Image: methodshop.com/Flickr
Kickstarter announced on Sunday that it's restructuring as a public benefit corporation, further binding itself to help finance the endeavors of the creators who use it as a platform. On a practical scale, this doesn't stop the company from going public in the future (though the company notes that it has no plans to sell).The company still exists for profit, but by law it must give an annual report showing how it actually does toward the goals it listed on its charter: bringing creative projects to life, contributing to arts education, transparency, and workplace equality.The move will promote transparency between the company and the people who back it. There are reams of Kickstarter projects out there, but as the company legally angles its duties as a socially responsible company, it has to answer to the not insignificant number of Kickstarter projects that end up not delivering or severely under-delivering on campaign promises (though the company says this an issue it's "constantly thinking about.")The FTC has only cracked down on one game developer for pocketing all $100,000 of his campaign money for personal use. Many others are out there, blemishing the company's reputation as a financing option for inventors and creators. Hopefully the company will have some power to stamp out those exploiting the platform while bringing back interest in the attractive idea that crowdfunding really will give life to innovation.