Kickstarter is a way for writers, game designers, artists, clothing designers and foodmakers to raise seed money in exchange for whatever it is they're offering. Essentially, it's a presale. We don't have access to Amazon's presale system, so this is a way to do a presale without them. Your fans get what they want (your books) and you get money for book production. It's neither a loan nor a donation. Don't attempt it without an existing fan base.
I've kicked several books and graphic novels/comics, two or three films, several musicians (including Amanda Palmer, and the Polyphonic Spree), an artisan salt maker (jobs for the Oregon coast), two or three games and a food cart.

in exchange I've gotten music, films, books, ebooks, games, comics, two drop dead gorgeous card decks, a little tin of really delicious salt, a bag of goodies from the new grocery store in my neighborhood, and my favorite food cart.