks to 79 supporters at the time, I was able to successfully carry out a wig-making initiative that would have been difficult to manage on my own.
Later, I organized fundraising campaigns to commemorate my children’s first birthdays in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Hoping that my children would grow up to be people who understand the joy of giving, I worked with our supporters to make donations to organizations supporting single mothers and infants, as well as those supporting children with cancer, in celebration of their first birthdays.
Ever since middle school, when I earned the nickname “President Kim,” giving back has been an important value to me. I served as a class officer and even dreamed of becoming president. I found fulfillment in seeing the people around me become happier and lead better lives because of me. As a college student, I was so dedicated that I participated in 50 extracurricular activities, including overseas volunteer work and mural painting projects. I also started donating my hair and giving blood regularly around that time.
I believe in the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” I think that if I strive to be a good person first, warm-hearted people will naturally gather around me— just as I met my supporters through the Wadiz campaign .
Why we chose to launch a Wadiz crowdfunding campaign instead of a personal fundraising effort
To be honest, when I was in my 20s, I sometimes felt a bit smug about doing volunteer work and charitable activities on my own. The more I got involved in these activities, the more underclassmen from my university would come to me for advice. But once I started my career, I realized I was just one member of society among many, and from that point on, I became more interested in work that I could do together with others, rather than on my own.
That’s when I discovered Wadiz, which was already the leading crowdfunding platform in Korea at the time. Since credibility is essential for donation projects, I felt this was the perfect platform to establish my credibility as a contributor, so I decided to give it a try. It was a turning point that allowed me to move beyond my previous small-scale volunteer work and take on larger-scale support initiatives.
A fundraising campaign organized to celebrate the first and second children’s first birthday parties
What I realized while running the crowdfunding campaign is that positive influence can spread like a relay. A close friend told me that after hearing about my first campaign to support wig production, she started donating her hair.
Our second crowdfunding campaign—a donation drive to celebrate our first child’s first birthday—came about because my husband encouraged and supported the idea. Thanks to the positive impact of that campaign, we decided to hold a donation drive Wadiz for our second child’s first birthdaythis year as well.
I like that the crowdfunding campaigns give me the sense that I’m working as “Kim Hyun-kyung” rather than “Mom Kim Hyun-kyung.” Of course, my last two campaigns were held in conjunction with my children’s first birthday parties, but I think that’s something I could only do because I’m a parent. When you’re raising kids, things rarely go exactly as you plan. Amid all that, crowdfundinghas alsobeen a way for me to maintain my self-esteem.
Wadiz supporters who believed in the power of individuals, not companies or brands
I felt really anxious at times while preparing for this crowd-funded campaign, which was driven by individuals. I was worried about whether people would show interest and whether the campaign would be successful.
When I was preparing for my first crowdfunding campaign, I was recklessly visiting leukemia associations without any concrete plan, declaring that I would donate money and hair. I knew I had to be prepared to cover all costs out of my own pocket if the campaign failed. Realistically, I also scaled back the fundraising goal to a level I could actually afford.
The content of the funding story, which highlights the positive influence of our supporters
That’s exactly why I worked so hard to pour my heart into the funding story. I knew I couldn’t do it alone, so I tried to clearly convey the power of what we can achieve when people come together—including our supporters. Especially with the first birthday donation project, being a mother myself, I think phrases like “It takes a village to raise a child” resonated more deeply with me.
Contrary to my worries, I was truly grateful that people understood my vision and that some supporters even expressed a desire to join the project without expecting any rewards. Once you become an adult, opportunities to help others and share what you have become increasingly rare—just like when we used to buy Christmas seals every year as students.
I felt a real sense of fulfillment knowing that the crowdfunding campaign I organized served as a meaningful opportunity for my supporters to give back. I think they placed even more trust in me because this was a personal crowdfunding campaign where I shared every detail, including material costs.
Far more people than I had anticipated understood the purpose of the project. It was a heartwarming fundraising journey, with one person even offering words of encouragement, saying they were excited about my child’s future.
You can successfully launch a Wadiz campaign all on your own
Rewards such as calligraphy pieces and postcards, which we carefully prepared for every funding campaign
If you’re someone who wants to try running your own crowdfunding campaign like I did, I’d encourage you not to feel intimidated by comparing your project to others or feel embarrassed—just go for it. I, too, considered calling off my campaign because the rewards I’d prepared seemed relatively meager. But in the end, I pulled it off.
Even if you launch a campaign with the minimum funding goal, failure is a learning experience, and success adds a great project to your portfolio, so I hope you’ll find the courage to give it a try. We live in an era where tastes are incredibly diverse. There are definitely people Wadizwho will appreciate your project, so just go for it. Wadizis a platform that makes it easier to take on new challenges.
I plan to continue doing what I can as “Kim Hyun-kyung the person” through Wadiz. In addition to the donation and crowdfunding campaigns I’ve run so far, I’m also considering new projects, such as publishing an essay collection.
I want to make my mark through Wadiz. If my journey can have a positive impact on others, that would be the best outcome.
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