I have a BrainCrush on a website. Don’t judge me.

Kickstarter is a space where folks can pledge financial support ($1 – $10,000) to “fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors.”

What kinds of ideas and endeavors, you inquire? How ’bout a comic book guide to frugal urban living? Or a documentary film about walking across New Zealand? Or perhaps a whimsical Victorian board game centered upon art, logic and literature?

The best part about Kickstarter? It’s not a charity. Project backers receive more than just warm fuzzy feelings and good karma — they get a copy of the finished product, once it’s been fully funded. And if the project doesn’t attain full funding? Backers don’t lose any money. Everybody goes home happy.

The worst part about Kickstarter? At the moment, starting a new project is by invitation only … but the website’s creators plan to open up the floor to the masses in due time.

Kickstarter was profiled in last Sunday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine as part of their 9th annual “Year in Ideas” feature. As The Times points out:

For perhaps the first time, an artist can quickly answer a nagging question: Does anyone actually want my art badly enough to pay for it?

It’s so exhilarating to see a website where the answer is a resounding YES.

(Image via Kickstarter)