This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

This week, in place of the usual Utah Crowd-Funding Project, let's take a look at how a high-profile campaign is going.

Earlier this month, the Downtown Alliance announced big plans for EVE, Salt Lake City's annual three-day celebration of New Year's Eve. The big new wrinkle was a plan to loft a 20-foot-wide mirror ball — the biggest disco ball in America — to replace the traditional, and pollution-creating, fireworks.

The cost for the disco ball is estimated at $50,000, which would be split in half: The Salt Lake City Council would put up $25,000, and the Downtown Alliance would put up another $25,000.

The Downtown Alliance launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise its $25,000. So far, though, with 11 days to go (the deadline is Dec. 6), the campaign has raised $3,014, just 12 percent of the goal. Still, crowd-funding campaigns often get in gear right before the deadline, so there's still time for the Downtown Alliance to reach its goal.

Benefits for backers range from a commemorative disco-ball souvenir (for $25) to a five-course dinner at Dopo (in The Gateway) and a tour inside the ball (for $5,000).

If you have a crowd-funding project you'd like mentioned on The Cricket blog, email it to: spmeans@sltrib.com. Be sure to put "crowd funding" in the subject line.