Pledging System

This idea was thought up in regards to getting software developers to work on certain features of their program - a sort of wishlist with money attached - but the principle could apply to other endeavors as well, I suppose.

So basically it would be nice if there was a way that you could say "Man, I would pay $10 bucks if they would add this feature to this program" and the company said, we will add that feature for $2,000 and then you could throw your money in a sort of escrow and other people could as well. The more badly people want something done the more they might pay, and when the $2,000 is reached the company (or individual developer) undertakes the task, and when it is complete they take the money.

This would work best for small, free, or open source projects. the kind that might take donations anyway. It would just be a way to help target what people want done the most and I believe it would encourage people to donate money when they know that it is improving the product in a specific way.

It would fall apart if people used it as a way to scam people out of their money, but then you're a fool for donating large sums of money to someone or something with no reputation. Also it would be a problem if donors were screwing around and withdrawing their money just when the feature is completed or some such shenanigans.