Crowdfunding … sure, you’ve heard of it, but have you heard that it’s working? Almost half (46 percent) of funds seekers on Kickstarter.com in 2011 actually convinced people—primarily perfect strangers—to pay for their creative endeavors. Kickstarter raised just under $100 million in pledges last year, bringing to fruition 12,000 projects, primarily in film, music, design and art. The trend has fans in Washington, too. The Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act, a bill supporting equity-based crowdfunding for startups, was recently passed with an assist from the Obama administration. While that news is certainly promising, the chatter about crowdfunding remains mainly of the arts-related sort. To wit, producers of Stromberg, the German adaptation of America’s The Office, raised $1.3 million in a week to fund a film version of their sitcom, following in the footsteps of Germany’s adult-themed film Hotel Desire, which was released for download after a successful crowdfunding and triumphant theater premiere. And then there’s London filmmaker Chris Riley, who’s turned to crowdfunding site Indiegogo.com to raise money to release a DVD and Blu-Ray version of his documentary, First Orbit, a year after premiering the full-length film on YouTube. Those pledging money to Riley will get film credits in return. Such incentives—shout-outs, apparel, trips, tech gadgets—are paying off for crowdfunders. Leading one to wonder: What’s the virtual equivalent of a T-shirt gun?