Experiment.com crowdfunding opportunity for TickSmart study!

To all those interested in advancing IPM and tick-borne disease incidence reduction, How about getting inspired and excited to join an EXPERIMENT! Here's the deal. The crowdfunding platform EXPERIMENT.com is being used to raise a modest sum ($8,000) that will help pay the costs to answer this important prevention question: Do people who connect with a tick expert and learn more specifics about the tick that bit them or a family member, then more readily adopt what we call TickSmart actions and behaviors to protect themselves in the future? More concisely -- Does personalized prevention education work? The Tick Encounter group plans to harness the "power of the crowd" to identify tick bite victim test subjects. To this end, TickSpotters, America's Crowdsourced Tick Survey, is about to receive a face-lift including partnering with Neuraflash and Salesforce to upgrade the technology, meaning that we can now respond faster to a larger volume of tick submissions, track data in real-time, and make the TickSpotters platform scalable so that it can even be used by collaborating TickExperts to assimilate even more data. It sounds ambitious for such a small sum, but read on... Even with a gift from a generous donor to start our technology upgrade, $8,000 is still needed for the new system. These funds are being sought through Experiment.com, a scientific crowdfunding site similar to GoFundMe or KickStarter. This is a high-stakes, all-or-nothing campaign, meaning there are just 45 days to hit the goal, or the money pledged gets returned, and the project gets nothing. Unlike Kickstarter or GoFundMe where donors usually get a copy of what's being produced, with Experiment your "benefit" is in the science discovery you help imagine and inspire with your gift. Of course, after clicking the link and reading more about our TickSpotters project on the Experiment website (link below), you'll also know with confidence that if you ever need it, you'll have quick access to a TickExpert whenever and wherever you might need one. In our "ticks in more places" world, consider a donation to this Experiment, and show that peace of mind has real value to you. Crowdfunding, just like crowdsourced science, is all about a lot of people each giving a little to make a big impact. Even if you are unable to financially contribute, please share this link within your networks and with your endorsement (that means a lot). Attached is a campaign letter for you to edit and send out. Check out our Experiment page at the link below. Project link -->  https://experiment.com/tickspotters Please join the TickEncounter team of Dr. Tom Mather, Steve Engborg, Roland Duhaime, Heather Kopsco in changing the face of tick surveillance and tick bite prevention! Thanks in advance for your consideration and circulation of this important opportunity!