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Indiegogo donations for Greece skyrocket

Thom Feeney started an online crowd-funding project to help Greece pay what it owes to the International Monetary Fund.

Thom Feeney started an online crowd-funding project to help Greece pay what it owes to the International Monetary Fund.

(Niklas Halle’n / AFP/Getty Images)
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In just five days, a crowd-funding campaign to bail out Greece has raised more than $1.6 million, and is increasing by the minute.

The goal of the Indiegogo campaign is to raise enough to cover Greece’s missed payment of $1.8 billion to the International Monetary Fund. More than 86,000 people have contributed so far, with five days left to go.

The campaign, started by a 29-year-old shoe worker from England, has been averaging more than $23,000 per hour -- about $19 per person, according to the crowd-funding website.

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The top nations whose citizens are contributing to the fund are Spain, the U.S., France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the response,” Thom Feeney, the campaign’s organizer, said on the Indiegogo page. “I’ve received so many tweets, emails and messages of support and thanks. I feel quite emotional about it all myself now.”

Feeney said all of the funds will go to the Greek people, but details haven’t been worked out yet. If the campaign does not reach its target, he said, all of the donations will be refunded.

Perks from donors range from a postcard of Alex Tsipras, Greece’s prime minister, to a bottle of Greek ouzo.

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