Meet the People Traveling the World, Thanks to Crowdfunding

One extraordinary trip that did see the light of day thanks to crowdfunding was Thor Pedersen’s 10-year journey to visit every country in the world in one continuous trip—all without flying, becoming the first person ever to do so. The Danish national has a book about it, Once Upon a Saga, coming out next year.

His initial sponsor, Ross Energy, pulled out a few years into his journey, meaning he had to get creative. “That had me draw on my personal savings until there was nothing left, and then I took out two loans and sold some personal possessions,” Pedersen says. “Eventually, in late 2017, I looked to my followers for support through crowdfunding.”

Pedersen raised $20,752—shy of his target of $50,000, but enough for him to keep traveling the world. He mostly used Indiegogo, but people also sent donations to accounts he created on MobilePay, PayPal, and Patreon. While the money was technically “free,” Pedersen paid a high price for it. “I spent a tremendous amount of time promoting the Indiegogo campaign,” he says. “Having to ask my followers to support me felt somewhat like begging. It hurt my pride to some degree.” There was also behind-the-scenes bureaucracy. In Denmark, crowdfunders have to seek public approval from the Ministry of Justice and pay a $765 annual fee. Nevertheless, Pedersen wholeheartedly appreciates the support that helped him return to Denmark debt-free after visiting 203 countries.

Ugandan-American Jessica Nabongo was also attempting to visit every country in the world when she ran out of money. A friend suggested she crowdfund. “I didn’t think people would be interested, but obviously I was wrong,” Nabongo says. Her GoFundMe raised over $16,000 from more than 200 donors, and people also sent her money via Venmo and Zelle. Nabongo was able to complete her mission the following year and became the first Black woman ever to collect every country’s passport stamp.

When deciding to crowdfund, Nabongo did not anticipate the big-heartedness of her supporters—or the cruelty she inevitably experienced from online trolls. “People are mean as hell,” she says. GoFundMe shared her campaign on its Facebook page leading to comments such as “girl, bye” and “this is not the kind of thing you ask money for.” Another commenter said, “Pay for it yourself.” Nabongo had the last laugh, though. National Geographic published her first book, The Catch Me If You Can, a collection of essays from 100 countries that captured her heart. She’s currently penning a second book. “When I wrote a book, I never could have imagined it would be part of 4,000 students’ curriculums in Detroit public schools,” Nabongo says. “If I would have seen all of that hate and shut down my campaign or stopped doing what I was doing, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Nabongo acknowledged all her donors in her book and is grateful that GoFundMe provides a platform where anyone can be a genie granting travel wishes. “Sometimes people feel like ‘What is my $5 going to do?’ but it all adds up,” she says.