What is a creator obligated to do once their project is funded?

When an Indie project is successfully funded, the creator is responsible for completing the project and fulfilling each reward to the best of their abilities. Their fundamental obligation to backers is to finish all the work that was promised, honestly address backers’ concerns, and deliver rewards. 

One of our biggest expectations for creators is that they regularly update backers on their project’s progress and notify them of any delays or roadblocks that may impact their estimated delivery time. We expect creators to be open and honest with their backers during all stages of their project’s life cycle.

At the same time, backers must understand that Indie Birds is not a store. When you back a project on Indie Birds, you’re helping create something new — not pre-ordering something that already exists. As Indie Birds does not offer refunds, we encourage backers to investigate the project idea first, to vet the creator thoroughly, and to assess the inherent risk of the project for themselves before making a pledge. 

There’s always a chance something could happen that prevents the creator from being able to finish the project as promised. When it comes to shipping in particular, we find most rewards are delivered as promised. However, it’s important to realize that some projects might hit some speed bumps, including customs for international shipping or postal mishaps for domestic shipping. In these cases, we recommend continuing to reach out to the creator regarding the shipping issue, in the hopes that it is resolved as soon as possible.

If you have specific questions about the status of a project, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the project creator directly. To message them:

1. Visit the project page
2. Click on the creator’s profile image, found to the left of the project’s name
3. This will open up their bio page where you can click the “Contact me” link and send them a message. 

We do ask that if a creator is absolutely unable to complete the project and full fill rewards, they must make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to a satisfying conclusion for their backers.