Kristina Kilgrove, aka @BoneGirlPhD has an excellent project on RocketHub, looking for funds:

This is the second archaeological project I’ve seen this year bypassing the traditional means for funding research (the first being the Maenander Project by Colleen Morgan, via Kickstarter; Colleen’s fundraising was successful, btw). It only makes sense. Archaeology is exciting. It’s paid for via the public, usually through the proxy of government fiat or funding agency. Why not take your research directly to the people who ultimately pay for it? Each dollar raised is a direct vote of confidence in your work.

Would my PhD research have been able to raise funds this way? Perhaps. It’s long-tail economics…