British crowdfunding campaign aims to solve Greek debt crisis

An ambitious crowdfunding campaign set up by a British man this week is aiming get ordinary Europeans to solve the Greek debt crisis, by contributing three euros or more. The campaign has rapidly gathered speed, with the total climbing by the minute.

Thom Feeney, 29, launched the Indiegogo campaign to encourage every European to donate "the cost of a feta and olive salad", claiming that a donation of just €3 by every European citizen could help fund Greece's bailout.

At the time of writing, the project had raised 183,710 raised from 11,788 people, but the total was rocketing by hundreds of euros per minute on Tuesday afternoon. The crowdfunding page has been shared over 87,000 times on Facebook.

But there is a long way to go. Although Feeney hopes to raise the €1.6bn that Greece is due to pay the IMF today - which Greece has already made clear the country won't meet - Greece owes its official lenders €242.8bn in total, according to a Reuters calculation.

Feeney told one British newspaper: "Crowdfunding can help because it's just a case of getting on and doing it."

"I was fed up of the Greek crisis going round in circles," he said. "While politicians are dithering, this is affecting real people. While all the posturing is going on, then it's easy for the politicians to forget that. I just thought, sod it, I'll have a crack."

Feeney, from Yorkshire, who works in a shoe shop in central London and has never been involved in Greek politics, promises that those pledging €3 will receive a postcard of Alex Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, while €25 will result in a bottle of Greek wine, and a €5,000 donation will get a Greek holiday for two.

Initially, Feeney claimed that anyone feeling flush enough to pledge the entire sum, would win a Greek island, although he was forced to withdraw this promise after IndieGoGo emailed him to say that as the Greek Government had not officially agreed to this, he was not allowed to offer it. A Greek woman also emailed Feeney telling him she found the perk offensive, according to the crowdfunding page.

The funding page promises that all profits raised will go to the Greek people and all products sent out will be 100% Greek, although Feeney also says later down the page that the money pledged will be refunded if the target is not met.

To a question posted on the website, 'Do you think Europeans are generous enough?' Feeney responds: "Europeans are pretty generous on the whole, maybe Ms Merkel and Mr Cameron are the exception."

"There are 500 million people in the EU and actually, it wouldn't cost each person much to just sort it out ourselves. I'm confident the people of Europe will get this campaign and some time soon we'll all be raising a glass of Ouzo and having a bloody great big celebration."