Profit-Sharing in Reward Campaigns: Legal Landmines for Filmmakers?

Hey everyone,

I'm Amara Okafor, a doc filmmaker. I'm deep into pre-production for my next project, a documentary about sustainable urban farming. We're looking at various funding models beyond grants and traditional investors. A few people have suggested a reward-based crowdfunding campaign, which I've done before (usually for things like crew meals or specific gear like my FX30 and a couple of PavoTube IIs).

However, one idea came up about offering a small percentage of net profits to higher-tier backers as an incentive. It sounds good on paper for engaging a community, but my gut tells me there might be some serious legal or financial traps if we don't structure it right. I'm just not sure what those are, or what 'structuring it right' even means in this context.

Has anyone here explored or dealt with promising profit-sharing in a reward-based campaign without going through a full-blown securities offering? What are the biggest legal and financial pitfalls to watch out for, especially for indie filmmakers? Any insights would be hugely appreciated.