Is setting up a crowdfund for a general discussion forum a good idea?

[Shortie]

At the moment I am in the process of working on a general discussion forum that I would like to open up in a few weeks. I am using Xenforo at the moment as my boyfriend has allowed me to use one of his licenses and we do need to renew the license to get the latest updates but at the moment, with funds being so tight, we have been unable to do that. There is also so much I would like to add such as the ability for people to be able to support us and they get perks such as username formatting, no ads, access to a VIP forum, and such but all this will cost money for the addons as well. 

Do you feel that a general discussion forum would benefit from a crowdfund if you had a plan of what you wanted to do and you were open an honest with people about what you were going to do with the money you donated?

I would like to open the general discussion forum up, give perks to members who support us and like what we do but also hopefully be able to have the site fund itself eventually to help pay for costs.

[Henrywrites]

This is going to work as you planned, if you have some family and friends that are always there for you in good times and in bad times. Those that will be there to support you. Crowdfunding for a general forum will mean convincing more people about it's importance as well.

[Ravenfreak]

I think it's a good idea once you've got a well established community with many members willing to help pay for the site. Thankfully with Xenforo, you don't necessarily have to renew your license right away for it to continue functioning, though you do need to have a updated license for any crucial security updates of course.

[deucher]

Tough call! General forums face stiff competition. Can you offer unique features or appeal to a specific niche? If not, existing platforms might be a better bet. Think passion first, crowdfunding later!